Can the state take agroecology to scale? Public policy experiences in Latin American

Abstract

In this article we discuss the experience of agroecology policies implemented in Cuba and in Latin American countries that made a shift to the left in the early years of the 21st century and are currently facing an emergence of right-wing political forces. Although the cases studied show that it is possible to open spaces and moments of rupture within the regimes of power, we believe that there is a risk when the efforts of social movements end up absorbed in collaborations with the State. Agroecology moves on the razor’s edge where there are risks on both sides. On the one hand, by participating in the institutionalization of agroecology, movements may be incorporated into the established rules of the game, having to move within a system whose purpose is the preservation of the interests of the dominant class. But on the other hand, not doing so could prevent the modification, even partially, of the raison d’état around agri-food policy, indirectly supporting the creation of even more obstacles to the territorialization of agroecology. At the heart of the matter is the political nature of agroecology: to continue to opt for reform or revolution.