The building of energy infrastructure has the main objective of promoting economic development based on the production and consumption of goods and services. In Brazil, the main generator of electricity is the Itaipu hydroenergy plant, which is binational and uses the transboundary waters of the Parana River in the boundary between Brazil and Paraguay. In a context of high energy demand, the discourses about transboundary waters are marked by debates on sovereignty and securitization in the face of vulnerability, these discourses focus on relations of tension and conflict over strategic water resources between states. This paper examines the use of transboundary water for energy production in Brazil and the limits of the discourse of regional development among the riparian states in the negotiations on the Itaipu Treaty during the government of former President Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010).