A importância da UFFS/campus Laranjeiras do Sul (PR) e o desenvolvimento do território Cantuquiriguaçu

Abstract

The Cantuquiriguaçu Territory (TC) is considered one of the least developed regions in the State of Paraná (Brasil), so much so that the region was included in the Citizenship Territories Program in 2009. The Territory is composed of twenty municipalities: Campo Bonito, Candói, Cantagalo, Catanduvas, Diamante do Sul, Espigão Alto do Iguaçu, Foz do Jordão, Goioxim, Guaraniaçu, Ibema, Laranjeiras do Sul, Marquinho, Nova Laranjeiras, Pinhão, Porto Barreiro, Quedas do Iguaçu, Reserva do Iguaçu, Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, Três Barras do Paraná and Virmond. Despite the frequent discourse about regional development actions, policies and strategies, the initiatives adopted so far in the Cantuquiriguaçu Territory did not allow a significant reduction of inequalities when compared to other regions of Paraná. There are segments of the population that are on the margins of development actions, in particular: landless rural workers, indigenous peoples and displaced people due to the construction of hydroelectric plants. These, by the way, were some of the social subjects involved in the process of conquest and creation of the Federal University of the Southern Frontier - UFFS, whose contribution to the Territory was the subject of analysis of this study. The objective was to analyze the relevance of UFFS, Campus Laranjeiras do Sul, in relation to the development of Cantuquiriguaçu Territory. Created in 2009, the university is characterized by initiatives from social movements, as well as other segments of the population that inhabit the Great Southern Border Meso-Region and its surroundings. Its multicampi character allowed Cantuquiriguaçu to be chosen as the headquarters of one of its campuses. Thus, the initial assumption was that, in a territory with serious intra and interregional inequalities, university action would be crucial for the development of the region. Methodologically, this research had an exploratory character, based on a case study, having as main instruments the accomplishment of semi - structured interviews and the analysis of questionnaire applied to the members of the Development Council of Cantuquiriguaçu Territory - CONDETEC. The peculiarities of the territory, its socioeconomic characteristics and, mainly, the presence of a campus of the Fronteira Sul Federal University were analyzed. The research was based on the analysis of the process that gave rise to the university and the institution's first years of operation, including results related to teaching, research and extension obtained in this period. The results obtained in this study pointed out a significant importance of UFFS for the development of the region in question. There were evident signs of the impacts that the Campus has produced in the Territory, indicating a different role of the university. It was also observed that the institution has respected the principles that guided its creation, such as the courses that were created, thethemes of the research and extension projects, the councils instituted, among others. Despite the existence of major challenges and obstacles to the achievement of its objectives, the results indicated that this university can contribute substantially to the development of the Cantuquiriguaçu Territory, especially if it maintains the commitments and the proximity to the regional society which was essential for the creation of UFFS.