Disputed Lands: State, Frontier and Power in Southern Mato Grosso (1937–1945): Estado, Fronteira e Poder no Sul de Mato Grosso (1937–1945)

The book Disputed Lands: State, Frontier and Power in Southern Mato Grosso (1937–1945) analyzes the processes of territorial occupation, land control, and land regularization in southern Mato Grosso, now Mato Grosso do Sul, during the Estado Novo period. The study emphasizes the role of Companhia Matte Larangeira in yerba mate exploitation and in the concentration of extensive borderland areas, as well as the conflicts involving settlers, squatters, private companies, Indigenous peoples, and state agents. Within the context of the “March to the West” policy, the Vargas government began to treat the frontier as a strategic issue of national security and territorial integration. In this setting, the Special Commission for the Review of Land Concessions in the Border Strip played a central role in reviewing titles and limiting private power. The work shows how land, State authority, and political power shaped regional history.