Theses defended
O agronegócio neoliberal, a sustentabilidade ambiental e a exploração do trabalho braçal em canaviais de São Paulo
October 29, 2024
Labour Relations, Social Inequalities and Trade Unionism
Stefania Barca
The objective of this thesis is to analyze the sustainability of the biofuel agribusiness in Pontal do Paranapanema (SP) as a socio-ecological problem. The hypothesis concerns the existence of an interconnection between the depletion of manual labor in sugarcane fields and environmental degradation. The main question deals with how the exploitation of this workforce (sugarcane cutters) relates to soil depletion, considering the impact of erosion, the high consumption of pesticides and the gradual loss of nutrients. Next, we question whether it is possible to dream about the political ecology of biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) in Brazil. This is because, with the advancement of agribusiness, embracing 'new agricultural frontiers' in the state of São Paulo, public policies capable of preserving the environment, affected by the intensive monoculture of sugarcane and its production of biofuels, will hardly emerge. We asked whether 'sustainable' sugarcane cultivation would be viable without harming local ecosystems.
The theoretical framework was based on political ecology as an interdisciplinar field of studies. Political ecology uses conceptual tools such as geopolitics, fair trade, participatory democracy, organic agriculture, labor ecology, environmental liabilities, sustainable degrowth. We address the neoliberal capitalist economy and the ecology of biofuels in Brazil, in relation to development and labor policies, and agroecological alternatives. The methodology involved bibliographical research on scientific studies focused on soil and water conditions in the Pontal region, plus 56 unstructured interviews with workers at the Atena, Alto Alegre and other plants. The ethnographic research sought to describe the social composition of sugarcane cutters, most of them migrants from the North and Northeast.
As results of the study, we confirm that the sugar and alcohol sector, supported by the federal and state governments, does not show signs of change in its policy of exploiting sugarcane agribusiness, which is environmentally predatory, nor in the overexploitation of labor in sugarcane fields in Pontal. On the contrary, the policy of encouraging the construction of new agro-industries continues to prevail, to expand sugarcane plantations in the territory of São Paulo. It remains therefore worth asking: what is the reason for such a profitable economic activity to maintain the remuneration of rural workers at a subsistence wage? In the conclusions, we defend an agroecological model aimed at family farming, contrary to the current conservative Brazilian agriculture, which is an excellent consumer of pesticides.
Keywords: neoliberal agribusiness, surgarcane cutter, burnout, Pontal do Paranapanema, enviromental, agroecology
Public Defence date
Doctoral Programme
Supervision
Abstract
The theoretical framework was based on political ecology as an interdisciplinar field of studies. Political ecology uses conceptual tools such as geopolitics, fair trade, participatory democracy, organic agriculture, labor ecology, environmental liabilities, sustainable degrowth. We address the neoliberal capitalist economy and the ecology of biofuels in Brazil, in relation to development and labor policies, and agroecological alternatives. The methodology involved bibliographical research on scientific studies focused on soil and water conditions in the Pontal region, plus 56 unstructured interviews with workers at the Atena, Alto Alegre and other plants. The ethnographic research sought to describe the social composition of sugarcane cutters, most of them migrants from the North and Northeast.
As results of the study, we confirm that the sugar and alcohol sector, supported by the federal and state governments, does not show signs of change in its policy of exploiting sugarcane agribusiness, which is environmentally predatory, nor in the overexploitation of labor in sugarcane fields in Pontal. On the contrary, the policy of encouraging the construction of new agro-industries continues to prevail, to expand sugarcane plantations in the territory of São Paulo. It remains therefore worth asking: what is the reason for such a profitable economic activity to maintain the remuneration of rural workers at a subsistence wage? In the conclusions, we defend an agroecological model aimed at family farming, contrary to the current conservative Brazilian agriculture, which is an excellent consumer of pesticides.
Keywords: neoliberal agribusiness, surgarcane cutter, burnout, Pontal do Paranapanema, enviromental, agroecology