Além do Agro: ruralistas no Senado brasileiro

Abstract

Despite the recognition of the political strength of the rural and agro-industrial employers' sectors in defending their interests in the Brazilian National Congress, the literature still lacks research on the action of these classes and social groups in the Federal Senate. We seek to problematize the issue of representation in the Federal Senate by articulating the approach from the notion of class and social group interests with the approach of legislative studies. Our hypothesis is that parliamentarians representing agribusiness have an influence on the decision-making process of the legislature by acting far beyond agrarian and agricultural issues. This broad insertion is based on the very origin and trajectory of these agribusiness spokespersons. We demonstrate that the senators of the Agricultural Parliamentary Front participate and control various spaces of power of the National Congress, such as the permanent, temporary and inquiry commissions, and the internal bodies and councils, interacting and positioning themselves on numerous themes of social life. In this way, they dispute politically and symbolically the federal legislature, the other Powers and society as a whole. We analyzed the indications of their individual amendments to the Union's budget, focusing on public policies and prioritized beneficiaries. We believe that the research contributes to the opening of a research agenda to deepen the question of the representation of the dominant classes and groups of the field in the Brazilian upper chamber.