Neoliberal Environmentality among Elites: Becoming “Responsible Producers” in Santarém,<scp>B</scp>razil

Abstract

Abstract Soybean agriculture is expanding into the B razilian A mazon, with certification programs in place to limit the environmental impact. Based on an ethnographic study with soybean farmers in S antarém, P ará S tate, B razil, I claim that, through their enrollment in this conservation program, soybean farmers have come to see themselves as “responsible producers.” Despite their self‐identification as responsible producers, they treat environmental restrictions as a necessary cost imposed by civil society as they strive to transform the region into a commercial agriculture center, in contrast to alternative socio‐ecological production practices, thus exemplifying neoliberal environmentality. Through studying up with landed elites, this work demonstrates a distinct form of neoliberal environmentality.