Memória social e desenvolvimento : uma análise do processo histórico de produção de erva-mate no município de Canoinhas - SC.

Abstract

This research aims at analyzing the relationship between the production of yerba maté and the process of economical development/stagnancy in the city of Canoinhas, located in the north of the state of Santa Catarina. The yerba maté constituted richness for the region of Canoinhas last century, because it was abundant in the forests and, for a long time, it was the economical basis which sustained the city.Through an analysis of the regional history, of the written media and semi-structured interviews, it was possible to problematize how the culture of yerba maté is a reference for the construction of social memory of the population of Canoinhas, especially in what concerns the regional development. In order to do so, the research is composed by three chapters. In the first chapter, considerations about the socio-economical formation of Canoinhas are presented, highlighting its main migratory flows and the process of economical development based on yerba maté. In the second chapter an explanation about the symbology existent in relation to yerba maté is done, demonstrating the official symbols, monuments, parties and others, which contribute in order to give an identity to the city. In this same chapter there is also a brief theoretical analysis about the social imaginary and its relation with the set of symbols. In the last chapter, through the oral history of the community, one tries to understand the productive process of yerba maté and its relation with the development of Canoinhas. It also deals with the social memory and how it is constituted in the region. The final considerations of the research show that the richness proportioned by the yerba maté in the beginning of the twentieth century contributed to the regional development of that period and, nowadays, the activities connected to agriculture, trade and industry have more highlight in the economy of the city of Canoinhas. However, the identification of the city with yerba maté continue live in the social memory of the population and in the set of symbols presented.