The foreignisation of land in the twenty-first century: land grabbing and the financialisation of Brazilian sugarcane- energy agribusiness

Abstract

This article analyses the foreignization of land on a global-scale and its impacts on the Brazilian sugarcane-energy sector, with emphasis on land grabbing, understood as the large-scale appropriation of land by transnational agents. The general objective is to understand how this phenomenon reconfigures territories, concentrates income, and compromises national sovereignty, while the central problem lies in the relationship between the financialization of agriculture, the high demand for biofuels, and the resulting deepening of socio-spatial inequalities. The study is justified by the multidimensional relevance of the theme: economically, it reinforces speculative cycles; socially, it intensifies the expulsion of traditional communities; environmentally, it degrades biomes; and politically, it questions the role of the state in mediating between development and sovereignty. Methodologically, the research is based on documentary analysis of Land Matrix reports (2021), IBGE data from the Agricultural Census (2017), case studies of the sugarcane-energy sector, and a critical review of authors such as Sassen (2013) and Borras Jr. et al. (2020). The results show that, in Brazil, 84% of rural establishments are small properties (<10 hectares), accounting for 65% of the labour force, while large estates (>1,000 hectares), which represents only 1.7% of the total, dominate extensive territorial areas. Ethanol production increased from 10.5 to 35.5 billion litres between 2000 and2020, driving land conflicts and environmental degradation across Brazilian territory. Transnational conglomerates, such as Raízen and Cargill, control production chains through tax havens, while production is concentrated in states such as São Paulo, which accounts for 50% of national output. The article concludes that the foreignization of land consolidates an extractivist model that prioritises immediate profitability to the detriment of socio-ecological sustainability, requiring public policies capable of balancing foreign investment, territorial rights, and environmental preservation.