Turismo, produção imobiliária e conflito territorial entre São Miguel do Gostoso e Touros (RN)

Abstract

After consolidating the public policies to stimulate international tourism in the Brazilian Northeast (PRODETUR / NE I and II), it is possible to notice an increase in real estate investments made by foreigners. It concerns the transfer of capital between territories and productive activities determined by capitalist reproduction strategies. In 2010, in the middle of this context, the municipalities of Touros and São Miguel do Gostoso, located on the Eastern coast of Rio Grande do Norte, began to diverge on the demarcation of territorial boundaries. The case acquires connotation of conflict from the denials of limits correction and the collection of taxes undertaken by the managers of Touros to companies and citizens of the areas in question. The objective of the research is to analyze the territorial conflict between São Miguel do Gostoso and Touros, considering the process of tourism expansion and real estate investments in said municipalities. It is a qualitative study, whose data collection procedures involved documentary research in notary and public agencies, systematic observation and semi-structured interviews with political actors, civil society and business leaders. The data shows that, because of the incongruity of the boundaries, São Miguel do Gostoso started to accumulate the budget burden due to the decrease of transfers corresponding to the population count and loss of taxes related to urban land use, together with the need to provide public services to the resident and tourists. At the Municipal Headquarters, public and private investments linked to tourism and natural conditions favorable to adventure sports have become important drivers of urban expansion, especially in the areas adjacent to the beaches of Xêpa, Cardeiro and Ponta do Santo Cristo. From these conditions, these areas become a highly competitive sector of expansion of real estate investments with a significant participation of foreigners. Compared to Touros, the real estate dynamics of São Miguel do Gostoso are more accentuated over time, with a greater volume of capital invested, involving a greater number of nationalities and incorporating lands that have attributes of tourist interest, factors that give it greater appreciation of the soil. It is concluded that in São Miguel do Gostoso, the growth of tourism-real estate investments has contributed to the restructuring of its space by means of objects, actions and symbols that guarantee its territorial expression. On the other hand, such investments had a marked effect on the litigation, for which, the term of an agreement between the managers was conditioned to retaining the lands of Ponta do Santo Cristo Beach to Touros.