[Getúlio Vargas and the Water Code in the "reconstruction" of Brazil, 1930-1945: beyond energy and below salubrity].

Abstract

The objective is to reflect on the Water Code (1934) and the water supply and sewage collection services in Brazil during the first government of Getúlio Vargas. Treated by historiography mostly as an instrument to regulate the hydroelectric energy sector, the code presents elements that go beyond it: regulating the use of "water" imposed by the situation of expanded capital accumulation and systematizing diffuse legislation and its different uses, highlighting issues such as salubrity, pollution etc. Such elements, in turn, correspond to Vargas' plans to "rebuild" the nation. To this end, a historiographical assessment of the themes was carried out and the relevant legislation was analyzed.