Heterogeneity and instability : theoretical–methodological outcomes of three investigations on land and agrarian movements and the state

The article presents a theoretical–methodological proposal to research movements and its connections based on the associations they estab-lish. The first investigation focuses on the transformations of the South African Landless People’s Movement, the second on interactions between Brazilian rural movements and the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform, the third focuses on the transnational ties of the Brazilian National Confederation of Agricultural Workers. We pro-duce an ontological definition of movements and the state as collectives whose existence is defined by continuous assemblages of heterogene-ous and unstable elements. Those collectives are not enclosed analytical units, but contingent and contextual. Methodologically, we suggest the observation of the processes in the long term to grasp the continu-ous constructions of those collectives, even before they reach public expression. Controversies are analytical categories for understanding which elements allow things to take the course we analyze

Los movimientos y el estado como colectivos inestables y heterogéneos : una agenda teórico-metodológica basada en tres estudios de caso

Neste texto apresenta-se uma proposta teórico-metodológica para pesquisar movimentos e estado tomando como base as associações que estabelecem a partir de três pesquisas: sobre as transformações do Landless People’s Movement (LPM) da África do Sul, as interações entre movimentos rurais brasileiros e o Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária (Incra) na implementação da política de reforma agrária, e a transnacionalização da Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura (Contag). O principal efeito do artigo é uma definição ontológica de movimentos e do estado como coletivos cuja existência é marcada por contínuos agenciamentos de elementos heterogêneos e instáveis. Não sendo possível tomá-los como unidades analíticas fechadas, cabe às pesquisas observar construções contínuas de grupos e coletivos contingentes às associações contextuais que se formam – desde antes, portanto, de sua expressão pública. Para tanto, propõe-se que sejam compreendidos quais elementos, agenciados de forma específica e descritível, permitem que as coisas tomem os cursos que normalmente observamos e analisamos. Sugere-se ainda o emprego metodológico das controvérsias como categorias analíticas e a observação dos processos na longa duração.This paper presents a theoretical-methodological proposal to re-search movements and the state based on the associations they establish. It is grounded in three investigations: the first one about the transformations of the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) of South Africa, the second about interactions between Brazilian rural movements and the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra); the third focuses on the transnational ties of the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag). The main effect of the article is an ontological definition of movements and the state as collectives whose existence is defined by continuous assemblages of heterogeneous and unstable elements. Since it is not possible to take them as enclosed analytical units, it is up to the research to observe continuous constructions of groups and collectives which are contingent and contextual. Researchers will often follow these processes before their public expression. The proposal is to understand which elements allow things to take the courses we normally observe and analyze. It is also su-ggested the methodological use of controversies as analytical categories and the observation of the processes in the long term.Este texto presenta una propuesta teórico--metodológica para investigar movimientos y el estado basada en las asociaciones que establecen a partir de tres investigaciones: sobre las transformaciones del Landless People’s Movement (LPM) de Sudáfrica, las interacciones entre movimientos rurales de Brasil y el Instituto Nacional de Colonización y Reforma Agraria (Incra) en la implementación de la política de reforma agraria, y, por ende, la transnacionalización de la Confe-deración Nacional de Trabajadores Agrícolas (Contag). El efecto principal del artículo es una definición ontoló-gica de los movimientos y del estado como colectivos cuya existencia está marcada por conjuntos continuos de elementos heterogéneos e inestables. Dado que no es posible tomarlos como unidades analíticas cerradas, corresponde a las investigaciones observar construc-ciones continuas de grupos y colectivos supeditados a las asociaciones contextuales que se forman, desde antes de su expresión pública. Con este fin, se propone comprender qué elementos, organizados de manera específica y descriptiva, permiten que las cosas tomen los cursos que normalmente observamos y analizamos. También se sugiere el uso metodológico de contro-versias como categorías analíticas y la observación de los procesos a largo plazo

Disputing food systems : responses of social movements to the Covid-19 pandemic

Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar como ativismos rurais no Brasil reagiram à pandemia da Covid-19. Para tanto, mapeamos as ações das principais organizações que congregam agricultores familiares e camponeses no país, nos primeiros sete meses da pandemia, de março a setembro de 2020: Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores Rurais Agricultores e Agricultoras Familiares (Contag), Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras na Agricultura Familiar do Brasil (Contraf-Brasil), Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores (MPA) e Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST). As fontes de dados são notícias publicadas nos sites de cada organização. Para entender como a pandemia impactou algumas de suas práticas pré-existentes, propomos uma tipologia composta por cinco formas de ação: doação, interpelação institucional, criação de mercados alternativos, ação direta, e ação informacional.In this paper, we discuss how rural activism in Brazil reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic. We analyze actions of the four main family farming and peasants’ organizations in Brazil along the initial seven months of the pandemic, from March to September 2020: National Confederation of Men and Women Workers in Family Farming in Brazil (Contag), National Confederation of Men and Women Rural Farmer Workers and Family Farmers (Contraf-Brasil), Small Farmers Movement (MPA) and Landless Workers Movement (MST). Data sources are the news published on each organization’s websites. In order to understand how the pandemic impacted some of their preexisting practices, we propose a typology composed of five forms of action: donation, advocacy, alternative markets, direct action and informational action

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Ação coletiva transnacional e Mercosul : organizações da sociedade civil do Brasil e do Paraguai na construção da Reunião Especializada sobre Agricultura Familiar (Reaf)

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciência Política, 2011.O trabalho enfoca a experiência de participação de organizações rurais da sociedade civil do Brasil e do Paraguai na Reunião Especializada sobre Agricultura Familiar (Reaf) do Mercosul, entre 2004 e 2010. Trata-se de sindicatos e movimentos sociais que partem para a ação transnacional em busca de garantir que suas demandas sejam levadas em conta pelos governos nacionais e pelo bloco comercial por meio de políticas diferenciadas em relação àquelas destinadas à agricultura patronal. O texto resgata o processo de construção da Reaf, com foco na ação das organizações; busca compreender como as organizações justificam sua participação na Reaf, entender como cada organização constrói seus caminhos para a transnacionalidade e apontar alguns dos elementos que contribuem para que elas se mantenham presentes nas reuniões ao longo dos anos. Reversamente, o trabalho busca entender por que algumas organizações optam por não acompanhar a Reaf. Atuar para além das fronteiras nacionais não é algo que está dado pelas mudanças na economia globalizada ou por alguma alteração no cenário político nacional, mas uma decisão das organizações da sociedade civil, que constroem também a maneira como será realizada sua inserção transnacional. Essas opções não são feitas a partir de um espaço vazio, mas são relacionadas às visões de mundo, posições políticas, objetivos, aliados, recursos, vontades, possibilidades das organizações; estão ligadas à posição que os atores ocupam nas redes das quais fazem parte. _________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis research focuses on the participation of rural civil society organizations from Brazil and Paraguay in the Reunião Especializada sobre Agricultura Familiar (Reaf), of Mercosul from 2004 to 2010. These organizations are unions and social movements that act in the transnational arena aiming to guarantee that their claims will be heard by the governments of the four countries that compose Mercosul and by the Mercosul itself. They look forward to building policies that differ from those created to support the agribusiness. This research traces the process of creation of the Reaf by looking at the action of civil society organizations. After that, it focuses on how organizations justify their participation in the Reaf and seeks to understand how each civil society organization builds its own pathways to transnationality. Finally, it indicates some elements that contribute for their presence and participation in Reaf throughout the years. Besides, this text seeks to understand why some organizations prefer not to participate on the Reaf. Acting beyond the national borders is not given by changes in international globalized economy or by some change on the domestic political scenario. It is a decision of the civil society organizations, which also build the form through which their international action will be developed. These options are not made in an empty space; they are related to the civil society organizations´ political positions, points of view, aims, allies, resources, desires. They are related to the position that the actors occupy in the networks they are engaged in

Entre la procédure et le fonds: la participation politique et les sens de la démocratie

Dentre os estudos de cultura política e experiências participativas, a participação política comumente tem sido relacionada a valores democráticos e ao aprofundamento da democracia. No entanto, ainda existe uma lacuna explicativa sobre como ativistas de diferentes setores da sociedade civil pensam e concebem a democracia. Ancorado na pergunta: “Como pessoas com diferentes trajetórias de ativismo entendem a democracia?”, este artigo visa fornecer subsídios teóricos e empíricos sobre como cidadãs e cidadãos com experiências participativas diversas compreendem a democracia e, alternativamente, como concebem regimes não democráticos. A partir de análises das conversas produzidas por grupo focais realizados em Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre e Montes Claros, entre os meses de março e setembro de 2019, o artigo demonstra como os entendimentos sobre democracia variam a depender do perfil e dos vínculos dos participantes.Among the literature on political culture and participatory experiences, participation has commonly been related to democratic values and the deepening of democracy. However, there is still an explanatory gap regarding how activists from different sectors of civil society think about and conceive democracy. Anchored in the question, “How do people with different trajectories of activism understand democracy?”, this article aims to provide a theoretical and empirical explanation of how citizens with different participatory experiences understand democracy and, alternatively, how they conceive non-democratic regimes. Based on analysis of the conversations produced by focus groups held in Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, and Montes Claros, from March to September 2019, the article will demonstrate how understandings about democracy vary depending on the profile and the links of the participants.Entre los estudios de cultura política y experiencias participativas, la participación se ha relacionado comúnmente con los valores democráticos y la profundización de la democracia. Sin embargo, todavía existe una brecha explicativa sobre cómo los activistas de diferentes sectores de la sociedad civil piensan y conciben la democracia. Anclado en la pregunta: “¿Cómo entienden la democracia las personas con diferentes trayectorias de activismo?”, este artículo tiene como objetivo brindar subsidios teóricos y empíricos sobre cómo los ciudadanos con diversas experiencias participativas entienden la democracia y, alternativamente, cómo conciben regímenes no democráticos. A partir del análisis de las conversaciones producidas a través de grupos focales realizados en Belo Horizonte, Puerto Alegre y Montes Claros, entre marzo y septiembre de 2019, el artículo demostrará cómo los entendimientos sobre la democracia varían en función del perfil y los vínculos de los participantes.Parmi les études sur la culture politique et les expériences participatives, la participation a généralement été liée aux valeurs démocratiques et à l'approfondissement de la démocratie. Cependant, il existe encore un écart explicatif sur la façon dont les militants de différents secteurs de la société civile pensent et conçoivent la démocratie. Ancré dans la question “Comment les personnes ayant des trajectoires d'activisme différentes comprennent-elles la démocratie ?”, cet article vise à fournir un soutien théorique et empirique sur la façon dont les citoyens ayant différentes expériences participatives comprennent la démocratie et, alternativement, comment ils conçoivent les régimes non démocratiques. A partir de l'analyse des conversations réalisées par des groupes de discussion tenus à Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre et Montes Claros, entre mars et septembre 2019, l'article démontrera comment les compréhensions de la démocratie varient en fonction du profil et des liens des participants

Entre la procédure et le fonds : la participation politique et les sens de la démocratie

Dentre os estudos de cultura política e experiências participativas, a participação política comumente tem sido relacionada a valores democráticos e ao aprofundamento da democracia. No entanto, ainda existe uma lacuna explicativa sobre como ativistas de diferentes setores da sociedade civil pensam e concebem a democracia. Ancorado na pergunta: “Como pessoas com diferentes trajetórias de ativismo entendem a democracia?”, este artigo visa fornecer subsídios teóricos e empíricos sobre como cidadãs e cidadãos com experiências participativas diversas compreendem a democracia e, alternativamente, como concebem regimes não democráticos. A partir de análises das conversas produzidas por grupo focais realizados em Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre e Montes Claros, entre os meses de março e setembro de 2019, o artigo demonstra como os entendimentos sobre democracia variam a depender do perfil e dos vínculos dos participantes.Among the literature on political culture and participatory experiences, participation has commonly been related to democratic values and the deepening of democracy. However, there is still an explanatory gap regarding how activists from different sectors of civil society think about and conceive democracy. Anchored in the question, “How do people with different trajectories of activism understand democracy?”, this article aims to provide a theoretical and empirical explanation of how citizens with different participatory experiences understand democracy and, alternatively, how they conceive non-democratic regimes. Based on analysis of the conversations produced by focus groups held in Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, and Montes Claros, from March to September 2019, the article will demonstrate how understandings about democracy vary depending on the profile and the links of the participants.Entre los estudios de cultura política y experiencias participativas, la participación se ha relacionado comúnmente con los valores democráticos y la profundización de la democracia. Sin embargo, todavía existe una brecha explicativa sobre cómo los activistas de diferentes sectores de la sociedad civil piensan y conciben la democracia. Anclado en la pregunta: “¿Cómo entienden la democracia las personas con diferentes trayectorias de activismo?”, este artículo tiene como objetivo brindar subsidios teóricos y empíricos sobre cómo los ciudadanos con diversas experiencias participativas entienden la democracia y, alternativamente, cómo conciben regímenes no democráticos. A partir del análisis de las conversaciones producidas a través de grupos focales realizados en Belo Horizonte, Puerto Alegre y Montes Claros, entre marzo y septiembre de 2019, el artículo demostrará cómo los entendimientos sobre la democracia varían en función del perfil y los vínculos de los participantes.Parmi les études sur la culture politique et les expériences participatives, la participation a généralement été liée aux valeurs démocratiques et à l'approfondissement de la démocratie. Cependant, il existe encore un écart explicatif sur la façon dont les militants de différents secteurs de la société civile pensent et conçoivent la démocratie. Ancré dans la question “Comment les personnes ayant des trajectoires d'activisme différentes comprennent-elles la démocratie ?”, cet article vise à fournir un soutien théorique et empirique sur la façon dont les citoyens ayant différentes expériences participatives comprennent la démocratie et, alternativement, comment ils conçoivent les régimes non démocratiques. A partir de l'analyse des conversations réalisées par des groupes de discussion tenus à Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre et Montes Claros, entre mars et septembre 2019, l'article démontrera comment les compréhensions de la démocratie varient en fonction du profil et des liens des participants