Social movements, public policies and the construction of markets for peasant family farmers in Chile

Abstract

This article discusses the the social movements' interpretations of the policies of the National Institute of Agricultural Development (Indap) for the construction of food markets for peasant family farming in Chile. The research was carried out between October 2017 and February 2018, through interviews with leaders of the National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women (Anamuri), the Latin American Agroecological Movement (Maela) and the United Peasant and Ethnic People's Movement of Chile (Mucech), as well as interviews with Indap policymakers and observation of marketing experiences. The results reveal, in the first place, the paradox of the State central role in the Chilean neoliberal economy, considering that Indap is the main coordinator of the alternative market initiatives for peasant family farming in Chile. Secondly, it highlights the fragmentation of social movements and their conflicts of interpretation regarding marketing experiences, which also expresses the lack of unity in the definition of strategies for family and peasant agriculture.