The political ecology of MERCOSUR/L: Local knowledge and responses to a competitive market (Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay)

This dissertation addresses the implementation of MERCOSUR/L---a free trade pact including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay---in 1991 as a temporally unique and uniform alteration of macroeconomic policy. Employing a political ecology framework (which argues that human-environment relationships centered on local land management practices are influenced by wider political economic conditions), I investigate the means through which macroeconomic change is incorporated within local production strategies and, subsequently, impacts the physical environment. The focus of the analysis is refined through a comparative case study method and a concentration on yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) as an element of smallholder commodity production. The research project extends political ecology beyond its traditional focus on the explanation of activities causing degradation to include a more specific analysis of the processes through which the alteration of macropolicy impacts local resource use.; Farmer response to economic stimuli recognized within conventional and alternative economic theories is examined in four study sites (two each in Brazil and Paraguay). These sites experience similar price signals for yerba mate, but distinct modes of regulation (Brazil vs. Paraguay) or experiences of yerba mate production (established vs. recent). Explanation of variation in farmer response to ostensibly similar price signals is found in the unsettled economic environment of MERCOSUR/L. Farmers' understandings of emerging exchange relations are affected by the actions of the state, rural development organizations, and yerba mate processors. The success of farmers' response to this change is largely determined by their ability to incorporate representations of competitive market concepts (competition, quality and efficiency) within local knowledge systems.; The environmental impact of MERCOSUR/L on local agricultural landscapes is assessed by means of permanganate oxidized soil carbon and above ground arthropod biodiversity as indicators of the sustainability of management practices. Relationships between social context and ecological indicators were established by identifying comparative production systems in each site as defined by crop type. The resulting data challenge analyses that directly associate generalized environmental impact (e.g., deforestation) with elements of free trade policy. Instead, I suggest a role for locally relevant policies that facilitate more diverse sets of production options for farmers.