This land is ours now: Social mobilization and the struggle for agrarian reform in Brazil

This dissertation traces the rise of what has come to be one of the most organized and effective grassroots social movements in Brazilian history, O Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (The Movement of Rural Landless Workers, or MST). MST was formed during the 1980s as an expression of the continuing tension over inequitable land ownership. Grounded in the notion of “land for those who work it”, MST members occupy idle land, setting up temporary squatter settlements and negotiating with the government over rights to the property. Over the past fifteen years, MST has helped to establish hundreds of agrarian reform settlements throughout Brazil.; It is commonly argued that MST was formed in the 1980s because agricultural restructuring in the countryside created a “landless” class, while the return to democracy after twenty-one years of authoritarian rule provided the opportunity for large-scale mobilization. It is also assumed that MST members remain committed to the movement after they have won access to land because they hope for continuing access to government resources.; An in-depth regional study suggests that the reasons for participation in MST are much more complicated. This dissertation compares MST settlers from two different regions of Brazil—small family farmers from southern Brazil and rural wage-workers from northeastern Brazil—as a way of investigating the material and ideological implications of culture and political economy in the formation and mobilization of radical resistance.; Settlers from the southern state of Santa Catarina joined MST when the end of the agricultural frontier in the region prompted the search for new land. Settlers from the northeastern state of Pernambuco joined MST when the collapse of the sugarcane industry left the poorest rural workers with few options other than the movement. Both groups of settlers continue to participate in the movement because they have come to believe that as citizens of Brazil, the State owes them a dignified life on the land, and MST seems to be the best representative of their newfound rights. Even as the settlers attempt to create political and economic alternatives on the settlements, however, they are increasingly forced to adhere to the dictates established by the dominant institutions of State and Market. In order to protect themselves from the alienation and exploitation they generally associate with government official and market representatives, the settlers have embraced their strength in numbers and created new forms of community. The communities being formed in the two regions look very different because traditional social relations continue to shape the new ties.