La montée de la classe moyenne dans les pays d’Amérique Latine : quel impact sur l’innovation agro-alimentaire et territoriale ?

• Main Author: Denis Requier-Desjardins
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institut Pluridisciplinaire pour les Etudes sur l'Amérique Latine 2016-11-01
• Series: L'Ordinaire des Amériques
• Subjects: food products qualification; middle class; innovation; consumption patterns; Latin America
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/orda/3149

According to an array of recent studies, the middle class seems to be on the rise in Latin America. Even if there are controversies about the scope and permanence of this trend, it is relevant to raise the issue of its impact on consumption patterns and, from there, on the productive systems which cater on the corresponding demand. Furthermore these patterns do also integrate patterns of mobility which relate to space and place. Rurality is therefore questioned from both points of view. The present article studies the impact of the rise of the middle class on innovations in terms of food quality and more generally on the definition of a new rurality. To test this impact, the links between quality, innovation, and demand in the food system before are summarized, specifying innovation processes linked in Latin America to the valorization of specific quality of food products either on ethical environmental or place-related bases. This study draws on several research projects carried out on Local Agri-Food systems, short circuits, and agro-ecological markets in Latin America, as well as local development paths in rural areas. Data concerning the rise of the middle class in Latin America are then reviewed before a characterization of the role of the middle class as an incentive for these innovations. The conclusion stresses “weak signals” of a link between food quality and middle class demand, while underlining the limits of this process.