A The Motorcycle in the Life of the Families of Rural Producers in Minas Gerais

Abstract

The “routine displacement” between the city (street) and the countryside (countryside) and not just from the countryside to the street has intensified the use of motorcycles by families of rural producers, which has become increasingly present in the landscape of small municipalities with an agricultural economy. The objective of this study was to understand the use of motorcycles by families of rural producers in the Minas Gerais, the second state with the highest number of motorcycles in Brazil. The data used were from the primary data, obtained through the application of 605 questionnaires, in 11 of the 12 mesoregions of Minas General. The results revealed that the motorcycle was characterized as enabling the maintenance of life in the "country". The use of motorcycles was perceived by rural producers as favoring the management of rural property and the development of productive activities on the property. Even through housing on the “street”, the rural property continued to show itself as an integral part of family life, especially for low-tech producers, with low agricultural income, who sought in the “street” the possibility of combining agricultural and cultural activities non-agricultural resources for their social reproduction