engenho and assentamento
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An Impasse in the Transformation of Sugar Cane Plantations in Northeast Brazil?TRANSCRIPT
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Engenho and Assentamento: An Impasse in the Transformation of Sugar Cane Plantations in Northeast Brazil?
Carla Inguaggiato
PhD in Local Development and Global Dynamics, University of Trento
Researcher at Training Centre for International Cooperation, Trento, Italy
1Rural Sociological Society August, 1 2014
Objectives of the paper
Present the possible risks of impasses of Brazilian agrarian reform
Focus on villages’ social networks to understand if there are the conditions for social transformation
Present a comparative analysis of three agrarian reform settlements’ case studies
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Brazilian agrarian reform: risks of an impasse
Introduction on Brazilian agrarian reform: when and how?
- Several waves since Sixties, focus on 1990’s and early 2000’s: strong role of social movements
Possible causes of the risks of reproduction of previous dependency patterns:
• Land is still property of the state
• Most settlers are in debt with the state
• Quality of housing is one crucial benefit for settlers
Risk is substitution of land lords’ patronage bonds with state patronage bonds
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Why focus on social networks to study change
Northeast Brazil: area of sugar cane plantations since 1600s
Before agrarian reform villages were factory towns of sugar cane plantations (“engenhos”):very hierarchical organization of labor
After agrarian settlements (“assentamentos”): possibility of transformation of labor organization in a more polycentric one
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Why focus on networks to study change (2)
Agrarian reform and creation of a coop aimed at supportingfamily farming
BUT
Very low level of state investment and training
Very few households had previous experience in familyfarming
THEREFORE
Main opportunity of agrarian reform enable interactionbetween households with different backgrounds
If only similar households are in contact no change
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The main idea
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S. Segregation P. Partial overlap O. Complete overlap
Different scenarios of overlap between multiple socialnetworks define adaptiveness to change of communities
Scenario S and O is the least adaptive
Scenario P is the most adaptive because it allows for theinteraction between different people
Adapted from S. Parkinson (2013, p. 59)
Main research question & Hypothesis
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Main question: which “assentamento” is more similar to scenario P?
Hypothesis:Villages’ formation history
Villages’ social networks
Villages selection criteria: • Created by different organizations (a
private ass., MST, CPT)• High percentage of households’
members of coop
Data
Primary data
3 whole undirected networks: kinship, family farming employment, frequent meetings
177 households (102, 38, 37)
Households’ attributes
One point in time observation
1.1 Frequent contact networks
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Village A
Village B
Village C
!! Village!A! Village!B! Village!C!
Density! 0.034! 0.114! 0.101!
Isolates!! 2%! 5%! 0%!
Average!degree! 3.39! 4.21! 3.6!
!
1.2 Kinship networks
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Village A
Village B
Village C
VillageA VillageB VillageC
Density 0.047 0.024 0.045
Isolates 12% 50% 19%
Averagedegree 4.71 1.36 1.62
1.3 Employment in family farming networks
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Village A
Village B
Village C
VillageA VillageB VillageC
Isolates 33% 50% 54%
Density 0.014 0.024 0.021
Averagedegree 1.41 0.89 0.76
Network overlap of kinship & family farming
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Village A Village C
Village B
Comparative analysis of three agrarian reform settlements’ case studies
• Family farming favors cross-cutting ties in the 3 villages: it connects households that would be connected
• Villages differ in social networks’ structural configurations
• Village A most similar to scenario P as more social configurations are needed to explain network formation
• Vulnerability of villages because of important role of municipal politics to support family farming
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Village A contact network colored by party
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Village B contact network colored by party
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