Financial investments and land market: the case of large scale capitals in Uruguayan agriculture
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Abstract
This paper studies the specific characteristics of land financialization in Uruguay, with focus on large scale capitals. Based on a qualitative-quantitative design that processed various sources of information, 37 large scale capitals were identified, covering 11.6 % of the agricultural area of the country. Twenty-three domestic and foreign private corporations, seven foreign investment funds and seven financial trust operators were identified. These large scale capitals record different forms of land tenure (owners, tenants and lessors), different origin of capital (state or private), closed or open-ended stock-exchange composition, and national or transnational territorialization. The analysis showed the key role played by various financial instruments and actors, which in many cases make creditors and shareholders invisible behind the large capitals operating in the land market.
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