To analyse the socio-environmental degradation caused by the Paulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex, through the socio-spatial consequences caused by the construction of the energy project. Hydroelectric power stations in Brazil have been a driving force behind the country's industrial development. This process began in the 1950s under the government of Juscelino Kubitscheck, who prioritised the expansion of Brazil's energy matrix based on water resources. The territorial area of Paulo Afonso belongs to homogeneous micro-region 147, Sertao de Paulo Afonso, and occupies a territorial area of 1,545.192 km (2). The problem addressed in this research is relevant because of the need to highlight the complex nature of the factors that explain socio-spatial relations, in terms of the evolutionary conditions of the process of setting up hydroelectric plants in the Sao Francisco sub-middle. On the other hand, the dams boosted the country's development and offered new prospects for the north-eastern region of Brazil. Since then, Paulo Afonso/BA has found itself in a new reality as a result of the socio-spatial reorganisation caused by the Paulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex.