In the current Brazilian context, the recent economic growth and political stability have brought back to the center of the debate the concept of development, usually approached by the idea of transforming "natural resources". However, the meaning of this notion is not unanimous, there are many social groups that question the type of development that is being encouraged, or even the need to be developed, displacing the debate to what kind of relationship is established with nature. Based on the field work carried out around the environmental conflict surrounding the construction of what pretends to be the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world, the hydroelectric plant of Belo Monte, the analysis proposed seeks to understand the different meanings given to the relations between nature and society as key concepts for the interpretation of developmental processes, especially to identify who are the subjects that are defined as being entitled to intervene in the course of these processes.
Environmental conflicts; Dams and development