Homogenizing machine: the agribusiness caucus’s building of voting convergence in the Brazilian Congress

Abstract

Abstract Dissensions among private leaders of agricultural commodity chains have drawn attention in Brazil, particularly concerning climate-related issues. However, these divisions have not manifested in the National Congress, where the agribusiness caucus usually builds a highly homogeneous voting base in matters connected with these issues. This article analyses this contrast by means of an ethnography of the complex movements involved in constructing this homogeneity. To do this, the work followed a legislative measure related to the Forest Code as it moved through Congress. The research triangulated data obtained from long-term participant observation in Congress and the Instituto Pensar Agropecuária, corporate and state documents and interviews with politicians and heads of business associations. The results evidence a political machine that produces voting convergence linked with agribusiness agendas in the Legislative branch.