Abstract
The article examines the new political-ideological face of sugarcane plantation owners in the Northeastern sugarcane region, encompassing the three main producing states of the region: Alagoas, Pernambuco, and Paraíba. The central argument is that this traditional segment of the ruling classes has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, resulting in an expansion of its internal composition and its accommodation to the dynamics of agribusiness. Consequently, they have crafted a new rhetoric of legitimation, grounded in the defense of sugarcane monoculture as an agro-social business, drawing on concepts such as sustainability and socio-environmental responsibility. The limitations and contradictions of this discourse are scrutinized in the context of class conflicts and the economic and ideological dimensions contained therein, which explain why sugarcane plantation owners, through their representative bodies, seek social legitimacy for the full exercise of their activities. The methodology employed involved the analysis of documents from trade unions and employers' associations, as well as engagement with relevant newspaper articles on the subject.
Keywords:
Agribusiness; social classes; sugarcane; agrarian transformations; Northeast.