ABSTRACT
Building upon Pearce’s notion of the “imaginary social order,” this chapter considers the relationship of the state and corporations in the context of the agro-business in Brazil. It argues that the neoliberal practices of the Brazilian state have enabled the agro-business to use Brazil as a giant lab in its aim to become a global agricultural leader – not least through permitting the diffusion of elsewhere prohibited pesticides and other agricultural toxins. The restructuring of Brazil’s economy into an export-led agricultural market over the past 20 years is a key example of the reproduction of the capitalist social order that has led to catastrophic consequences for the local population and the environment. The chapter applies a Marxist analysis to the relationship between the agro-business and the state in Brazil.
