The Fair and Solidarity Trade Movement in Brazil: between solidarity and the market. / O movimento do Comércio Justo e Solidário no Brasil: entre a solidariedade e o mercado.

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2007

RESUMO

The Fair Trade movement emerged as an initiative of organizations and consumers in the North aimed at improving the living conditions of disadvantaged producers and workers in Southern countries. To achieve these objectives the movement is active on three fronts: a) the creation of markets in the North where consumers pay a differentiated price for products from the South; b) campaigns among consumers in the North to increase the market for these products; and c) lobbying activities to change the rules of world trade, which are considered prejudicial to Southern countries. Demand limitations in the North, the demonstration effect of the movements proposals in the South, and the need to adapt to local conditions, have stimulated Fair Trade initiatives in the South. In this sense, alternative production and consumption systems directed at national and South-South markets, have been discussed and implemented in various Latin American countries, based on the principles of Fair Trade. In Brazil, North-South Fair Trade initiatives have occurred since the 80s, although a national-wide movement only began in the middle of 2001, on the initiative of a group of public and private actors who made up the Faces do Brasil platform. From 2004-6 other actors participated in the movement, defending proposals linked to the creation of a just national market or to the defense of the interests of producers who were already active in North-South Fair Trade. This thesis is dedicated to the study of this movement, from a Southern perspective aiming to analyze to what extent the Brazilian proposal is distinguished from other Southern initiatives and the proposals of the global movement. To achieve these objectives a specific analytical framework was elaborated, involving theoretical approaches to social movements, convention theory and social network analysis. Empirically, the adoption of qualitative, participatory analysis associated with quantitative methods was essential for understanding the Brazilian movement, contextualizing it within the broader horizon of the complex features of the contemporary world. Among the principal results, the specificity of the Brazilian proposals were seen to depend on the participatory character of the construction of a national system of Fair and Solidarity Trade, involving a variety of actors and movements. This resulted in the incorporation of the principles of the Solidarity Economy and Agroecology movements, participatory certification schemes and the exclusive orientation to small farmers as the beneficiaries of the movement. The public-private character of the movement was crystallized in the creation of a specific space within the governmental sphere for the discussion of proposals and the formulation of public policies oriented to the movement aimed at creating a Brazilian System of Fair and Solidarity Trade. In relation to the producers, a low level of communication and transparency on the part of Northern actors was observed, which has reduced the extent of positive influences of North-South Fair Trade among the organizations visited in the eight case studies undertaken. As for convergences between the Brazilian movements proposals and the aspirations of the producer groups, only the platforms more directly linked to the world of production incorporated their demands.

ASSUNTO(S)

análise de redes sociais. economia movimentos sociais comércio justo no brasil fair trade in brazil social network analysis. social movements

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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