Land Disputes Dynamics: The Social Construction of Categories by Social Organizations

FIGURELLI, MÓNICA FERNANDA

Berlín

Conferencia; Second Annual Conference of desiguALdades.net: New Differences, Persistent Inequalities? Latin American Experiences; 2011

Freie Universität Berlin e Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut (Proyecto: desiguALdades.net)

In this project, I explore the meanings that categories like "land conflict" and other related concepts such as "agrarian reform", "country", "peasant" and "rural", among others, acquire for some agents in Brazil, Argentina and beyond the borders of both countries. Taking into account the historical construction of these categories permeated by social inequalities (around land tenure, for example) and from a comparative and multi-sited approach, I explore how these categories are updated at different levels of analysis investigating the conditions and social practices that give them meaning. In this way, I propose a study that looks at the flow of relationships at various scales and that gives life to the concepts mentioned.  Particularly, I am interested on the participations of international, national and local organizations, agencies and movements of the so-called "agricultural sector" in the constructions of the categories in question. What is the place of such organizations and movements in this process? What relationships and social dynamics are revealed when studying these categories?