Questions raised for debate on aging in rural areas

Abstract

The article analyzes aging in rural areas from a critical perspective, emphasizing that aging is not merely a biological process but one that is socially determined by class, gender, race/ethnicity, and territory. Rapid population aging has been marked by inequalities and by the weak enforcement of rights, especially in rural contexts, where exhausting labor, poverty, and limited access to public policies prevail. Grounded in critical gerontology and based on bibliographic and documentary research, the text challenges naturalizing and individualizing views of old age in light of the lived reality of aging rural workers. It examines the impact of pension counter-reforms which hinder access to rural retirement and increase disparities. It also highlights the role of memory and orality in preserving knowledge and community identities, which are threatened by the breakdown of intergenerational ties. It concludes that aging in rural areas involves inequalities, but also resistance, belonging, and the production of meaning, thus requiring public policies that ensure dignified aging.