The Politics of Agrarian Reform in Brazil: The Landless Rural Workers Movement

245 Pages·2015·1.75 MB·English

by  Wilder Robles

The Politics of Agrarian Reform in Brazil
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND TRANSFORMATION
This series tackles one of the central issues of our time: the rise of
large-scale social movements and the transformation of society over
the last thirty years. As global capitalism continues to affect broader
segments of the world’s population—workers, peasants, the self-
employed, the unemployed, the poor, indigenous peoples, women,
and minority ethnic groups—there is a growing mass movement by
the affected populations to address the inequities engendered by the
globalization process. These popular mass movements across the
globe (such as labor, civil rights, women’s, environmental, indigenous,
and anti-corporate globalization movements) have come to form a
viable and decisive force to address the consequences of the opera-
tions of the transnational corporations and the global capitalist sys-
tem. The study of these social movements—their nature, social base,
ideology, and strategy and tactics of mass struggle—is of paramount
importance if we are to understand the nature of the forces that are
struggling to bring about change in the global economy, polity, and
social structure. This series aims to explore emerging movements
and develop viable explanations for the kind of social transformations
that are yet to come.
Series Editor:
Berch B erberoglu is Professor of Sociology and Director of Graduate
Studies in Sociology at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Titles:
Social Movements in Latin America: Neoliberalism and Popular
Resistance
James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer
Challenging Neoliberalism at Turkey’s Gezi Park: From Private
Discontent to Collective Class Action
Efe Can G ür can and Efe Peker
Labor Activists and the New Working Class in China: Strike Leaders’
Struggles
Parry P. Leung
The Politics of Agrarian Reform in Brazil: The Landless Rural Workers
Movement
Wilder Robles and Henry Veltmeyer
The Politics of Agrarian Reform in Brazil
The Landless Rural Workers Movement
Wilder Robles and Henry Veltmeyer
THE POLITICS OF AGRARIAN REFORM IN BRAZIL
Copyright © Wilder Robles and Henry Veltmeyer, 2015.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-51719-7
All rights reserved.
First published in 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States— a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
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this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-57747-7 ISBN 978-1-137-51720-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137517203
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Robles, Wilder.
The politics of agrarian reform in Brazil : the landless rural workers
movement / by Wilder Robles and Henry Veltmeyer.
pages cm.—(Social movements and transformation)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Land reform—Brazil. 2. Agricultural laborers—Brazil. 3. Rural poor—
Brazil. I. Veltmeyer, Henry. II. Title.
HD1333.B7R63 2015
333.3(cid:2)181—dc23 2015003953
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: August 2015
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Jorge Nef,
Wonderful teacher, mentor, colleague, friend

Contents
List of Figures and Tables i x
Preface x i
Acknowledgments xv
List of Brazilian Presidents, 1985 to Present xvii
List of Abbreviations xix
Introduction 1
1 The Agrarian Question Today: The Politics of
Poverty and Inequality 17
2 Rural Development and Social Movements 3 7
3 The Politics of Agrarian Reform in Brazil:
A Historical Background 65
4 Agrarian Reform under Sarney and Collor de Mello-Franco 8 5
5 Agrarian Reform under Cardoso 105
6 Agrarian Reform under “Lula” da Silva and Rousseff 1 25
7 Cooperative Experiences 1 43
8 Popular Agrarian Reform 1 71
Conclusion 189
Notes 197
Bibliography 215
Index 227

Figures and Tables
Figures
0.1 Gini index of land inequality in Brazil, 1985–2006 4
0.2 Gini index of income inequality in Brazil, 1980–2009 6
0.3 Alternative numbers of agrarian reform benefi ciaries in
Brazil, 1985–2012 8
1.1 Gini index of global income inequality, 1820–2002 20
1.2 Land occupations in Brazil, 1988–2012 30
1.3 P articipation of Brazilian landless peasant families in
land occupations, 1988–2012 31
3.1 Evolution of rural movements engaged in land
occupations in Brazil, 2000–2012 66
4.1 Murder of peasants in land confl icts in Brazil, 1985–2013 99
6.1 Brazilian GDP annual growth, 1995–2013 1 29
7.1 Number of established agrarian reform settlements,
1985–2012 1 44
Tables
0.1 Distribution of agricultural landownership in Brazil, 2006 4
0.2 Offi cial Brazilian government numbers of agrarian
reform benefi ciaries, 1964–2013 7
1.1 R egional breakdown of people living on US $1.25 per day,
1981–2010 19
1.2 L and occupations by regions and participation of
Brazilian landless peasant families, 1988–2012 3 2
1.3 P eople living in poverty and absolute poverty in
Latin America and Caribbean, 1980–2012 3 4
5.1 Number of agrarian reform benefi ciaries, 1995–2013 110
7.1 Number of established agrarian reform settlements and
landless peasant families settled, 1979–2012 1 43