Land for Livelihood or Profit?: Land Grabbing in Latin America

The act of land grabbing, or the purchase of large amounts of land by state and/or large corporations has been very prevalent in recent years in the developing world, particularly in Latin America. Populations, such as indigenous groups and afro-descendants, are extremely marginalized because of the effects of land grabbing. Consequences including reinforced income inequality, forced migration, and loss of territorial claims are occurring in countries such as Bolivia and Brazil. This practice has ties to colonialism in the region and has now been taking a new form via state actors and corporations who seek profits increases at the expense of populations inhabiting the land. This topic is part of a larger discussion of global shifts and the inequality it can create, state competition in the lens of realist theory, as well as the relationship and conflict between indigenous people and state actors. In this paper, we examine two case studies which help explain that land grabbing can lead to marginalization of indigenous groups as well as policy recommendations aimed at combating this issue of inequality through land distribution.