We introduce this special issue by explaining seven characteristics of land grabbing in Latin America. These features are not unique to the region. By highlighting them arguing, for instance, that a key aspect in Latin America is intra-regional land grabbing driven by (trans)Latina companies we hope to inspire new cross-regional comparisons to understand the dynamics of global land grabbing. Our focus on Latin America challenges some problematic generalisations in the literature, for instance, that land grabs occur mainly in fragile states. We interrogate the relationship between land grabbing and the foreignisation narrative, and the need to revisit the broader question of land concentration. Thus we build upon the literature locating land grabs and the land question within the political economy of global capitalism.