Institutions and critiques in tobacco cultivation in Rio Grande do Sul – Brazil: institutional changes and reaffirmation

Abstract

This study focuses on issues surrounding tobacco production in Brazil, seeking to understand the changes occurred in tobacco farming out of criticisms and changes in the environment. Based on the theoretical and methodological conceptions from Sociology of Critique and institutionalist theories, semi-structured interviews were conducted with relevant actors in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, adding to documentary analysis, with a view to analyze the institutional changes that have been occurring in tobacco production. First, devices of local and global criticism were identified, as well as the transformations that engender uncertainty in the tobacco farming environment. In this set of disputes, as responses to criticism, it was possible to map the institutions that have been supporting tobacco growing. Based on this, the transformations in the actions of tobacco companies were analyzed, which appeared to be mainly semantic, aimed at requalifying the Integrated Tobacco Production System and, thus, reaffirming the institutions that support tobacco growing. Findings showed that, in the environment of tobacco-growing family farmers, institutional changes are heterogeneous, affecting both the connections with and interpretations about tobacco. As a result, some farmers are being excluded from the system, and they need government support to change their realities.