Abstract

CASTRO, Carlos de; GADEA, Elena; PEDRENO, Andrés  and  RAMIREZ, Antonio J.. The role of social and political coalitions on the development of the agro-export sector Coalitions: Murcian fruit and work in global agri-food production networks. Mundo agrar. [online]. 2017, vol.18, n.37, pp.00-00. ISSN 1515-5994.

The territory of the Vega Media del Segura in Murcia is historically articulated to global commodity chains (Esparto) and agri-food (fruits). These historical articulations have operated through changing coalitions of social forces depending on the product and depending on the historical cycle. Specifically, food production has experienced two moments that occur discontinuously in time: the first fruit and vegetable export cycle begun in the early twentieth century and closed in the 50s; fruit and vegetable exporter. The second exportation cycle started from the 60s, consolidated in the late 80s and early 90s and lasts until today. In this complex scenario wage work has had an enormous centrality, although there has been deeply segmented into a variety of production figures-agricultural laborer, the collector Esparto, women stores manipulated or canneries, worker esparto factories, etc. and in which the lines of differentiation by class, gender, ethnicity and even age have had a huge role. The article shows the political dimensions of the historical process of the construction of this productive space from the perspective of a socio-history of labor relations in connection with the changing forms of articulation of territory with global commodity chains. To do this article will build on the contributions of studies on global commodity chains and global production networks and regional studies

Keywords : Agri-food industry; Work; Strategic coupling; Global production networks.