Diversity dilemmas in a land tenure process

the case of Calon gypsies in Belo Horizonte

Abstract

This paper presents the pleading of a Calon gypsies group in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, for the regularization of their long-term campsite. The case serves as a basis for a discussion of the dilemmas of meeting the demands of minorities in nation states. The land tenure process illustrates the possibility of redefinition of state practices by expanding the conceptual boundaries adopted. We present how the confrontation of the category of nomadism, based on an essentialized identity of the gypsy way of life, and the struggle for other meanings of rights and justice led to the unprecedented recognition of the right to the space-territory of the San Gabriel Roma.