Primitive Accumulation, Mafia Capitalism, and the Campesino Population in Paraguay

• Date: 01 January 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/0094582X20975002
• Published date: 01 January 2021
• Author: Félix Pablo Friggeri
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X20975002

LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 236, Vol. 48 No. 1, January 2021, 126–144

DOI: 10.1177/0094582X20975002

© 2020 Latin American Perspectives

126

Primitive Accumulation, Mafia Capitalism, and the

Campesino Population in Paraguay

by

Félix Pablo Friggeri

Translated by

Victoria Furio

The mafia capitalism currently taking shape in Latin America and with remarkable

eloquence in Paraguay is centered largely around agriculture. Two of its key characteris-

tics are violence and cynicism. The cynicism refers to the presentation of violence toward

the popular majority as “natural,” disregarding ethical criticism and upholding capital-

ism as the only possible course, with the result that anything opposed to it must be elimi-

nated in the most effective manner, including violence. This mafia capitalism is solidified

by intertwined legal and illegal measures.

El capitalismo mafioso que está tomando forma a lo largo de América Latina y con

notable elocuencia en Paraguay se centra en gran medida en la agricultura. Dos de sus

características clave son la violencia y el cinismo. El cinismo se refiere a la caracterización

de la violencia dirigida hacia la mayor parte de la población como algo “natural”, asunto

que no toma en cuenta las críticas éticas y defiende el capitalismo como el único camino

posible, con el resultado de que todo lo que se opone a este debe ser eliminado de la manera

más efectiva, incluyendo a partir de la violencia. Este capitalismo mafioso se solidifica con

medidas legales e ilegales entrelazadas.

Keywords: Primitive accumulation, Paraguay, Mafia capitalism, Violence, Cynicism

In this essay I analyze one of the clearest expressions of the prevailing type

of capitalism in Latin America, which is focused particularly on agriculture. A

stunning dispossession of campesinos is under way in Paraguay, with its flip

side being an accumulation of capital channeled toward financial capitalism

through agribusiness. The sweeping consolidation of agribusiness in Latin

America has accelerated rural dispossession and the ensuing decampesiniza-

tion (disappearance of campesinos).1 Its violent dynamic has been intensified

by the confluence of land appreciation, the unchecked advance of what is called

the “agricultural frontier,” the relationship of agribusiness with other illegal

enterprises such as money laundering, smuggling, and drug trafficking, and

imperialist policies of occupation of key geopolitical arenas and control of

Félix Pablo Friggeri is an associate professor of international relations and integration, coordina-

tor of the Master’s program on contemporary Latin American integration, and local coordinator

of the interinstitutional doctorate in international relations at the Universidad Federal de la

Integración Latinoamericana in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. Victoria Furio is a conference interpreter

and translator based in Yonkers, NY.

975002LAPXXX10.1177/0094582X20975002Latin American PerspectivesFriggeri / Maa Capitalism and Campesinos in Paraguay

research-article2020

Friggeri / MAFIA CAPITALISM AND CAMPESINOS IN PARAGUAY 127

natural resources. This situation is especially serious and apparent in Paraguay,

where the campesino population is confronted by an advance of this agrarian

capitalism supported by the local authorities. This advance is led by the

Brazilian business class linked to the financial powers and is occurring primar-

ily in the area of the frontier with Argentina and Brazil. Its intent is to eliminate

the campesinos through various forms of violence.

The campesino population of Paraguay has historically been a key political

subject, particularly in the East of the country. Three elements explain this

prominence: the early model of a campesino social base of the Gaspar Francia

administration (1814–1840), the lack of industrialization in the period follow-

ing the War of the Triple Alliance (1865–1870), and the nature of the resistance

to the Alfredo Stroessner dictatorship (1954–1989). In this work I intend to

relate the accumulation conducted by this mafia-like capitalism to the process

of decampesinization, which is both a socioeconomic and a political phenom-

enon.

I begin by explaining the debate over the concept of primitive accumulation

and its importance to the contemporary Latin American situation. This discus-

sion contributes to seeing violence as a key feature of capitalism and allows us

to relate it to the consolidation of financialized neoliberalism in our region. A

second key feature is cynicism, which I analyze from the perspective of critical

thought and the philosophy of liberation. I understand mafia capitalism as a

type of capitalism tied to financialized neoliberalism that, although it has fea-

tures in common with capitalist development in other places, is expressed with

particular clarity in Latin America and presents an important series of elements

that link it to the historical and contemporary mafia.

I go on to describe the research methodology employed, drawing on the

work of the Observatory on the Campesino and Indigenous Situation in

Paraguay. Next I present a status update on agribusiness in Paraguay and the

accompanying violent dispossession of the campesino population highlighting

three elements: the campesino population as a political subject, the character-

istics of the power sectors and the process of accumulation, and the instrumen-

tal role played by the Triple Frontier in this process. I conclude by pointing to

the similarity of the capitalist arrangement in Paraguay, especially in its agrar-

ian dimension, to the concepts of primitive accumulation and mafia capitalism.

Primitive AccumulAtion And mAfiA cAPitAlism

Without going into the entire contemporary debate on primitive accumula-

tion and its relevance to current capitalism, I shall take a few elements from it

to explain the characteristics of capitalism in Paraguay and, by extension, in the

region as a whole. Primitive accumulation is a process associated historically

with the colonial violence against the indigenous peoples of our region that

was essential for the shaping and globalization of capitalism (Dussel, 2000;

Quijano, 2000). The current debate on the continuity capitalism relies on Karl

Marx’s (1976: 874) stating that “the capital relation presupposes a complete

separation between the workers and the ownership of the conditions for the

realization of their labour” and that “as soon as capitalist production stands on