Law, Property, and Power in the History of Urban Latin America

FAIN: FT-53691-05

Brodwyn Michelle Fischer
Northwestern University (Evanston, IL 60208-0001)

Focusing on Mexico City, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro, this work will trace these cities’ interlocking histories of urban expansion and property conflict, focusing ultimately on the role of legal ambiguity in creating political power and empowerment in societies where the letter of the law often contradicts its moral and social underpinnings. This will be the first historical work to trace the 20th century history of land conflict in any of these cities, as well as the first to argue that property relations are critical to understanding citizenship and power relations in modern urban Latin America.