ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses major changes in the thinking of rural social movements concerning agrarian reform, land and territory, particularly in the case of the transnational peasant movement, La Via Campesina (LVC). The idea of LVC emerged at a meeting of farmer leaders from Central America, the Caribbean, the USA and Canada, held in Managua, Nicaragua in April of 1992. The reformist and revolutionary agrarian reforms of previous decades were being reversed through counter reforms led by the World Bank and its land administration and titling programs. While LVC and the Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform were firm in calling for states to take the lead in agrarian reform at least through Porto Alegre in 2006, recent experiences with "peasant-friendly" governments in various countries are leading to a more nuanced interpretation. The agrarian struggles in a changing world have led to evolution in the thinking and vision of movements such as LVC, who are engaged in struggles for land and territory.
