{"id":17397,"date":"2025-03-18T15:34:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T18:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redept.org\/blogosfera\/landless-workers-movement-pressures-the-government-with-occupations-in-brazil\/"},"modified":"2025-03-18T15:34:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T18:34:06","slug":"landless-workers-movement-pressures-the-government-with-occupations-in-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redept.com.br\/blogosfera\/landless-workers-movement-pressures-the-government-with-occupations-in-brazil\/","title":{"rendered":"Landless Workers\u2019 Movement pressures the government with occupations in Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Protesters denounce problems caused by eucalyptus monoculture, such as aerial spraying of pesticides and concentration of land ownership. Photo: Gabriela Moncau\/Brasil de Fato<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Por Carolina Bataier
Do Brasil de Fato\/<\/a>S\u00e3o Paulo (SP)<\/em><\/p>\n

A series of actions on Thursday (13) led by women from Brazil\u2019s Landless Rural Workers\u2019 Movement (MST, in Portuguese) increased the pressure on the Lula government (Workers\u2019 Party)\u00a0to push agrarian reform policies forward<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The mobilization occurred in 24 Brazilian states where there are MST activities and was part of the Landless Women\u2019s Day of Struggle,previous to the MST\u2019s Red April, massive actions to demand agrarian reform in the country. Landless families occupied areas isn the states of Bahia and Cear\u00e1 that did not comply with the social function provided for in the Brazilian Constitution.<\/p>\n

According to the MST website, the protests\u00a0denounce the impact of agribusiness activities<\/a>, such as the intense use of pesticides, land-grabbing and violence targeting rural communities. \u00a0<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0letter\u00a0<\/a>published\u00a0on its official website<\/a>, MST stressed the movement\u2019s goal, \u201cto denounce those who have historically been enemies of the people, our longtime antagonists in the class struggle, who target a project of society based on people\u2019s sovereignty and that is truly eco-friendly and socialist.\u201d<\/p>\n

The protests happened a week after\u00a0the government\u2019s announcement<\/a>\u00a0that seven farms and rural estates would be expropriated for the creation of 138 settlements, totaling 12,297 land plots. The decision was published in Brazil\u2019s Official Gazette on Monday (10).<\/p>\n

Despite celebrating the measure, the MST says it is insufficient and is below expectations considering Lula\u2019s promises. The MST demands the immediate settlement of at least 65 landless families that have been living in occupation for more than 10 years.\u00a0The government\u2019s announcement includes less than 5,000 MST families<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The movement\u2019s letter says that \u201cthe\u00a0Popular Agrarian Reform<\/a>\u00a0that we defend is not just a productive and environmental process but a feminist and anti-racist cultural revolution, breaking all the oppressive aspects, besides being a permanent praxis towards human and social emancipation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Eucalyptus feeds nobody<\/strong>\u2018<\/h4>\n

With the slogan \u201cAgribusiness means violence and environmental crimes, women\u2019s struggle stands against the capital,\u201d the main target of landless women\u2019s struggle is forestry companies, mainly pine and\u00a0eucalyptus\u00a0<\/a>monocultures.<\/p>\n

In the city of Aracruz, in the state of Esp\u00edrito Santo, around a thousand women occupied an area owned by the\u00a0Suzano pulp company<\/a>, where they set up an encampment. \u201cEsp\u00edrito Santo is going through a very difficult moment due to the expansion of eucalyptus monoculture, which started in the 1960s,\u201d explains a spokeswoman for the MST in the state, referring to the establishment of Aracruz Celulose, which later became Fibria and now Suzano. The activist\u2019s statement, who preferred not to be identified, was given to\u00a0BdF<\/strong>, which accompanied the action.<\/p>\n

\"Women
Women led occupation in eucalyptus plantations in the state of Esp\u00edrito Santo. Photo: Lua Carvalho\/MST<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Imperatriz, in the state of Maranh\u00e3o, the MST female militants obstructed one of the main roads to Suzano\u2019s largest factory in Brazil. On Thursday morning (13), more than 250 women from rural communities in the states of Maranh\u00e3o, Par\u00e1 and Tocantins occupied part of the BR-010 highway.<\/p>\n

There are accusations of violence against rural workers,\u00a0aerial spraying of pesticides<\/a>\u00a0and contamination of both soil and water due to the advance of agribusiness in the region.<\/p>\n

In the Gua\u00edba, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, a group of women protested in front of the multinational pulp and paper Chilean company CMPC. They denounced the threats posed by the advance of soy and eucalyptus monoculture in the Pampa, the predominant biome in the Rio Grande do Sul territory, Brazil\u2019s southernmost state.<\/p>\n

As part of its actions, the MST submitted a Notice of Fact to the Federal Public Prosecutor\u2019s Office (MPF, in Portuguese), supported by several entities, denouncing the deregulation of environmental norms related to forestry and its socio-environmental impacts in Rio Grande do Sul.<\/p>\n

BdF<\/strong>\u00a0asked for a statement from Suzano and CMPC but had not received a response by the time this news story was published. If the companies write back, this news story will be updated.<\/p>\n

Landless families demand unproductive areas<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The occupation of lands, one of MST tactics, is part of the actions of the Landless Women\u2019s Day of Struggle.<\/p>\n

In Chapada Diamantina, a region in the state of Bahia, around 300 families occupied lands in the municipalities of Nova Reden\u00e7\u00e3o and Boa Vista do Tupim. The areas the movement claims have remained unproductive for years.<\/p>\n

The actions in Bahia extend to the extreme south of the state, where around 600 female MST militants have occupied a section of the BR-101 highway.<\/p>\n

In Cear\u00e1, more than 220 families are occupying an area in the Tabuleiro de Russas Irrigation Perimeter, located in the municipality of Limoeiro do Norte. That\u2019s one of the main areas of agribusiness activity in the state, according to the movement. The activists are demanding 2,000 hectares of land to settle 200 families.<\/p>\n

As well as demanding land, the landless families denounce the aerial spraying of pesticides using drones, which is considered a major step backwards. Cear\u00e1\u2019s government approved the use of these devices at the end of 2024.<\/p>\n

Occupations of Incra and legislative assemblies<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In Macei\u00f3, the capital of Alagoas, around 800 women are\u00a0occupying the superintendence of Brazil\u2019s Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra, in Portuguese)<\/a>. The movement demands that Incra resolve the agenda of peasant women from all regions of the state. One of the obstacles in Alagoas is the case of the lands of the bankrupt estate of the Jo\u00e3o Lyra Group mills, which the movement claims to create settlements.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in Macei\u00f3 to highlight the struggle and the need for agrarian reform in defense of the lives of female rural peasants. Women are also responsible for providing food to society and this is our banner: Agrarian reform to produce food and contribute to the development of our state and our country,\u201d said Margarida da Silva, from the MST\u2019s national leadership.<\/p>\n

The action had the participation of other rural movements in Alagoas, such as the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT, in Portuguese), National Struggle Front (FNL, in Portuguese), Landless Rural Workers\u2019 Movement (MST), Land Struggle Movement (MLT, in Portuguese), Popular Struggle Movement (MPL, in Portuguese), Social Struggle Movement (MSL, in Portuguese), Via do Trabalho Movement (MVT, in Portuguese) and Free Land Movement (TL, in Portuguese).<\/p>\n

At the Incra superintendence in S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a>, protesters took banners and posters to the Legislative Assembly, asking \u201cWhere is the agrarian reform in S\u00e3o Paulo?\u201d.<\/p>\n

After entering the building, the group took part in a meeting with Incra\u2019s superintendent, Sabrina Diniz. During the meeting, the protesters presented the reality of each region of the state, as well as delivered a document formalizing their demands.<\/p>\n

\"A
A protest in the Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso. Photo: MST MT<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the state of Mato Grosso, the Landless Women\u2019s Day of Struggle is taking place at the state Legislative Assembly in Cuiab\u00e1, the state\u2019s capital, with the participation of 150 landless women from rural areas, settlements and other peasant and urban organizations from all regions of the state. The activities aim to denounce the various forms of daily violence the assembly has legitimized.<\/p>\n

In recent months, the Legislative Assembly of Mato Grosso has approved bills that\u00a0threaten environmental preservation<\/a>,\u00a0such as a bill allowing areas of the Amazon biome in the state to be reclassified as Cerrado<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 another of Brazil\u2019s biomes \u2013 increasing deforestation. The state government\u00a0vetoed\u00a0<\/a>the bill.<\/p>\n

Tree planting in the Federal District<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In Brazil\u2019s Federal District, the day\u2019s activities began on March 11 and will continue until March 14, at the MST encampment in Planaltina. The program includes various activities, such as tree planting, debates, free training, moments of self-care and activities to denounce violence.<\/p>\n

\"A
A debate with the national coordinator of the Human Rights sector of the MST, Ayala Ferreira; the secretary of women of the CUT-DF and activist of the World March of Women, Thaisa Magalh\u00e3es; and MST activist Jaqueline Pivato. Photo: Ca\u00edna Castanha | BdF DF<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Leidiane Evangelista, from the movement\u2019s national leadership, it is necessary to break away from the view that only men work in rural areas and produce food. \u201cIt is essential to give visibility to the female contribution in agriculture and to promote agroecology as a healthy and balanced way of life, in which families occupy a central position both in production and in the organization of life in the countryside,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Edi\u00e7\u00e3o:\u00a0Nicolau Soares\/BDF
Tradu\u00e7\u00e3o:\u00a0Ana Paula Rocha<\/em><\/p>\n

O post Landless Workers\u2019 Movement pressures the government with occupations in Brazil<\/a> apareceu primeiro em MST<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Related Post<\/h3><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Brasil dobra o n\u00famero de assassinatos no campo em ...<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Anvisa aprova novo f\u00e1rmaco com inje\u00e7\u00e3o semestral p...<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Pris\u00e3o, perda de patente: entenda pr\u00f3ximos passos ...<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Rog\u00e9rio coloca direitos das mulheres no centro do ...<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n<\/div>