Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis article analyzes the role of soil in the making of authoritarian regimes and illustrates twentieth-century practices and discourses related to fertility across the globe. It compares two different approaches to and understandings of soil fertility: the first emerged in North Libya under Italian Fascist rule (1922–1943), the second in Central Brazil during the civil-military dictatorship (1964–1985). We compare two soil-forming processes that changed physical and chemical properties of the original matter and were embedded within specific ideologies of modernization. In both cases, state agendas of agrarian production played a paramount role not only in socioeconomic projects but also as an instrument to suppress opposition. Technocratic and political aspects of building and maintaining fertility were interwoven, although in different patterns in the two countries. We show how the rejuvenation of land bled into the regeneration of communities through processes that anchored the self-definition and development of these authoritarian regimes, and argue that attempts at landscape transformations through agricultural activity and strategies of fertilization are inescapable features of dictatorships. In so doing, we elaborate the concept of "authoritarian soil." The juxtaposition of these non-synchronous cases reveals how agricultural modernization developed throughout the twentieth century. Our study is rooted in environmental history and contributes to the ongoing dialogue between that field and science and technology studies. Its cross-temporal, comparative methodology draws upon sources and historiographical debates in English, Italian, and Portuguese.

This article provides an historical analysis of soybean farming in the most productive region of the world: Latin America's Southern Cone, with particular attention for Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil. Drawing from the premise that current narratives on soybean cultivation and commercialization have mostly focused on quantitative data of a global scope, this article discusses the potential of scholarly narratives informed by the critical tools of environmental history. Moreover, it proposes the adoption of a new term sublimating the multilayered history of soybeans in the Southern Cone: the Soyacene. This term attempts to shape an original narrative of soybean production in the age of the Great Acceleration, deconstructing misleading historical assumptions. Moreover, by critically discussing the impacts of soybean production, the Soyacene strives to produce a non-essentialist historical narrative in which the diverging interests of different social layers (e.g. governmental actors, private corporations, small farmers and indigenous populations) are addressed with contextualized critical tools. ; Este artículo ofrece un análisis histórico del cultivo de la soja en una de las regiones más productivas del mundo: el Cono Sur de América Latina, con especial atención en Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay y el sur de Brasil. Partiendo de la premisa de que las narrativas actuales sobre el cultivo y la comercialización de la soja se han centrado principalmente en datos cuantitativos de alcance mundial, este artículo analiza el potencial de las discusiones académicas basadas enlas herramientas críticas de la historia ambiental. Además, propone la adopción de un nuevo término que destaca la historia multiescalar de la soja en el Cono Sur: elSoyaceno. Este término intenta dar forma a una narrativa original de la producción de soja en la era de la Gran Aceleración, deconstruyendo supuestos históricos problemáticos. Además, mediante el debate crítico de los impactos de la producción de soja, elSoyacenose esfuerza por producir una narrativa histórica no esencialista en la que los intereses divergentes de las diferentes capas sociales (por ejemplo, los actores gubernamentales, las empresas privadas, los pequeños agricultores y las poblaciones indígenas) son abordados desde herramientas críticas que permiten una mayor contextualización.

The objective of this investigation is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the RADAM Project activities during the Brazilian civil-military regime (1964 -1985). The RADAM was a technoscientific project, created at the federal level in 1970, which intended to map Brazil's Northeastern and Amazon territories and thus produce systematic knowledge about their natural resources, a process considered crucial for the federal government's development plans. By analyzing original documents, we attempt to comprehend the role of the project in the authoritarian development policy set forth by the military government. We intend to demonstrate the juridical and institutional reforms that made the implementation of the project possible and then analyze how the RADAM project was effectively organized and its direct and indirect objectives. Lastly, we look into how the work of the technical agents and scientists in the social scenario of the Brazilian dictatorship. ; Resumo: O objetivo desta investigação é contribuir para uma compreensão mais profunda sobre as atividades do Projeto RADAM durante o regime civil-militar brasileiro (1964 -1985). O RADAM foi um projeto técnico-científico, criado a nível federal em 1970, que visava cartografar os territórios do Nordeste e da Amazónia do Brasil e assim produzir um conhecimento sistemático sobre os seus recursos naturais, um processo considerado crucial para os planos de desenvolvimento do governo federal. Ao analisar documentos originais, tentamos compreender o papel do projeto na política de desenvolvimento autoritária estabelecida pelo governo militar. Pretendemos demonstrar as reformas jurídicas e institucionais que tornaram possível a implementação do projeto e depois analisar a forma como o projeto RADAM foi efetivamente organizado e os seus objetivos diretos e indiretos. Finalmente, analisamos a forma como o trabalho dos agentes técnicos e dos cientistas se processou no cenário social da ditadura brasileira.