SOCIAL MANAGEMENT, PARTICIPATION AND TERRITORY: THE CASE OF CALIFORNIA DISTRICT IN BARRA DO PIRAÍ-RJ

Abstract

The article focuses on analyzing the social participation during the process of annexation of the California District, in Barra do Piraí, to the municipality of Volta Redonda, both located in the Vale do Paraíba microregion, in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Seeks to problematize the participatory dynamics about the new territorial conformation about the residents' desires for annexation. The bibliographic review starts from the discussion about participation, understood as a process of achievement related to mobilization and social organization in the claim of specific collective interests and rights. The territory, in this way, would constitute a space with an identity understood not only as a geographical or physical reality, but a human, social, cultural and historical reality. In turn, social management is defined by a dialogical, participatory relationship between social actors in the territory with the purpose of discussing common issues and deliberating on actions to be established for the common good. The research methodology, of qualitative nature and exploratory type, adopts the method of the single case study and the data collect was performed by bibliographic, documentary and field research. Data treatment followed content analysis with the definition of categories by mixed grid. The results show that the annexation would legitimize the desire of the local population to belong to the municipality with greater geographical proximity, but, mainly, with a better provision of public services.