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This paper studies the connections between the expansion of mining capital, speculative forms of land grabbing and agrarian transformation. It is argued that in periods of commodity boom, the landowning rural elite benefits from mining through speculative land deals with mining companies. They act as 'land brokers' for the mining firms, helping them to overcome a significant barrier to land accumulation through the de facto abolition of landed property. The analysis is based on a qualitative case study on the expansion of coal mining in central Cesar in northern Colombia. To develop my arguments, I refer to the concept of accumulation by dispossession as defined by Michael Levien, and historical materialist approaches on rent, and speculative land dispossession. In addition, I use concepts developed for studying coercive land grabbing and agrarian elite participation in armed conflicts to analyse the mechanisms applied to (coercively) acquire rights to land. It is concluded that with high global prices for minerals, metals and fossil fuels, the expansion of mining in the countryside fosters a process of agrarian change through land speculation that is articulated in a reconcentration of landed property, a re‐strengthening of the rural landowning elite and the dissolution of peasant agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution explores processes of political class formation in peasant autonomy movements. The paper is based on a comparison of two peasant autonomy movements emerging from diverse agrarian structures and looks at how each movement emerged and developed. It argues that variations in class bases, cultural traditions and political histories shape the different ways autonomy is conceived and practised between peasant movements. The political expressions of autonomy struggles can be very diverse, ranging from poverty‐driven survival strategies to politicized socio‐territorial movements. The paper also highlights three main tensions in the question of autonomy for peasant movements: (1) struggles for autonomy do not involve a straightforward withdrawal from commodity markets, but also seek greater control over the terms of integration into markets; (2) states are still central focal points for the demands and tactics of autonomy struggles, and states still play an important role in allocating resources and co‐opting peasant movements; and (3) the strategy of autonomy alone is insufficient for building counter‐hegemonic movements. Leadership strategies are critical in shaping the political direction of autonomy movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I argue that the cumulative effects of coercive and indirect labour discipline enable firms to reorganize production. Through a historical analysis of the palm oil industry in northeastern Colombia, I identify changing forms of value chain governance in relation to transformations in labour control regimes. The combined effects of multiple labour control strategies have weakened labour power and workers' overall possibilities to shape value chain governance. In this case, labour coercion directly diminished workers' associational power and enabled labour flexibilization in the industry, limiting workers' structural power. A dialogue between the Global Value Chains framework and Critical Agrarian Studies, with a focus on labour regimes, highlights that labour flexibilization can build on past instances of coercive control to transform the structure of a value chain. This research illustrates that coercion is not necessarily "extra‐economic" but is often intrinsic to the organization of the global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution aims to explore the potentials and pitfalls for the emergence of a popular agrarian movement capable of offering a progressive alternative to the far‐right. Taking the case of Colombia's national agrarian strike, the paper argues that food sovereignty can offer a mobilizing framework for a multiclass, antineoliberal agrarian coalition. However, the possibilities for building a counter‐hegemonic movement should be taken with more caution. An examination of the class differentiation between and within campesino movements reveals how the interests of certain groups may be prioritized over others. While agrarian populism may offer an important political strategy for building coalitions and framing demands, a closer class analysis points to limits to its transformative potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]