Why Landless Workers' Movement wants more than farmers’ markets: the scaling up of agroecology and social justice in Brazil

This paper critically examines farmers' markets (FMs) in politically contested settings in Brazil. Through a case study of the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST – Landless Workers' Movement), the research explores how Brazil's largest rural social movement pursues FMs as politically driven retail spaces through its Armazém do Campo network. Drawing on 144 interview excerpts from 99 news pages published on the MST's official website between July 2016 and May 2025, the analysis reveals a significant reconfiguration of the FMs model, which has emerged not under conditions of state support, but within politically hostile contexts marked by conservative administrations, as observed in Brazil and elsewhere. MST leaders and landless workers describe these spaces as “refuges” for marginalised groups and as “embassies” in cities representing agrarian interests. The findings demonstrate how consumers collectively assume responsibility for driving social change, thereby advancing what we conceptualise as mass food political consumerism – a form that democratises access by reclaiming scaling-up processes as tools to counter exclusionary dynamics. As a grassroots initiative of resistance, innovation, and solidarity, Armazém do Campo adds value to food by infusing FMs with the agendas of Global South movements. • Farmers' Markets (FMs) serve as political sites of resistance under conservative administrations • New FM models emerge as adaptive responses to systemic social exclusion • Landless Workers' Movement uses markets to promote agroecology and social justice • FMs enable mass food political consumerism in Brazil • Grassroots movements scale up FMs to democratise food access