Cooperative

Stock, P.V., Forney, J., Emery, S.B., Wittmaan, H. (2014). Neoliberal natures on the farm: Farmer autonomy and cooperation in comparative perspective. Journal of Rural Studies 36: 411-422.

The struggle over autonomy in farming is emblematic of the philosophical and practical tensions
inherent in solving multi-scalar environmental issues. We explore the multiplicities of autonomy

Diniz, A.S. and B. Gilbert (2013)"Socialist values and cooperation in Brazil’s landless rural workers’ movement." Latin American Perspectives 40(4): 19-34.

When the Movimento de Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra do Brasil (Movement of
Landless Rural Workers’ of Brazil—MST) occupies land and forms autonomous agricultural
communities, it aspires to achieve the supremacy of labor over capital and to embody
socialist values. However, a policy of organizing production cooperatives on its settlements
in the early 1990s was unsuccessful, principally because of a failure fully to respect
traditional forms of work and sociability. However, the MST learned from its early mistakes

Blesh, J., and H. Wittman (2015) "“Brasilience:” assessing resilience in land reform settlements in the Brazilian Cerrado." Human ecology 43(4): 531-546.

This study assessed the socioecological resilience
of family farms in three land reform settlements in
Mato Grosso, Brazil, located in the ecologically threatened
Cerrado biome. Using focus groups, a household
survey, and analysis of soil samples we characterized
farming systems and quantified indicators of resilience,
which we contextualized with a qualitative analysis of
distributions of power and access to rights and resources.
In Mato Grosso, where diversified agriculture
is a marginal presence in an industrialized agricultural

Tarlau, R. 2013. Coproducing Rural Public Schools in Brazil : Contestation, Clientelism, and the Landless Workers' Movement. Politics & Society 41(3) 395 –424

The Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) has been the principal protagonist
developing an alternative educational proposal for rural public schools in Brazil.
This article analyzes the MST’s differential success implementing this proposal
in municipal and state public schools. The process is both participatory—activists
working with government officials to implement MST goals—and contentious—the
movement mobilizing support for its education initiatives through various forms of