The literature on rural development focuses on the socio-economic effects of agricultural financing, while the process of policy design is devoted less attention. Identifying policy coalitions may help understand the motivations behind a given financing system. Using Discourse Network Analysis, this paper studies the debates preceding the approval of the National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (Pronaf) in Brazil in the nineties. This represented a relevant overturn of the previous policy framework. Two coalitions were confronting each other: large farm business associations focused on productivity, and the movements of family farmers aimed at creating credit instruments for small producers. The strong pressure of social movements was paramount for promoting Pronaf. However, findings suggest that the Workers Party, which found itself in a less conflicting position, played a key role in negotiating the introduction of particular measures. Acknowledgement :