Sou porque faço, faço porque sou: agência sociopolítica e identidade de uma ativista comunitária do Bairro da Paz, Salvador

Abstract

The distinct dynamics, movements, and forms of sociopolitical mobilization that emerge in Brazil’s peripheral territories have, in recent decades, aroused growing interest within Sociology and Anthropology, especially in urban studies. The debate surrounding the various forms of political organization, cultural resistance, and the construction of citizenship and identity has shown that, beyond formal institutional instances, distinct forms of activism and sociopolitical agency have been gaining strength in the peripheries and in other popular urban territories. Alongside the consolidation of this agency, individuals may redefine themselves and (re)discover their identity through the countless experiences that weave through their life trajectories. Therefore, this research reflects on the interplay between “being and acting,” which can be analyzed through the reconstruction of the Life History of a community activist living in a peripheral territory of the city of Salvador, the Bairro da Paz. The consolidation of the analysis thus lies in understanding how the sociopolitical agency developed by individuals living in peripheral territories can be both revealing and (re)formative of their own identity, while the territory itself also can transform and reinvents its collective identity. To this end, the research adopted the qualitative methodological strategy of Life History (LH), combined with the use of various investigative techniques and analyses of a more ethnographic nature.