Search

The paper argues that the discourse of palm oil production for biodiesel constitutes a frontier ideology. Around it, the representation of space endowed with comparative advantages is reedited. To do so, it is based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, and in company reports, as well as interviews with company representatives. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, in the first part examines the palm oil production, consumption and global trade, indicating that it is destined to the food, cosmetics and hygiene industry. The second shows the new frontier ideology promoted by palm oil at the beginning of the 21st century, highlighting the analytical pertinence of this category to interpret territorial dynamics of the Amazonia agrarian space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attempt of the Brazilian agribusiness dominant class to link the political actions of the MST with the terrorist actions of contemporary such groups, trough the media of the great press, is the object of analysis of this paper. This maneuver can be evidenced by the analysis of two objetcts - an article published in a major press magazine and a referral of a bill in Congress - and the existent connections between them. In desconstructing this association it is intended to expose the counterpoint of accusatory argument of the violent character of the MST, by exposing the data that indicates that the violent áreas are those related to the agribusiness expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]