Twists and Turns of Land reform in Latin America: From Old to Current Debates and Beyond (FRIED Seminar)
Dr Elisa Botella Rodriguez, Lecturer in Economic History at the University of Salamanca (hosted by Marisa Wilson, funded by ERASMUS+ Mobility Grant and FRIED)
Wednesday, September 25th, 2:30-4pm
2.13 Geography Building, University of Edinburgh
In recent decades there have been major changes to the ways rural social movements think about agrarian reform, land and territory. National and transnational rural social movements have emerged 'from below', driving a new type of demand for land, territory and 21st century agrarian reform that transcends state spheres but has the capacity to influence social policies. Agrarian reform has therefore reappeared on the current agendas of social movements and international organisations (such as FAO 2014 year for family farming). It is also at the forefront of academic debates, as shown by recent special issues of the Journal of Peasant Studies (2010-2014) and the Journal of Agrarian Change (2017). The re-reading of agrarian reform in all its historical, regional, institutional and global complexity can be a key instrument in the search for alternatives for small 'glocalised' rural producers. This seminar will explore the twists and turns of Latin America’s land reforms from 1960 to the ‘Global Era’, the main political actors involved in the promotion of land redistribution programmes and how state and peasants’ relations have adapted and evolved over time. The seminar will conclude with some general outcomes of land reforms in the region.