The distinctive blend of authoritarian and technocratic rule in Brazil since 1964 has been well explored in its implications for industrial policy, but the consequences of two decades of military rule for agriculture are only now being studied. This article will analyze state policy in the single agricultural sector of sugar in light of major changes in sociopolitical and economic structures and in view of the particular relations between the state and civil society that have characterized Brazil after 1964. Although debate continues over the precise nature of these relations, it is widely held that the state played the dominant role in the policy process, subordinating elites, excluding popular classes from the decision-making arena, and incorporating international capital as a critical element in economic growth.