Banca de DEFESA: ORLANDO ALEIXO DE BARROS JUNIOR

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : ORLANDO ALEIXO DE BARROS JUNIOR
DATE: 21/08/2026
TIME: 09:30
LOCAL: Sala de Defesas do CPDA/UFRRJ
TITLE:

A New Asset Class or a New Class of Actors? Land Financialization and the Exploitation of Natural Resources

KEY WORDS:

Land financialization; Agrarian question; Land market; Sustainability; Digitalization

PAGES: 230
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: Sociologia
SUBÁREA: Sociologia Rural
SUMMARY:

This PhD dissertation analyzes the constitution of the nexus between finance, land, and natural resources in contemporary Brazil, focusing on the processes of land financialization, the transformation of landed property into financial assets, and the reconfiguration of territorial control. Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach grounded in Political Economy, Rural and Economic Sociology, and the Social Studies of Finance, the research investigates the emergence of a new asset class accompanied by a new class of actors, the expansion of capital markets into agriculture, and the growing centrality of land as an asset class.

Methodologically, the research combines documentary analysis of regulatory frameworks, corporate and institutional reports, as well as the systematization and analysis of secondary data related to land markets, rural credit, financial investments, and territorial control.

The findings demonstrate that land financialization in Brazil unfolds through a simultaneous process of commodification, land concentration, and internationalization, deepening historical inequalities embedded in the country's agrarian structure. The dissertation shows that the securitization of agribusiness, the creation of new financial instruments, the growing role of institutional investors, the expansion of environmental asset markets, and regulatory transformations contribute to consolidating land and natural resources as sources of future financial returns.

It is argued that this dynamic is supported by a threefold framework consisting of the commodification of land and nature, sustainability imperatives as mechanisms of economic legitimation, and the digitalization of territorial governance through monitoring, tracking, and data-production technologies. Finally, the research contends that the advance of land financialization is closely intertwined with the reproduction of historical agrarian and racial inequalities, highlighting the need to incorporate the relationship between the agrarian question, racialization, and finance as a strategic agenda for future research.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1063179 - SERGIO PEREIRA LEITE
Interna - 1425152 - FABRINA PONTES FURTADO
Interna - 2216379 - KARINA YOSHIE MARTINS KATO
Externa à Instituição - LORENA IZÁ PEREIRA
Externa à Instituição - CARLA MORSCH PORTO GOMES