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Concentration and foreign ownership of land in Brazil in the context of global land grabbing

2012; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 33; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/02255189.2012.746651

2158-9100

John Wilkinson, Bastiaan Philip Reydon, Alberto Di Sabbato,

Rural Development and Agriculture

Abstract This article analyses land concentration in Brazil and the changing patterns of land acquisitions predominantly through foreign investments. First we compare census data from 1996 and 2006 and identify an acceleration of land concentration. We then show the limitations of the official registry data for capturing the phenomenon of "foreignisation", and complement this with an analysis of data from the Central Bank, which provide for some general conclusions. Our research into journalistic and business literature confirms and complements these findings. We discuss the historical context of land concentration in Brazil, highlighting its progressive institutionalisation through juridical and regulatory control of foreign access to land. The transformations underway are driven by changes in the market dynamics of key agricultural and forestry commodities, for the analysis of which we develop a typology of capital. Cet article analyse la concentration foncière au Brésil et les changements dans les modes d'acquisition de la terre résultant principalement des investissements étrangers. Notre comparaison des données des recensements de 1996 et 2006 indique d'abord une accélération de la concentration foncière. Puis, nous montrons les limites des données du registre foncier officiel pour cerner le phénomène de la main mise étrangère alors que les données de la Banque centrale permettent de tirer des conclusions sur les grandes tendances. Un examen des écrits journalistiques et d'affaires confirme et complète ces résultats. Nous traitons enfin du contexte historique de la concentration foncière brésilienne pour faire ressortir son institutionnalisation progressive à travers l'adoption de mesures juridiques et règlementaires de contrôle de l'accès à la terre. Les transformations en cours sont stimulées par les changements dans la dynamique des marchés des principaux produits agricoles et forestiers. Pour conclure, nous proposons une typologie des formes d'investissement à l'oeuvre. Résumé Cet article analyse la concentration foncière au Brésil et les changements dans les modes d'acquisition de la terre résultant principalement des investissements étrangers. Notre comparaison des données des recensements de 1996 et 2006 indique d'abord une accélération de la concentration fonciére. Puis, nous montrons les limites des données du registre foncier officiel pour cerner le phénomène de la main mise étrangère alors que les données de la Banque centrale permettent de tirer des conclusions sur les grandes tendances. Un examen des écrits journalistiques et d'affaires confirme et complète ces résultats. Nous traitons enfin du contexte historique de la concentration foncière brésilienne pour faire ressortir son institutionnalisation progressive à travers l'adoption de mesures juridiques et règlementaires de contrôle de l'accès à la terre. Les transformations en cours sont stimulées par les changements dans la dynamique des marchés des principaux produits agricoles et forestiers. Pour conclure, nous proposons une typologie des formes d'investissement à l'oeuvre. Keywords: land grabbingland concentrationBrazilforeign ownership Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge Rudi Rocha (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRO/RIO) for the work on Central Bank data and Anna Lopane (MA student and associated researcher with the Markets, Networks and Values Research Nucleus at the Graduate Centre in Development, Agriculture and Society [CPDA], Rural Federal University, Rio de Janeiro) for gathering the data. Notes Original article text was translated from Portuguese by Inessa Figueiredo and Gustavo de L.T. Oliveira. The persistence of unequal land distribution in Brazil can also be demonstrated by the Gini coefficient. Hoffman and Gomes Ney (2010, 20) note that this coefficient "presents strong stability since the Agricultural Census of 1975". The "Legal Amazon" is a juridical distinction officially designated to encompass all seven states of the north region (Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins), as well as the northern portion of Mato Grosso state in the centre-west region and most of Maranhão state in the north-east region (translator's note). The "Numbers of Agrarian Reform" available on the INCRA website include two sets of data: the area incorporated into the Agrarian Reform Programme, which totaled 48.1 million hectares in the period 1997–2006; and the area of expropriation decrees issued, which represent the area obtained for agrarian reform through expropriation on account of social interest, which includes 9.9 million hectares during the same period (see INCRA 2010). This item is based on Reydon (2007). Such as racial and gendered exclusion (translator's note). The most common irregularities in these registries are overlapping claims, or in other words, various individuals claiming to be owners of the same plot of land. When this takes place, it is said that the land contains "stories" or "floors"; for each owner with an irregular title to that land another "floor" is added. The federal government is taking a decisive step towards the regulation of rural and urban land markets in approving Law 10.267/2001, in which registries are required to pass on the information to INCRA whenever there is any change to the property in a form that specifies the property's limits cartographically (in terms of latitude and longitude). More specifically, those that involve foreign individuals resident in Brazil, foreign legal entities legally authorised to operate within the country, or Brazilian legal entities in which foreign individuals resident abroad or foreign legal entities headquartered abroad participate with any share. In this group, we included Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Luxembourg, Netherlands Antilles, Cayman Islands, Panama, Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Barbados and the Bahamas. This list is a result of a cross between the definition of tax haven used by Brazil's Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal, Normative Instruction no. 188 of August 2002) and informal conversations with capital market investors. Coöperatieve Centrale Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank B.A, headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands (translator's note). Through burning the bagasse (translator's note). The UN-REDD Programme is the United Nations collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries. The Programme was launched in 2008. See http://www.un-redd.org/AboutUN-REDDProgramme/tabid/102613/Default.aspx The common designation for the inhabitants of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul (translator's note).