Questão agrária em Minas Gerais: análise do desenvolvimento capitalista no campo a partir das principais cadeias produtivas do agronegócio 2002- 2020

Abstract

This study centers on the agrarian question in the state of Minas Gerais, with a particular focus on the role played by the prevailing pattern of capital reproduction. The analysis is grounded in five of the state's principal agribusiness production chains: the sugar-alcohol sector, coffee, grains, mining, and cattle. The core objective is to understand the mechanisms through which land rent is appropriated under the current regime of financialized capital, and how these mechanisms are intrinsically linked to land concentration. The research is situated within the broader context of the financialization of the economy and the re-primarization of Brazilian agricultural exports, highlighting the inherent contradictions of the capitalist development model and the role of the state in upholding private land ownership. The study identifies the 1970s—marked by a structural crisis of capital—as a decisive turning point, as the implementation of the Green Revolution, strongly supported by the state, laid the groundwork for the consolidation of agribusiness in Brazil. Through a combination of historical and theoretical analysis, the study seeks to deepen the understanding of land tenure relations and the political disputes surrounding the struggle for land in Minas Gerais. It emphasizes the presence and expansion of agribusiness across all twelve mesoregions of the state, aiming to underscore the shared characteristics in capital exploitation processes and their spatial distribution and organization. By drawing on authors who have conducted in-depth analyses of diverse regional realities, the study concludes that the relationship between land concentration and the effects of capital exploitation is significantly intensified by the current phase of capitalist development— namely, the financialization of the economy