Rural Spaces in Latin America: global and local reactions

Abstract

In recent decades, rural regions in South America have increasingly been infl uenced by global impacts that, until today, result in profound structural transformations. Th ese globalizing processes restructure economic fi elds as well as socio-cultural, political and ecological spheres. Th ereby, the rural population in South America suff ers modifi cations in all areas of everyday life. Actors on the local and regional level are therefore forced to re-position themselves within this new framework. Th e reactions range from an active adaptation and integration into globalized networks, to the retraction of all higher-level contexts and the development of new perspectives on local level. We can characterize these multifaceted processes in rural spaces of South America by three diff erent types of dynamics. Within the agro-industrial dynamic global players govern largescale agriculture of standardized products, employing basically low-wage workers and supplying mass consumer markets. Within the post-productivist dynamic, rural regions serve as space to be “consumed” by urban or global elites who are searching for personal leisure and a compensation of their “own” degraded spaces. And fi nally, within the alternative dynamic, local and regional actors clearly dominate all processes. Th eir main objective is to ensure the survival of the local population and the environmental resources as well as to sustain the local community. Th ese three types of dynamics superimpose each other and result in manifold small-scale diff erences in socioeconomic and political processes. Th ereby, rural planning and political decision makers are confronted with new challenges that demand for new concepts and visions for rural spaces.