Before the Flood

In <i>Before the Flood</i> Jacob Blanc traces the protest movements of rural Brazilians living in the shadow of the Itaipu dam-the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world. In the 1970s and 1980s local communities facing displacement took a stand against the military officials overseeing the dam's construction and in the context of an emerging national fight for democracy they elevated their struggle for land into a referendum on the dictatorship itself. Unlike the broader campaign against military rule however the conflict at Itaipu was premised on issues that long predated the official start of dictatorship: access to land the defense of rural and indigenous livelihoods and political rights in the countryside. In their efforts against Itaipu and through conflicts among themselves title-owning farmers landless peasants and the Avá-Guarani Indians articulated a rural-based vision for democracy. Through interviews and archival research-including declassified military documents and the first-ever access to the Itaipu Binational Corporation-<i>Before the Flood</i> challenges the primacy of urban-focused narratives and unearths the rural experiences of dictatorship and democracy in Brazil.