‘Grileiro’ (Land-Grabber): Category of Symbolic Accusation – Dynamic Reconfiguration in the Relations between ‘Posseiros’ (Squatters) and ‘Grileiros’ (Land-Grabbers) in the Pre-Corporate and Military Coup d’État

Abstract

Understanding that political identities are formed from the experience of conflict and the work of collective framing, we sought to analyze the changes in material conditions of existence, such as violence from land evictions, land grabbing and land concentration in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in particular the municipality of Cachoeiras de Macacu. The starting point of this article is the elaboration of the categories of “posseiro” (squatter) and “grileiro” (land-grabber), fundamental elements for understanding the period before the 1964 military-corporate coup d’État, highlighting the creative and active capacity of the peasant movement that fought for the democratization of access to land.