Felipe Coimbra Moretti

This project is a trans-disciplinary, comprehensive history of infrastructure and global capitalism over the last century in the Brazilian Northeast: once a “backward” region, it now boasts one of the highest growth rates in the country. Drawing on visits to archives, the research follows the role of dams, reservoirs, electrification plans and roads in state-led development initiatives, tracing the trajectory of these various sites in the larger dynamics of regional and national integration. This project also draws on ethnographic observation to accompany the extension of the TransNordestina railroad system, which promises to connect the ports of the Northeast with the grain and ore producing regions of the Amazon and Center-West. Together with activists and community leaders, this project seeks to build an interactive, online map of infrastructure in the sertão that will give the public more scrutiny over the social, economic, and environmental impacts of infrastructure.