Abstract

This paper analyses some relationships between the agrarian problem and the
process of capitalist development in Brazil. It argues that the increase in productivity associated
with the deepening of the social division of labor changes the relations of production
in the agricultural sector. The peasantry firstly linked to the feudal latifundia becomes wage
labor hired on seasonal basis for the capitalist farms. In this context, the land problem
emerges as a financial issue associated basically with the land price. As a result, the agrarian
reform based on the purchase of large areas by the government will not be a solution for the
agrarian problem since it will support an increase in land prices.

JEL Classification: Q15; Q18.