Frontier evolution and mobility in volatile settlement of the Brazilian Amazon

The Amazon region, the last Brazilian frontier, has been the focal point of a series of inconsistent centrally planned actions aimed to boost regional development and relieve population pressure. Inconsistent policies brought to the region capitalist agents and land-hungry peasants fighting over regional resources, expanding the frontier, and fueling intra-regional mobility. The evolution of frontier settlements tends to follow a set of hierarchical stages, moving from non-capitalist to capitalist oriented forms of production. In the process, incoming ranchers and farmers displace pioneer peasants, further extending the frontier.; This work assesses the interplay between the evolution of frontiers and the associated geographical mobility and circulation in the Brazilian Amazon at the settlement level. It serves a dual goal: it explores the regularities in the frontier mobility process and reveals the meaning of frontier migration and settlement dynamics for people's lives. A combination of theoretical frameworks (positivist, historical-structural and humanistic) and multi-methods are deployed. Frontier settlers and settlements of Central Roraima State, Brazil, are used as case studies.; A model of mobility in evolving agricultural frontier settlements is developed and tested. The framework breaks the evolutionary process of agriculture settlements into three phases: pioneer, transitional, and consolidated. Data to test the validity of the model were gathered via a survey sample of migrants in diverse frontier settlements. Results demonstrate that the path of frontier evolution influences migration selectivity, source regions, histories, types, and resulting circulation spatial and temporal patterns.; Using an ethnographic approach the study also reveals the experience of migrants and the consequent nature of places. Most importantly, the qualitative analysis reveals survival strategies of migrants in a highly volatile environment, contributing to our understanding of human mobility and the evolution of frontier settlements.; Results are discussed in light of the social context in which frontier migrants are embedded, concluding with policy implications and recommendations aimed to foter stable frontier settlements, reduce intra-regional mobility, and mitigate rampant deforestation.