The battle for the middle field and the implications of the "New" Rural Middle Class in Public Action

Abstract

This paper discusses the implications for public action of the disputes over the rural middle class in the last decade. Drawing on documentary and bibliographic research, it analyses the recent trajectory of policies for rural areas. It argues that despite different theoretical and political backgrounds, some referentials have privileged agricultural and productivist justifications, converging to legitimize the orientation of policies, even those specifically directed to family farmers, to a more capitalized segment of farmers, the "new" rural middle class. This process occurred at the expense of a closer understanding of the rural diversity, as well as the other legitimate justifications that could guide the public support to other segments.