Disputas territoriais entre o campesinato e o agronegócio no Corredor de Nacala em Moçambique

Abstract

This thesis seeks to analyze the Mozambican agrarian question and, empirically, examines the process of agribusiness expansion in the Nacala corridor. The introduction of neoliberal policies in the context of rural development brings a new territorial configuration, as there is a strong presence of monocultures for export. The strong presence of agricultural companies linked to agribusiness leads to the "colonization" of the Nacala corridor, because it has been transformed into a field of production of raw materials, thus allowing an enlarged reproduction of capital on a global scale. The constitution and implementation of neoliberal rural development policies, in addition to generating territorial conflicts between different agrarian models, on the one hand, agroindustry and on the other hand, peasant agriculture, have brought important changes in the agrarian space, as it is noted the emergence of new uses of the territory. The fierce attempt at sometimes forced incorporation of "modern techniques" into the peasant territories for their use, in addition to being an imperial action, is at the same time a threat to popular sovereignty. The agrarian model promoted by the state in the context of the modernization of agriculture, using only productivist and developmental discourse, hides its rentier, exploitative, expropriating, predatory nature and among others the character of barbarism in the countryside, in which the owner supports his hegemonic power. Concentration of land, expropriation and, subsequently, expulsion of natives from their territories and their precincts. The destruction of the pre-existing social fabric is part of the contradictions of agribusiness expansion. Inevitably, the process of agribusiness expansion in the Nacala Corridor has led to strong social conflicts characterized by territorial conflicts. Most of the social conflicts that occur in the Nacala Corridor are related to land and in some cases to the destruction of peasant production by pesticides used in agro-industrial enterprises. Community consultations have been the main source of social conflict, as land law is not always enforced, let alone constitutional precepts are respected by capital. Non- compliance with these legal instruments is largely due to the weakening and connivance of the state to capital, favoritism and corruption, in which the elite and state bureaucracy are involved in almost all levels or scales of exercise of the State. Power. Thanks to concessions, sometimes corrupt, criminal and without respect for the self-determination of peasants, large tracts of land are granted to foreign capitalists. Faced with the neoliberal offensive in the countryside, in the opposite direction, social movements emerge, challenging the hegemonic model of agro-industry, the introduction of transgenic seeds and the appropriation of land by capital for expansion goods, demanding agrarian reform and an alternative production model. In this case, peasant agriculture. However, despite the unfavorable conditions for their social reproduction, the peasants sought to break with the rentier and conservative structure imposed by capital. This attempt to break the peasants was made through struggles and resistance against the expansion of capital on their territories. Inserted into the dynamics of social movements, peasants fought and resisted capital, both to stay on their land and to defend and protect their “way of life”.