The Conflict Over Land Reform in Rural Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in Latin America, a dynamic force in world events and a country of profound contrasts where land ownership is the most skewed on earth. The struggle for land has marked Brazil's history and is destined to have even greater future impact. This book studies the Brazilian Landless Peasant Movement (Movimento Sem Terra, MST), one of the most important contemporary social movements in the world. The MST struggles to resolve inequalities in Brazil's rural regions by providing members with land and an opportunity for a dignified life. Using social movement and radical planning theories this book analyzes the practical implications of agrarian reform and organic agricultural self-subsistence. It presents a comprehensive case study of a MST permanent communal settlement (agrovila) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul; the life histories of its members open a window into the soul of the MST and its future. This work provides poignant insights for those interestedin social movements, neoliberalism, identity, marginalization, globalization, community rural development and all those with a passion for social justice.