Adiós Pampa mía: impactos socioambientales de la expansión de la soja en el sur de Brasil

摘要

The soybean expansion (Glycine max) is a phenomenon of great proportions in Brazil, as a result of decades of policies geared towards export crops. The present article approaches this process from a case study carried out in Jaguar?o, a town located in the extreme south of the country. It is a physiographic area (Pampa biome) that has a small number of conservation units compared to other Brazilian biomes. The town of Jaguar?o has in recent years converted 37,000 hectares of its area into soybean crops, cultivated in the majority by farmers coming from other regions of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. These farmers have a life trajectory linked to agriculture and especially to the soybean crop. The focus of the research was to analyze the perception of the local actors, making use of documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The study showed the great distance that separates defenders and detractors from what has been called agricultural ?soyzation?. Arguments in favor focus on a supposed job creation and income generation at the local level. At the opposite extreme, there are positions that denounce changes in the landscape, increased use of agrochemicals, destruction of native land, biodiversity, water resources and of a culture linked to extensive livestock and sustainable management of natural resources. It was verified that with the soybean expansion, the reproductive capacity of the local way of life was affected by the dynamics of soybean crops, with changes in the use of natural resources and habitual productive behavior.