Agrarian dynamics and socio-territorial movements in Araguaia Valley - Microregion of Canarana in Mato Grosso - Brazil

Abstract

The Araguaia Valley, in the Northeast Mesoregion of Mato Grosso, is characterized by multiple economic and social transformations resulting from the monoculture of grains and the expansion of agribusiness. With it, there has been a territorialization of contemporary economic activities that face a large number of areas occupied by indigenous and family farmers settled by the National Agrarian Reform Program (PNRA), specifically in the Microregion of Canarana, where locates the municipalities of Água Boa, Querência, and Santo Antônio do Leste, locus of this research. Given this scenario, the objectives of this work are to identify the spatial distribution of indigenous settlements and lands and to register the actions of socio-territorial movements, elucidating the different conflicts existing between indigenous territories, agrarian reform settlements, and agribusiness in the period between 2000 and 2016. Our methodological procedures centered on bibliographic research and data collection from secondary sources. We conclude that in the Araguaia Valley, the advancement of agribusiness and its results reveal the conflicts between the researched groups. In some moments, they fight among themselves without realizing the ideological construction favoring the concentration of the land structure that permeates such acts. Concomitantly, resilience processes are registered, such as the demonstrations involving indigenous groups and family farmers hoping to stay on the land and improving their quality of life.