The Soybean and Cattle Value Chains in the Legal Amazon as Emerging Global Legal Orders

Abstract

Deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon decreased by 80% from 2004 to 2014 mainly due to the improvement of monitoring and control techniques implemented in the context of the Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm), but have been increasing since 2015, predominantly in face of the advance of agribusiness and cattle raising. Arguably located within the field of sociology of environmental law, this article aims to answer how the soy and cattle global value chains influenced the effectiveness of PPCDAm. It analyzes two legal documents: the Soy Moratorium and the voluntary environmental agreements signed between the Public Prosecution Office and slaughterhouses that operate in the Legal Amazon. It also mobilizes as sources reports produced by government agencies, private associations and non-governmental organizations, in addition to interviews recorded by the documentary film “Sob a Pata do Boi.” The article explores the connections between the structure, the level of internationalization and the degree of environmental responsiveness of global value chains with the efficacy of anti-deforestation public policies. It argues that the deforestation patterns in the Amazon can be interpreted as processes constituted by social actions unfolded throughout a plurality of legal orders.