Fome e questão agrária no Brasil

Abstract

This work is the result of an exploratory qualitative research that sought to unravel the relationship between the agrarian question and hunger in Brazil through a bibliographical study, which took place through several works that were dedicated to clarifying the theme. Also, a data survey was carried out on the Landless Workers Movement website, in the Agrária Questions Library, from which one (1) book was selected to enable the identification of actions implemented to combat hunger in Brazil by the different governments elected after redemocratization. Sixty-nine (69) actions were identified that were directly related to the fight against hunger in Brazil from 1988 to 2021, including thirty-seven (37) public policies, fourteen (14) laws, fifteen (15) historical landmarks, and three (3) surveys, making it possible to problematize them and point out other possible alternatives. The dialectical-critical method was used as a theoretical vector, with the objective of “unraveling how hunger is produced by the development of the agrarian question in the Brazilian socio-historical formation, with a view to offering subsidies that contribute to the advancement of agrarian reform”. The results show that hunger is determined by class, race and gender inequalities in Brazilian society and unfolds in other expressions of the “social question” such as incarceration of young black people and urban violence. In addition, the economic model based on large estates and monoculture for export favors the production of food as a commodity, which does not provide for overcoming the population's hunger. Workers' party governments produced more public policies for income transfer and promotion of food production for the domestic market based on public financing of family farming. However, even with the expansion of state investment in the quest to overcome the issue of hunger in Brazilian society, it appears that the measures adopted are of a palliative nature, as the concentration of land and wealth was maintained. To expand state interventions in effectively overcoming hunger, it is necessary to carry out structural reforms, for example, a more progressive tax reform to intensify income transfers and agrarian reform to enable the democratization of access to land for food production.