Using the cultural rights framework to decolonize food production. Promoting the creation of historical-political subjects in the Brazilian countryside

Abstract

In a world marked by colonial logic, and where the rhetoric of modernity makes up the backbone of public discourses, the peasant way of life and all of its manifestations have become incompatible with progress and are therefore relegated to the periphery of society. This makes up a significant impediment for peasant movements to carry out their centuries old struggle for alternative models of production and development. The present thesis puts to the test the relevance of using the cultural rights framework to decolonize food production. It examines the impact that the marginalization of cultural aspects has on the ability of the peasantry to take on the role of a historical-political subject capable of implementing change and opens up for discussion on the potential benefits that a reintroduction of diversity into the strategies that we use to develop our societies can bring about. In doing so, it uses the context of the Brazilian countryside to highlight specific phenomena and narratives that are local in practice, but nevertheless, global in nature. Findings suggest that awarding new attention to cultural aspects can help to identify the needs of each community and therefore becomes a crucial aspect in the process of building new societal institutions that can accommodate diversity. By making use of, and participating in the co-creation of these new institutions, peasants can bring forward counternarratives that challenge the hegemonic dominance of the agribusiness industry. The cultural rights agenda, furthermore, reflects the core of the peasants’ own struggles and can therefore help to empowers their communities in their fight for new alternatives. Key words: Peasants, peasantry, food production, cultural rights, culture, colonial narratives, rhetoric of modernity, modernization, agribusiness corporations, decolonization, Brazil