Acaparamiento, descomposición y proletarización: Veinte años de cambio agrario en Canelones, Uruguay

In this article, we examine the processes of agrarian change that occurred between 1990 and 2011 in the Department of Canelones, Uruguay, using available General Agricultural Censuses. We aim is to analyze the processes of social disintegration, concentration, land grabbing, and proletarianization. We seek to describe and understand a process that differs from those studied in agribusiness territories like the western coast of our country and other sectors such as agriculture, forestry, livestock, and dairy farming. In the case of Canelones, the historical and structural significance of family production, along with the majority focus on domestic market-oriented sectors such as horticulture, poultry, pigs, and vineyards, sets it apart and justifies the relevance of our analysis. The results highlight the need to delve deeper into the study of land grabbing, concentration, and proletarianization in agriculture. The evidence does not support a simplistic and mechanistic opposition between family production and these processes. It is crucial to acknowledge the prominent role of family production in contemporary Uruguayan agrarian change, as understanding it is a prerequisite for addressing the issues it entails.