State and Countryside: Development Policy and Agrarian Politics in Latin America (The Johns Hopkins Studies in Development)

What is responsible for the persistence of underdevelopment in rural Latin America? Merilee S. Grindle analyzes the role of public policies in stimulating agrarian change in Latin America from 1940 to 1980. This book provides an interpretation of 4 decades of change in rural Latin America, exploring the relationship of capitalist expansion in agriculture to the plight of the rural poor and the deepening problem of underdevelopment. It is centrally concerned with analysing the role of state policies in stimulating capitalist forms of agricultural development and in managing the social unrest and dislocation caused by deteriorating conditions among Latin America's peasantry. It deals with the period from 1940 to 1980, with emphasis on the 1960s and 1970s. Assessing the cases of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, it is concluded that state policies aimed at promoting development or reform have played critical and multifaceted roles in shaping current conditions. When policies such as agrarian reform and rural development are promoted, it is indicated that they are utilized primarily to increase social control rather than improve living standards among the rural poor

what Is Responsible For The Persistence Of Underdevelopment In Rural Latin America? Merilee S. Grindle Analyzes The Role Of Public Policies In Stimulating Agrarian Change In Latin America From 1940 To 1980.

Assessing The Cases Of Mexico, Colombia, And Brazil, She Concludes That State Policies Aimed At Promoting Development Or Reform Have Played Critical And Multifaceted Roles In Shaping Current Conditions.

In Focusing Specifically On The Motivations And Actions Of State Planners And Policy Makers, Grindle Provides An Alternative To Traditional Class Analysis.

Since 1940, Latin American Countries Have Intervened Extensively In Rural Areas To Encourage Agricultural Modernization And Rural Development.

Attempts To Stimulate Economic Growth, Engender Social Peace, And Expand The Influence Of The State Apparatus, Grindle Writes, Are Closely Linked To Efforts By State Elites To Enhance The Sustainability Of The Regime In Power.

The State Does Not Automatically Reflect And Reinforce Class Relationships, But Has A Variable Capacity For Autonomous Decision Making And Has Specific Interests To Achieve That May Bring It Into Conflict Or Bargaining Relationships With Dominant Class Interests In Society.

State Prescriptions For Agricultural Modernization Have Been More Concerned With Productivity Than With Equity.

Moreover, The Task Of Shaping Policy Is Complicated By The Fact That Previous Development Policies Supported The Emergence Of A Small Class Of Agrarian Entrepreneurs Who Acquired The Economic And Political Power To Demand Continued Favorable Treatment From The State.

When Policies Such As Agrarian Reform And Rural Development Are Promoted, Grindle Indicates, They Are Utilized Primarily To Increase Social Control And Manage Political Protest Rather Than To Redistribute Land Or Improve Living Standards Among The Rural Poor.

Analysis of the role of development policy in stimulating capitalist agricultural development and addressing rural area poverty of the peasantry in Latin America - covering 1940-1980, considers the origins of underdevelopment, and peasant movements, as well as the legacy of colonialism and the ideology of modernization; examines agrarian reform initiatives and integrated approaches to rural development; includes case studies of social conflicts in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. Bibliography, graphs, statistical tables This book presents and interpretation of four decades of change in rural Latin America, exploring the relationship of capitalist expansion in agriculture to the plight of the rural poor and to the deepening problem of underdevelopment.