The dialectic between scientific-globalized agriculture and small towns in the lower Mearim river in Maranhão state

Abstract

From the 1960s onwards, the intensification of modernization processes in the agricultural sector triggered a series of transformations in Brazilian cities. Based on agricultural production driven by the advancement of capitalism in rural areas, technological renewal fostered economic growth focused on exports. On the other hand, due to its conservative nature, it led to rural depopulation and uncontrolled urban expansion, among other associated problems. This text aims to analyze the main changes that occurred because of modernization in the spaces of two small cities located in the lower course of the Mearim River and surrounding areas, in the state of Maranhão (Northeast Brazil). The goal was to contextualize the history of land ownership and property, discuss general territorial dynamics, and present the most recent conditions of their urban environments. The investigative foundation relied on a qualitative, materialistic, and dialectical approach, with the specific methodology of a case study in two selected areas. In the studied cases, the rural exodus expanded the urban space continuously from existing settlements and intensified the occupation of other small villages, turning them into cities, especially after 1980, besides identifying migratory trends. In the last 20 years, urbanization has given way to real estate speculation, resulting in higher prices for lots in central areas and difficulties in land access for the low-income population. With regard to the transformations, the territorial dynamics, the new road transportation system, along with railways, replaced the historical river routes of circulation and became integrated into the current framework of production, capital, and mobility.