Presented By: UM Sustainable Food Systems Initiative
Brazil at a Crossroads: Environmental and Food Politics Under the Bolsonaro Regime: The geopolitics of Brazilian soy in the age of Bolsonaro and the US-China trade war
Dr. Gustavo de L.T. Oliveira
Zoom Option: https://umich.zoom.us/j/94855123044
The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the School for Environment and Sustainability, and the Sustainable Food Systems Initiative present:
Brazil at a Crossroads: Environmental and Food Politics Under the Bolsonaro Regime
When Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing populist, was elected as Brazil's president in 2018, people began wondering about the consequences of that election for the environment, food systems, and trade, among many other social and ecological issues. In this lecture series, Hannah Wittman, Gustavo Oliveira, and Susanna Hecht will explore the impacts of the Bolsonaro regime on food security and agroecology, on the conservation of the Amazon forest, and on international trade with China, as well as bright spots of resistance and innovation towards sustainability.
Dr. Gustavo de L.T. Oliveira | The geopolitics of Brazilian soy in the age of Bolsonaro and the US-China trade war
Soy plays a major role in the development of Brazilian agribusiness, and in turn in Brazilian geopolitical power as well. It is the basis for much Brazilian land ownership in neighboring countries, and extension of political influence in Africa. It was also instrumental in Brazil’s insertion into a “new multi-polar world order”, balancing trade with China even while the US dollar and North Atlantic transnational companies maintained control over soybean markets. But recent events call for a reevaluation of the geopolitics of Brazilian soy. First, access to abundant Brazilian soy enabled China to withstand the trade war with the US, responding with counter-tariffs on US soy. But while this could have enabled Brazil to extract geopolitical gains, the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil fractured the political power of the soy sector. While, soy farmers and truckers defend Bolsonaro’s domestic and international agenda, restraining ties with China and accusing Europeans of blocking Brazilian development through environmentalist charades, soy processing and trading companies have broken with Bolsonaro, who undermines their efforts to attract Chinese capital for infrastructure construction in Brazil while projecting a palatable eco-modernist image of Brazilian agribusiness for European markets. Thus, a critical geopolitics of Brazilian soy calls for more nuanced account of the transnational class articulations and global environmental politics that shape and are shaped by this extraordinary oilseed.
Upcoming Speakers:
Thursday, March 31, 2022 | 4:00 PM (EST)
Dr. Susanna Hecht
The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the School for Environment and Sustainability, and the Sustainable Food Systems Initiative present:
Brazil at a Crossroads: Environmental and Food Politics Under the Bolsonaro Regime
When Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing populist, was elected as Brazil's president in 2018, people began wondering about the consequences of that election for the environment, food systems, and trade, among many other social and ecological issues. In this lecture series, Hannah Wittman, Gustavo Oliveira, and Susanna Hecht will explore the impacts of the Bolsonaro regime on food security and agroecology, on the conservation of the Amazon forest, and on international trade with China, as well as bright spots of resistance and innovation towards sustainability.
Dr. Gustavo de L.T. Oliveira | The geopolitics of Brazilian soy in the age of Bolsonaro and the US-China trade war
Soy plays a major role in the development of Brazilian agribusiness, and in turn in Brazilian geopolitical power as well. It is the basis for much Brazilian land ownership in neighboring countries, and extension of political influence in Africa. It was also instrumental in Brazil’s insertion into a “new multi-polar world order”, balancing trade with China even while the US dollar and North Atlantic transnational companies maintained control over soybean markets. But recent events call for a reevaluation of the geopolitics of Brazilian soy. First, access to abundant Brazilian soy enabled China to withstand the trade war with the US, responding with counter-tariffs on US soy. But while this could have enabled Brazil to extract geopolitical gains, the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil fractured the political power of the soy sector. While, soy farmers and truckers defend Bolsonaro’s domestic and international agenda, restraining ties with China and accusing Europeans of blocking Brazilian development through environmentalist charades, soy processing and trading companies have broken with Bolsonaro, who undermines their efforts to attract Chinese capital for infrastructure construction in Brazil while projecting a palatable eco-modernist image of Brazilian agribusiness for European markets. Thus, a critical geopolitics of Brazilian soy calls for more nuanced account of the transnational class articulations and global environmental politics that shape and are shaped by this extraordinary oilseed.
Upcoming Speakers:
Thursday, March 31, 2022 | 4:00 PM (EST)
Dr. Susanna Hecht
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