Reconfigurations of the social sphere in Brejo da Paraíba in the 21st century: imprints of plantations in Latin America

Abstract The research project “Reconfigurations of the social sphere in Brejo of Paraíba in the 21st century” looks into the new social arrangements in that region of northeastern Brazil, which stem from the abrupt changes in the context that was prevalent in the early 1990s, which were triggered by the closure of sugarcane processing plants, following the bankruptcy declared by Santa Maria processing plant. Included in a broader debate regarding the imprints left by centuries on social structures organized around export-led plantations in Latin America, this is a collective research project that aims to inquire into different conversion strategies in comparison with the previous position occupied by social actors in the golden period of sugarcane production.