Land grabbing in Matopiba: the invisible actors of the territory
Territory. Land Market. Land Foreignization. Agricultural Frontiers.
The remodeling of structural axes in the spatial, social, and commercial dynamics of
the Matopiba territory is caused by anthropogenic actions resulting from agricultural
expansion, financed by developmentalist policies at the federal and state levels and by the
increase in international capital along with the appropriation of land and nature. This action
has been causing spatial transformations in the Matopiba territory, which is considered
Brazil's main agricultural potential. To understand these territorial relations involved in the
process of agricultural frontiers and land foreignization, this research uses two methodological
strategies: an Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) strategy for collecting, storing, and
analyzing public information, and another with a systemic focus, which according to Miguel,
Mazoyer, and Roudart (2009) is used to analyze complex systems, such as the rural areas and
agricultural systems. Based on this, the objective of this thesis is to understand the process of
land foreignization in Matopiba between the years 2013-2021. To this end, the specific
objectives are: I) to identify the social actors involved in the agricultural process of Matopiba;
II) to analyze the impacts of land foreignization processes on the land market; and, III) to
diagnose land vulnerability linked to Matopiba. For analytical purposes, the theoretical
framework is based on discussions about territory (FERNANDES, 2009; FERNANDES,
2013; CECEÑA, 2008), processes of capital expansion in the countryside (SILVA, 2016;
ELIAS, 2002; ALBANO, 2005), land foreignization (LEITE; LIMA, 2017; PEREIRA, 2017;
FAIRBAIRN, 2015), agricultural frontiers (SANTOS; SANO, 2015; MARTINS, 1996;
FERNANDES; FREDERICO; PEREIRA, 2019; MARTINS, 2003). In addition to this, we
also bring research that focused on Matopiba. The partial results of this research point out
that, among the Matopiba states, in the interval from 2013 to 2020, according to DATALUTA
Estrangeirização, Bahia was the territory with the highest recurrence of transnational
companies, with diversified and consolidated uses of land. Regarding land use, attention is
drawn to alternative energies (solar and wind energy) concentrated in Bahia and southwestern
Piauí, with investments from Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Norway. Land use in
Tocantins is diversified with the production of grains in rotation and the marketing of fruits
and tree monocultures. The SNCR database shows a diversification of nationalities in the
municipalities that make up Matopiba, especially in the municipalities of Palmas - TO,
Lizarda - TO, São Desidério - BA, and Correntina - BA. The transformation of land into a
land use process is the main generator of economic value, and therefore it is considered
interdisciplinary, plural, and complex. Therefore, the land market in Matopiba is a
potentializer of globalization applied in the territory of Matopiba.