The novela’s central drama is rooted in the clash between two economic models. The Mezenga family, led by the ruthless patriarch Antonio Mezenga (Raul Cortez), represents the old Brazil of coronelismo —where land is hoarded, justice is private, and peasants ( posseiros ) are disposable. Antonio’s obsession with amassing land leads him to murder and fraud, symbolized by the theft of a key property from the Berdinazzi family. In contrast, the Berdinazzi patriarch, Giuseppe (Leonardo Villar), leads a community of Italian immigrants who believe that land’s value comes from labor, not title deeds. Their motto—“A terra é de quem trabalha” (The land belongs to those who work it)—directly challenges the Mezenga ideology. This dichotomy made the novela a daring critique of Brazil’s slow pace of agrarian reform, especially following the 1996 Eldorado dos Carajás massacre (which occurred during the novela’s run), where landless workers were killed by military police.