The agrarian question and wildfires in the brazilian Pantanal

Abstract

This article investigates the Brazilian Pantanal with the aim of demonstrating the intrinsic relationship between land concentration, changes in land use, and the expansion of cattle ranching tied to the capitalist logic as key factors behind the increase in wildfires in the biome in recent years. To this end, bibliographic research was conducted on the Agrarian Question and the economic occupation of the Pantanal, complemented by documentary and hemerographic research. Subsequently, secondary data from INPE, MapBiomas, and IBGE were used to show how the process of land-use change and the growth of the cattle herd have aligned with the systematic destruction of the biome, primarily through the use of fire. In this context, data from INCRA on rural properties, organized into graphs and maps, were used to argue that the expansion of cattle ranching, linked to agribusiness logic, is rooted in land control and the formation of large estates to generate income. In this way, the municipalities of Cáceres (MT) and Corumbá (MS) were identified as the main centers of the Agrarian Question in the Pantanal, while also being among those with the highest rates of fire outbreaks and burned areas.