ABSTRACT
Introduction:
The role of the Legislative Branch in shaping agendas and formulating public policies for the rural sector remains underexplored in the existing scholarly literature. This article analyzes the strategies employed by the Agricultural Parliamentary Front (APF), which represents Brazil's agrarian and agro-industrial elites, in asserting their land policy agenda. Our research was grounded in the premise that the legislative framework tilts in favor of interest groups that undermine or distort the constitutional principle of equality, thus constricting the equitable distribution of political influence among various social categories.
Materials and methods:
We conducted a comprehensive analysis of documents pertaining to land policy originating from the Federal Congress (Chamber of Deputies), the Federal Senate, and the Agricultural Parliamentary Front (APF) over the course of a decade (2008-2018). Our analytical approach encompassed three key dimensions: document structure, policy propositions, and positioning within the legislative landscape. The primary aim of this analysis was to gain insights into the diverse strategies employed by the APF to exert influence on the legislative process.
Findings:
Our research findings shed light on how the Agricultural Parliamentary Front (APF) effectively employs legislative institutional mechanisms to consolidate its hegemonic influence, promoting the preferences of rural elites and major corporations at the expense of the interests of the rural working-class population.
Discussion:
The strategic manipulation of the legislative process by the Agricultural Parliamentary Front (APF) to assert its particular interests within the land policy agenda highlights the consolidation of interest groups representing social elites, often to detriment of groups lacking equivalent economic resources and political cohesion. Our conclusions underscore the presence of a regulatory vacuum within the legislative framework, which fails to establish clear boundaries to constrain the actions of certain political actors.
Keywords
Agricultural Parliamentary Front; legislative process; rural elites; agribusiness; Pensar Agropecuária Institute