ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses to question the trajectory of agribusiness in the region from a politico-economic perspective and weigh up production versus the economic role of rents, departing from the majority of existing narratives and interpretations. It discusses to interrogate, from the perspective of rents, the productivist argument commonly presented by the agribusiness sector in support of calls for more favourable public policies and state concessions. The chapter presents analytical strategy which examines the significance of rent extraction for the consolidation of commodity production in Mato Grosso, which has been since the 1970s one of the most important frontiers of agricultural expansion in the country. It attempts to summarise the findings and propose a new conceptualisation of the rent of agribusiness. The word 'rent' was borrowed from the French and first appeared in writing in England between the 12th and 14th centuries, but over time it has incorporated this multiplicity of meanings associated with privilege and power.
