A formação sócio-histórica do latifúndio no sertão maranhense: estrutura e dinâmica do agronegócio no município de Grajaú - MA

Abstract

In order to make an analysis of the current socio-economic process of the Grajaú territory, it is imperative that one take into account the territorial transformations that have occurred over time. Thus, the present study has the purpose of analyzing the socio-historical formation of the latifúndio in the Maranhão hinterland and its relation with the structure and dynamics of agribusiness in the municipality of Grajaú-MA. In order to achieve the research objectives, it was fundamentally important to understand the concepts / categories that support the work, namely: territory, sertão and agribusiness; and its complexities tied to the unequal development of the capitalist mode of production; The theoretical-methodological perspective that grounded the present research was the method of historical and dialectical materialism, with ideological basis of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In addition, technical visits were made to the APEM, the Legislative Assembly of the State of Maranhão and the ATJMA, and then to the field work, where structured and semi-structured interviews were conducted, as well as photographic records. Therefore, the field research was carried out in the urban area and in the rural area of the municipality; in the latter the villages of Alto Brasil, Sabonete and Flores were visited. In the city's headquarters, research was carried out in public agencies, such as AGED, IBGE, IBAMA, Municipal Secretary of Industry and Production; Agriculture and Environment; and the Union of Workers and Rural Workers. Through the long duration, we verified that the formation of latifúndio in Grajaú, historically, was tied to the traditional families, as for example, the Léda, Moreira, Barros and Martins Jorge. However, from the 1970s and 1980s, the municipality received migrants, mainly from the Center-South of the country, in search of land and / or political domination, which intensified the territorial fragmentation and led to the mechanization of the countryside. In fact, Grajaú is now part of the global logic through the commodity market, with emphasis on the cultivation of soybeans and maize, as well as the trade in gins, beef cattle and forestry. However, we conclude that the entry of these enterprises brought the technical improvement, but not the solution of the socio-environmental problems of the municipality, making it increasingly uneven and contradictory territory, generated by the capitalist process of production.