A Few Distinctions between the Agrarian Issue In Europe and in Contemporary Latin America

Abstract

Having previously defined the conceptual field of the agrarian issue, the article then discusses its reasons and implications in Latin America, especially in Brazil, in relation to its specific characteristics in Europe, particularly in France. In Latin America, the agrarian issue not only reflects the nature of the State and class relations, but also conditions the very organization of the State and its relations with civil society; the issue, in Latin America, contains crucial economic as well as social and political dimensions. In Europe, the manner in which the State is constituted and social classes are distinguished does not produce an agrarian issue in the terms it assumes in Latin America: economic and social issues are dealt with through sectorial political measures which have permitted their "solution" in an integrated way.