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The Afro-Brazilian Collective Land: Analyzing Institutional Changes in the Past Two Hundred Years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2022

Célia Futemma ,
Lúcia Chamlian Munari  and
Cristina Adams
Célia Futemma
Affiliation:
State University of Campinas
Lúcia Chamlian Munari
Affiliation:
University of Hohenheim, Germany
Cristina Adams
Affiliation:
University of São Paulo
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Abstract

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Afro-Brazilian communities (quilombos) hold rights to a collective territory where they live and that supports their livelihoods. Historically, Afro-Brazilian smallholders have been subjected to contradictory programs and policies that either restrain traditional practices such as shifting cultivation or aim at empowering these communities. This is the first attempt to adopt the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) theoretical framework to study the historical transformation of the institutional structure in Afro-Brazilian territories of the Ribeira Valley, São Paulo, Brazil. Our results reveal a history of long-term, continuous relationships between locals and external groups, sometimes combative and at other times cooperative, reflecting tensions and contradictions. As a result, quilombo communities have gradually emerged as leaders in an institutional arrangement that is moving toward co-governance or partnerships. We believe that if these communities achieve full economic and political autonomy, they might be able to self-govern their territories and reconcile the dual goals of local development and environmental conservation.

Resumo

Resumo

As comunidades Afro-Brasileiras (Quilombo) detêm direitos ao território coletivo, o qual representa o local de moradia e a base de seus sustentos. Historicamente, as populações rurais de Afro-Brasileiros têm sido submetidas a programas contraditórios e políticas que, ora restringem as práticas de cultivo itinerante, ora visam o fortalecimento político das comunidades. Esta é primeira tentativa de aplicar o arcabouço teórico análise institucional e de desenvolvimento (IAD) para estudar a transformação histórica da estrutura institucional dos territórios quilombolas do Vale do Ribeira, São Paulo, Brasil. Nossos resultados revelam uma história longa de relações contínuas entre os locais e grupos externos, relações essas, algumas vezes conflitiva, outras vezes, cooperativa, as quais refletem tensões e contradições. Como resultado, observa-se, gradualmente, a emergência de lideranças nas comunidades quilombolas dentro dessa estrutura institucional que se move em direção a uma co-governança ou de compartilhamento. Acreditamos que se essas comunidades alcançarem completa autonomia política e econômica, elas serão capazes de autogovernar seus territórios e conciliar o objetivo duplo, desenvolvimento local e conservação ambiental.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 50 , Issue 4 , 2015 , pp. 26 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by the Latin American Studies Association

Footnotes

The first author gratefully acknowledges the support of the FAPESP for research funds (no. 07/53308-1). We thank the State University of Campinas and the University of São Paulo for their academic support. We owe gratitude to all people from the quilombola communities in the Ribeira Valley (state of São Paulo) and all other key informants for making the collection of data possible. The authors assume full responsibility for the content presented in this study.

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