Fragmented ruralities: processes and questions from Argentina case

Abstract

This article aims to address contemporary ruralities by approaching the different ways of "territorialization" deployed by the expansion of agribusiness. The main argument stands on two hypotheses: the first one states that contemporary ruralities are fractured; the second one poses that in order to approach these fractures, we need to consider the significant changes in the access and control of land. Therefore, we are interested in understanding dispossessions, bringing it together with the analysis of contemporary ruralities. To do so, the article draws upon the case of Argentina, focusing on the Gran Chaco Region, in the north of the country. Based on demographic and agricultural statistics, we distinguish dispossession trajectories depending on whether disposed groups are directly or indirectly employed in other farms or in other economic activities. Altogether, the trajectories explored here help understanding dispossession as complex process which is not linear, uniform or clear-cut. The "production" of surplus population appears as a central issue for research agendas. At a territorial level, we observe the emergence and/or consolidation of dynamic areas where productive and economic growth as well as high profit-making levels coexist with acute poverty indicators.