[2014] DAMONTE, Gerardo. Land grabbing in Latin America: opportunity or threat? ELLA. Economic development, Smallholder farmers and rural development, 2.

This ELLA Brief presents cases of land grabbing in Latin America and explores the controversy around this phenomenon. It reviews the causes and characteristics of land grabbing around the world and specifies the ways in which land grabbing in Latin America differs from typical scenarios in Africa and Asia. In particular, this Brief explains the history behind land grabbing for soybean production in the so-called Soybean Republic (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and examines the strategies employed by the Argentine and Brazilian governments to capitalise on economic opportunities presented by the current boom in this sector. The Brief also presents some initial policy responses that are intended to improve state control over foreign land purchases. Finally, it identifies the main enabling factors behind this process and summarises some key policy lessons.