“In the past, there was no such thing!”: Crime, migration and the redefinition of the countryside in Zona da Mata Mineira

Abstract

Introdution: The rural development made possible by the modernization of agriculture added several positive results for the field, such as the use of technology, improvements in the quality of transport and infrastructure, even though its distribution has been uneven. However, the countryside, represented for decades as a peaceful place, begins to become a space conducive to certain criminal practices until then considered typically urban. Objective: The aim of the present work is to analyze whether the increase in criminality in the countryside has been changing social representations about rural areas and influencing family projects of spatial displacement and abandonment of agricultural activities. Methodology: The methodology consists of documentary and field research, with the application of questionnaires and interviews with rural families. Results: The results show that there is a relationship between the discontinuity of agricultural activity and the increase in criminality in rural areas, since robberies and thefts are mainly aimed at the elderly and small family properties. Factors presented as favorable for the occurrence of these crimes are the ease of escape and the low policing in those locations.