Reclaiming the Land: The Resurgence of Rural Movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Contents......Page 6
Introduction......Page 8
References......Page 13
1. The Resurgence of Rural Movements under Neoliberalism......Page 15
The National and Agrarian Questions under Neoliberalism......Page 17
Socio-economic Change in the Countryside......Page 32
Politics in the Countryside......Page 42
Conclusion......Page 62
Notes......Page 63
References......Page 64
Part I AFRICA......Page 72
Colonial Establishment and Consolidation, 1880s–1930s......Page 74
Late Colonialism, 1940s–1950s......Page 80
Independence and Developmentalism, 1960–1970s......Page 83
The Era of Structural Adjustment, 1980s to the Present......Page 86
Labour and Land, Reproduction and Class......Page 89
Politics of Land......Page 93
Conclusion......Page 98
Notes......Page 99
References......Page 103
3. Night Harvesters, Forest Hoods and Saboteurs: Struggles over Land Expropriation in Ghana......Page 109
Land Policy in Historical Perspective......Page 110
Forest Land: Alienation, Encroachment and Resistance......Page 113
Agricultural Land: Alienation and Resistance......Page 117
Problems of Political Articulation......Page 122
Conclusion......Page 123
References......Page 124
4. Land Occupations in Malawi: Challenging the Neoliberal Legal Order......Page 125
The History of Land Alienation and Reform......Page 128
Spatial Distribution and Social Composition of Land Occupations......Page 134
Strategies and Alliances of the Landless Movement......Page 137
Conclusion......Page 144
References......Page 145
5. Land Occupations in South Africa......Page 149
Land Alienation: From Apartheid to Neoliberalism......Page 150
The Sources and Composition of Land Occupations......Page 153
Post-Apartheid Land Policy......Page 157
Strategies and Alliances of the Landless Movement......Page 159
Conclusion......Page 167
References......Page 168
6. Land Occupations and Land Reform in Zimbabwe: Towards the National Democratic Revolution......Page 172
The Political Economy of Neocolonialism......Page 173
Land Occupations and Land Reform......Page 189
The National Democratic Revolution at a Crossroads......Page 200
References......Page 209
Part II ASIA......Page 214
7. Rural Land Struggles in Asia: Overview of Selected Contexts......Page 216
Land Occupations: Moving to the Highlands......Page 217
Land Struggles and the Collapse of Collective Agriculture......Page 220
Land Occupations within Agrarian Reform Programmes......Page 224
The Dull Compulsion of the Market......Page 230
Global Migration and Rural Land Ownership......Page 234
Conclusion......Page 237
References......Page 239
8. Occupation of Land in India: Experiences and Challenges......Page 242
Land Policies and Reforms......Page 243
State-led Land Alienation......Page 246
The Dynamics of Land Occupations......Page 252
Conclusion......Page 259
Notes......Page 260
References......Page 261
9. Stretching the ‘Limits’ of Redistributive Reform: Lessons and Evidence from the Philippines under Neoliberalism......Page 264
The Political Economy of the Philippines......Page 266
Agrarian Politics before and after CARP......Page 272
Rightful Resistance: The UNORKA Experience......Page 279
Conclusion......Page 285
References......Page 287
Part III LATIN AMERICA......Page 290
10. The Dynamics of Land Occupations in Latin America......Page 292
Posing the Problem: Primitive Accumulation, Landlessness and Rural Poverty......Page 293
Three Paths towards Reform......Page 301
Social Movements in Latin America, Old and New......Page 312
Notes......Page 315
References......Page 317
11. The Occupation as a Form of Access to Land in Brazil: A Theoretical and Methodological Contribution......Page 324
Mobilization, Spatialization and Negotiation......Page 326
Processes of Occupation: Types and Forms......Page 331
The Encampments: Spaces of Struggle and Resistance......Page 337
The Occupation as a Form of Access to Land......Page 341
The Reaction of the Cardoso Government......Page 343
References......Page 346
Historical Overview of Land Policies and Reforms......Page 348
Is There Still an Agrarian Question in Brazil?......Page 351
Agrarian Reform under Cardoso’s Government......Page 355
Neoliberalism versus Agrarian Reform......Page 360
Conclusion......Page 363
References......Page 364
13. The Agrarian Question and Armed Struggle in Colombia......Page 366
The Political Economy of Colombia......Page 367
The Agrarian Political Economy......Page 371
The Social and Political Structure of the FARC–EP......Page 374
The Strategic Objectives of Armed Struggle......Page 378
Note......Page 385
References......Page 386
14. Indian Peasant Movements in Mexico: The Struggle for Land, Autonomy and Democracy......Page 390
History and Concepts......Page 391
Indian Peoples and the Mexican State......Page 395
The Zapatista Indians......Page 406
Conclusion: Beyond Ethnic Specificity......Page 412
Note......Page 414
References......Page 415
Notes on Contributors......Page 418
Index......Page 422