An examination of popular participation in agricultural production: The Brazilian Landless Rural Workers' Movement.

摘要

This thesis is an investigation into participation within the Brazilian Landless Rural Workers' Movement in the Extreme-Western Region of Santa Catarina State, with focus on the organization of the rural settlement, the regional network of rural settlements, the agricultural system within these settlements, and rural extension practices. Collection of data is highly qualitative, with the use of in-depth individual and household interviews, casual interviews and conversation, non-participant and participant observation, and physical, historical and activity mapping. Data was coded based on seven major themes: perceptions of participation, the issue of space, approaches to agricultural production, approaches to rural extension, power and knowledge, gender, and obstacles to participation. These themes are discussed in a review of existing research and major literature representing the worldviews of both the researcher and the research subjects. Results of the data analysis reveal a tendency towards the image of “space” among the perceptions of the members of the social movement in this region, and the idea of transformation of space through the participation of its occupants. Obstacles to participation are revealed in the data, and are discussed with focus on insight obtained from the research subjects.