Based on ethnographic research, this article looks to understand the extent to which nationality comprises a central category in the life of residents of border regions and how and at what moments the discourse of national identity manifests as the principal factor explaining conflicts and social interactions on the frontier, acquiring efficacy and power. This discourse, which divides the border zone residents into Bolivians on one side and Brazilians on the other, is a contextual identity construction that makes explicit the power relations involved in disputes for material and immaterial goods. While there are undoubtedly social spaces of circulation, flows and exchanges on this border that extend far beyond the economy, we can observe that other borders are socially constructed that reify prejudices in the region.
Frontier; Identity; National State; Power; Social interaction