What environmental problems stem from structure of agriculture?
Landlessness for many is inherent in the latifundio-minifundio system, and it contributes to the resource degradation throughout Latin America. Using Brazil as an example, Maybury-Lewis (1988, p. 5) reports that from 6 to 7 million rural families in Brazil are landless. Pomer (1988) believes that the number is higher and that there are about 3 million permanent, salaried rural workers, 5 million temporary agricultural workers, 1 million squatters, and 2 million renters and sharecroppers. While these numbers will decline as farm labor moves to cities, substantial numbers of temporary workers are largely urban-based, seasonal farmworkers, or bias frias [FN 5] (Saint 1981). Most of this group is in dire need of land, but the city- or town-based farmworkers might prefer higher wages to land. This probably means a client group for land reform in Brazil of somewhat over 9 million. While the development of the Amazon frontier acts as a safety valve by relieving social and political pressure,
