THE PROTAGONISM OF THE ELDERLY IN THE STRUGGLES FOR LAND AND ITS PERMANENCE: NARRATIVES OF CONFLICT, RESISTANCE AND HOPE

Abstract

The article aims to reconstruct, from the perspective of the elderly, their perceptions of the aging process in rural areas, as well as their daily lives and resilience in rural camps and settlements. The data were generated through eleven in-depth interviews focused on life histories. Participants were selected using the non-probabilistic snowball sampling method until data saturation was reached. The accounts reveal that the lived experiences affirm the value of the land throughout the lives of these elderly individuals, framing it as a project of personal fulfillment rooted in socioterritorial reproduction within the settlements. The results indicate that aging under the rural community logic creates specific spatialities tied to the use of time and space in camps and settlements,