Indigenous Labor and Land Resources: Guarani–Kaiowa’s Politico–Economic and Ethnic Challenges

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

"Indigenous Labour and Land Resources: Guarani-Kaiowa's Politico-Economic Challenges."  Resources

 

It has been a pleasure to read this coherent, well developed, and stimulating essay.  There is no doubt in my mind that the author has already produced a significant amount of work, as it is exemplified by the maturity of the writing and exposition of ideas shown here. 

 

The paper is ready for publication as is.  I would like to congratulate the author for such a fine essay. 

 

For this reason—if I am allowed to explain my own points of view at this point—I would only like to suggest a few issues for the author to consider in further publications or in his/her/their reflections on this topic.  Let me number them for the sake of clarity.

 

1. I am totally in agreement with the first paragraph in the introduction. However, as I am sure the author is well aware of, in all probability before the extermination and annihilation of indigenous cultures and peoples as the result of the brutal invasion of Europeans—by mainly the Portuguese and Spaniards—the situation in the Americas was far from being an Edenic place.  As a matter of fact, the author does not linger at all in the European perception of the native as a bon sauvage.  Furthermore, in no way does this comment try to justify the vicious invasion, but it allows me to get to my next point.

 

2. As it is correctly argued, ethnicity becomes a very powerful tool to inform political activism within the indigenous communities described in the essay. It is impossible to separate the European capitalist exploitation of both peoples and land from its ethnic component.  As a matter of fact, capitalist exploitation focuses mainly on those considered subaltern. 

 

However, as it has been remarked by the so called second and third wave feminist scholars, in order to give ethnicity-based activism its full potential, we should include gender as another parameter to be considered here.  I am not questioning the appropriateness of ethnicity; only its blindness to issues like the traditional roles assigned to gender and its fatal consequences in terms of violence (briefly mentioned on line 498) that could undermine, ultimately, the effectiveness of political struggle and activism based solely on ethnicity.  So, if the "political economy of indigeneity, in which land, labour, and ethnicity need to be considered as interconnected categories" (572-73), I would like to add gender as one of the main qualifiers of the category of ethnicity.  Of course, I am fully aware that this task goes beyond of the scope of this essay. 

 

All over the Americas, and in particular in Central America, (unfortunately, I am not as familiar as I would like with the Guarani-Kiowa's peoples), women have been and continue to be the main cultural, emotional, and political supporters of indigenous peoples for the recognition of their political and land rights.  Aside from the proletarianization and alienation of the indigenous peoples as exploited workers or peasants, their Western idealization as innocent savages, and their exoticzation as an absolute other, gender is instrumental for the materialization of Alain Badiou's event providing it with a more just content for political and economic activism.

 

3. Too many uses of the term "underpin"?

 

Once again, it has been a pleasure to read this essay.  I am looking forward to knowing the author's name when this essay is published so that I can read more of his works. 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Author Response

1) I am totally in agreement with the first paragraph in the introduction. However, as I am sure the author is well aware of, in all probability before the extermination and annihilation of indigenous cultures and peoples as the result of the brutal invasion of Europeans—by mainly the Portuguese and Spaniards—the situation in the Americas was far from being an Edenic place.  As a matter of fact, the author does not linger at all in the European perception of the native as a bon sauvage.  Furthermore, in no way does this comment try to justify the vicious invasion, but it allows me to get to my next point.

Response. Thank you so much for the observation. I totally agree with your perspective and the paragraph was amended to further clarify the fact that the reality pre and post-Columbus was extremely complex and certainly non-Edenic.

 

2) It has been remarked by the so called second and third wave feminist scholars, in order to give ethnicity-based activism its full potential, we should include gender as another parameter to be considered here.  I am not questioning the appropriateness of ethnicity; only its blindness to issues like the traditional roles assigned to gender and its fatal consequences in terms of violence (briefly mentioned on line 498) that could undermine, ultimately, the effectiveness of political struggle and activism based solely on ethnicity.  So, if the "political economy of indigeneity, in which land, labour, and ethnicity need to be considered as interconnected categories" (572-73), I would like to add gender as one of the main qualifiers of the category of ethnicity.  Of course, I am fully aware that this task goes beyond of the scope of this essay.

R. That is great, there is no disagreement here. Gender is certainly a central and extremely important category. A growing number of feminist geographers and anthropologists are producing interest work on gender-related issues among Guarani-Kaiowa groups. As the referee said, this is not the focus of the present discussion, but I took the opportunity to further emphasise the importance of gender here.

 

3) Too many uses of the term "underpin"?

R. Sorry about that. It has been addressed.

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper is well written and forcefully argued historical-geographical synthesis of several centuries of violence on the Guarani of central South America, focusing on ethnicity and labor. The author raises several interesting points, especially the context and meanings of the retomadas, attempts by Guarani to reclaim lands in Mato Grosso do Sul state. But some weaknesses hinder the effectiveness of the paper.

The introduction is broad and sweeping. It does not identify a clear contribution of the paper to the literature, nor does it identify a research question. I suggest the author focus the introduction into a specific argument, and also to identify the gap in knowledge or interpretation to which the paper aims to contribute. On a specific point, I’m not sure whether the "scale and severity" of violence is still debated (line 27). I thought this was rather settled decades ago, by excellent work by anthropologists, historians, and geographers who have produced a voluminous literature. There indeed are subtle aspects and points of debate, but not on the larger question of violence; moreover, these historical debates are not entirely relevant to the core arguments of this paper. A question could be derived from line 60-61 ("how does ethnic diversity support colonization, property rights, and socio-ecological change?") but this is too general and overly broad.

The methods could be strengthened by more specific discussion of sampling of the 60 respondents, the interview framework, and the analysis of the transcripts or interview notes.

The results section could be improved by focusing on one or two key contemporary issues, such as the retomada and/or the leasing of Guarani land for agribusiness. The historical sections of the results are already known and fairly well described in the literature. These key points are background, rather than findings. Certainly, the author is interpreting this earlier work, but it is not clear what this synthesis contributes to the literature.  The author seems well positioned to offer original analysis on the retomada and/or the leasing issues, which are highly compelling resource problems that need to be more deeply understood. The meaning(s) and practices of both of these have clear implications for the labor and ethnicity issues that motivate the author, but these topics are discussed only in superficial ways.  Deeper analysis would lead to more specific claims, such as the constitutional aspects (line 445), the involvement of the Guarani in the labor force (line 451), and the SPI (line 478, not defined). One element of the results that appears to lack empirical basis is the claim regarding the "close synergy between the land struggle and the revival of traditional religious practices," a highly significant point. No evidence is provided to support this important claim. In addition, some aspects of the results should be made more neutral or objective, especially lines 408-410, with regard to apparent knowledge of the psyche of agribusiness farmers. (I don’t disagree with these claims, but they don’t belong in a scholarly paper.)

The conclusion introduces complex theoretical claims regarding singularity (lines 581-599), which could be better utilized in a separate paper, with more complete conceptual development. This section is not well connected to the theoretical framework on ethnicity and political economy.

Author Response

1) The introduction is broad and sweeping. It does not identify a clear contribution of the paper to the literature, nor does it identify a research question. I suggest the author focus the introduction into a specific argument, and also to identify the gap in knowledge or interpretation to which the paper aims to contribute. On a specific point, I’m not sure whether the "scale and severity" of violence is still debated (line 27). I thought this was rather settled decades ago, by excellent work by anthropologists, historians, and geographers who have produced a voluminous literature. There indeed are subtle aspects and points of debate, but not on the larger question of violence; moreover, these historical debates are not entirely relevant to the core arguments of this paper. A question could be derived from line 60-61 ("how does ethnic diversity support colonization, property rights, and socio-ecological change?") but this is too general and overly broad.

Response: Thank you so much for these very helpful and insightful observations. The introduction was definitely too broad and it was extensively revised. The main contribution of the paper was made more explicit. I totally agree that the comment on scale and severity was excessive and it is related to a debate that is practically closed today. It was changed accordingly.

Related to that, the title was expanded and the abstract was significantly revised, several redundant citations were removed and others were added. All were renumbered for that reason.

The text was converted from UK to US English to make it more friendly to the international readership.

Pictures from recent fieldworks were included to illustrate the main points.

 

2) The methods could be strengthened by more specific discussion of sampling of the 60 respondents, the interview framework, and the analysis of the transcripts or interview notes.

R. Absolutely, this comment gives me the opportunity to incorporate more primary data (interview extracts), which reinforces and illustrates the argument. More information about the methodological approach was also added to the paper.

 

3) The results section could be improved by focusing on one or two key contemporary issues, such as the retomada and/or the leasing of Guarani land for agribusiness. The historical sections of the results are already known and fairly well described in the literature. These key points are background, rather than findings.

The meaning(s) and practices of both of these have clear implications for the labor and ethnicity issues that motivate the author, but these topics are discussed only in superficial ways.  Deeper analysis would lead to more specific claims, such as the constitutional aspects (line 445), the involvement of the Guarani in the labor force (line 451), and the SPI (line 478, not defined). One element of the results that appears to lack empirical basis is the claim regarding the "close synergy between the land struggle and the revival of traditional religious practices," a highly significant point. No evidence is provided to support this important claim.

In addition, some aspects of the results should be made more neutral or objective, especially lines 408-410, with regard to apparent knowledge of the psyche of agribusiness farmers. (I don’t disagree with these claims, but they don’t belong in a scholarly paper.)

R. Thanks a lot for this note. The results are now more strongly focused on the reaction to land grabbing in the form of the retomadas. The historical evolution was significantly reduced and adjusted accordingly.

The vague claims identified by the referee were amended or removed (there were certainly problematic) and more empirical evidence was incorporated to enhance the argument.

Note the much stronger emphasis on the retomadas, which is the most emblematic demonstration of identity and ethnicity that pervades labour and land relations.

 

4) The conclusion introduces complex theoretical claims regarding singularity (lines 581-599), which could be better utilized in a separate paper, with more complete conceptual development. This section is not well connected to the theoretical framework on ethnicity and political economy.

R. I have to agree that the final theoretical points were excessive and not necessarily fit here. The part between lines 581-599 was removed.

The conclusion is now more organically connected with the previous argument on ethnicity and political economy.

 

Reviewer 3 Report

The case study presented an important topic and I enjoyed reading it and feel I learned quite a bit about the Guarani-Kaiowa culture in Brazil. I have a few suggestions to improve the readability of the manuscript. 

I suggest moving Line 63-67 to the end of the introduction because it is still about the purpose of the current case study.

Theoretical consideration (section 3) should be after the introduction. It helps readers to be familiar with the theory and background before presenting the current study in Guarani-Kaiowa. 

The author presented the indigenous literature in a "macro" approach to discussing "political, economical, and social-spatial" factors. I wonder if there are any literature/studies on "personal" level analysis (e.g., how social factors impact the individual physical and mental well-being, opportunities for jobs, educations, and life satisfaction, etc.) in the indigenous population in Guarani-Kaiowa or in Brazil. 

There were 60 interviews but the author only presented a few examples (like three?). I am wondering what is in the others and why they were not chosen. I would love to know more about how the themes and examples were decided.  Were the statements chosen for certain characteristics?  Or did the author just sort of eye them and go? Did the author code all the interviews? 

The historical background of Guarani-Kaiowa is quite long (but still important). I wonder if the author can be concise about the history and focus more on the current issues from interview data.

The author could add the limitation since it is a case study. 

 

Author Response

1) I suggest moving Line 63-67 to the end of the introduction because it is still about the purpose of the current case study.

Response: Yes, it makes a lot of sense. Done as indicated.

 

2) Theoretical consideration (section 3) should be after the introduction. It helps readers to be familiar with the theory and background before presenting the current study in Guarani-Kaiowa.

R. Thank you, this is very helpful, because the Journal suggestion didn’t include a theoretical section (the categories mentioned on the website are: Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Conclusions, Figures and Tables with Captions, Funding Information, Author Contributions, Conflict of Interest and other Ethics Statements). The methodological section was moved.

 

3) The author presented the indigenous literature in a "macro" approach to discussing "political, economical, and social-spatial" factors. I wonder if there are any literature/studies on "personal" level analysis (e.g., how social factors impact the individual physical and mental well-being, opportunities for jobs, educations, and life satisfaction, etc.) in the indigenous population in Guarani-Kaiowa or in Brazil.

R. This is a very good point and raises a number of conceptual and methodological issues. Moreover, it is slightly beyond the focus of the present discussion to deal with individual physical and mental well-being, which are important factors related to dispossession and labour exploitation but not directly explored in this study. In addition, I would like to add that the conceptual and methodological framework used here operates at the intersection between the local and individual level and the regional and national scales of economy and politics.

 

4) There were 60 interviews but the author only presented a few examples (like three?). I am wondering what is in the others and why they were not chosen. I would love to know more about how the themes and examples were decided.  Were the statements chosen for certain characteristics?  Or did the author just sort of eye them and go? Did the author code all the interviews?

R. This is a very helpful observation and it certainly helped to improve the argument and sharpen the text. First, more details on the methodological and analytical approaches were included to explain how the work was carried out. Second and considering the large number of interviews, more relevant interview extracts were incorporated in the text. It is important to add that the interviews were all transcribed and those in Guarani were translated, coded and analysed. After all that, the codes were studied in search of explanation and to illuminate trends and tendencies.

 

5) The historical background of Guarani-Kaiowa is quite long (but still important). I wonder if the author can be concise about the history and focus more on the current issues from interview data.

R. I totally have to accept this request, which was fully observed. The historical part was significantly reduced and more interview extracts were used.

 

6) The author could add the limitation since it is a case study.

R. Indeed. It was included in the methodological section

 

Bibliography added

1. Stannard, D.E. The Conquest of the New World: American Holocaust; New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
2. Nichols, R. Theft is Property! Dispossession and Critical Theory; Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2020.
3. Ioris, A.R.R., Benites, T., Goettert, J.D. Challenges and Contribution of Indigenous Geography: Learning with and for the Kaiowa-Guarani of South America. Geoforum 2019, 102, 137-141.
4. Ioris, A.A.R. Indigenous Peoples, Land-based Disputes and Strategies of Socio-spatial Resistance at Agricultural Frontiers. Ethnopolitics 2020, https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2020.1770463
5. Bhandar, B. Colonial Lives of Property: Law, Land, and Racial Regimes of Ownership, Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2018.

Bibliography removed

6. Blanco, H. Let’s Save Humanity from Extinction. Capitalism Nature Socialism 2013, 24(3), 151-159.
7. Kearney, M.; Varese, S. Indigenous Peoples: Changing Identities and Forms of Resistance. In: Capital, Power, and Inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean; Harris, R.; Nef, J. Eds.; Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2008; pp. 198-224.
8. Chandler, D.; Reid, J. Becoming Indigenous: Governing Imaginaries in the Anthropocene; London and New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2019.
9. Drinnon, R. Facing West: The Metaphysics of Indian-Hating and Empire Building; Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.
10. Viveiros de Castro, E. Metafísicas Canibais: Elementos para uma Antropologia Pós-Estrutural; São Paulo: Ubu Editora, 2018.
11. Barbosa, P.A. A “Terra sem Mal” de Curt Nimuendajú e a “Emigração dos Cayuáz” de João Henrique Elliott: Notas sobre as “Migrações” Guarani no Século XIX. Tellus 2013, 24, 121-158.
12. Richard, N.; Capdevila, L,; Boidin, C. Eds. Les Guerres du Paraguay aux XIXe et XXe Siècles; Paris: CoLibris, 2007.
13. Oxley, V.M. Liberalismo Radical: Orígenes Ideológicos y Evolución Programática en el Paraguay; Bubok Publishing, 2014.
14. Latour, B. Not the Question. Anthropology Newsletter 1996, 37(3), 4-5.
15. McMichael, P. A Food Regime Genealogy. The Journal of Peasant Studies 2009, 36(1), 139-169.
16. Peluso, N.L.; Watts, M. Eds. Violent Environments; Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2001.
17. Soares, F. Colheita da Maçã, em Vacaria, tem Presença Recorde de Indígenas do Mato Grosso do Sul. Pioneiro, 15 February 2020.
18. Badiou, A. The Century, Trans. A. Toscano; Cambridge and Malden: Polity, 2007.
19. Badiou, A. L’Etre et l’Événement; Paris: Seuil, 1988.
20. Hallward, P. Badiou: A Subject to Truth; Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press, 2003.
21. Heidegger, M. El Ser y el Tiempo, 2nd ed. J. Gaos; Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1971 [1927]. Pereira, L.M.; Chamorro, G. Missões Pentecostais na Reserva Indígena de Dourados – RID: Origens, Expansão e Sentidos da Conversão. In: Povos Indígenas em Mato Grosso do Sul: História, Cultura e Transformações Sociais; Chamorro, G.; Combès, I. Eds; Dourados: UFGD, 2015; pp. 629-654.

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

the paper is improved, with needed information on research methods included and better focus of the results. The focus on retomadas offers a more specific contribution of the paper.

I suggest that the first line of the paper include mention of disease as a cause of the demographic collapse (which is referred to line 38). Also I suggest deleting reference to the Floyd George murder; I don't see a need to put this particular incident (one of many) that suggests the need to consider the relevance of "ethnic-related politics." Overall, I think the introduction should be more specifically focused on the topic of this paper, rather than the many other issues the introduction references.

 

 

Author Response

I am extremely grateful to the referee and the editor for the careful and critical reading of the last version of the text. Those comments did help me to improve the text, eliminate some remaining mistakes and add additional bibliography.

The list of adjustments, following the requirements made by the referee and the editor is the following:

1. Included a mention of disease as a cause of the demographic collapse in the first line of the text.
2. I understand that the referee disagrees with the need to mention the incident in Minneapolis and how it is connected to ethnicity, but from my perspective I see a clear racial or ethnic motivation (both in relation to the killing of Mr Floyd and the large-scale uprising the followed the crime). In that case, I would prefer to maintain this reference.
3. The short introduction aims to set the scene and connect the paper with other associated developments, which serves as justification of the research.
4. Further explained the contribution of the paper to the literature and the inclusion of a clear research question.
5. More details on methods, interviews and coding.
6. New bibliography and reference to interviews regarding the various claims that the referee identified as underreferenced.
7. Statement about the limitations of the study and need of future research included in the conclusion.
8. Addressed the four specific issued pointed out by the referee.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf