Landless movement invades public land in Brazil’s Northeast

A group of about 1,500 demonstrators from the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) once again invaded a farm belonging to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), a federal agency, on Monday.

The MST had previously occupied the area in April, but left after a week. The movement’s chapter in the northeastern state of Pernambuco argued that they reoccupied the area because the federal government has not followed through on a promise to create settlements for the squatting families.

The MST announced that today’s occupation was aimed at preventing this year’s edition of the Semiárido Show, an agricultural technology expo. The event, organized by Embrapa, is scheduled for August 1-4.

The MST is Brazil’s main land reform group and has strong ties to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party. Public opinion of the organization is deeply polarized. 

While many on the left see the MST as a champion of social issues, defending land redistribution and sustainable agriculture, the large-scale agricultural sector largely views MST members as “terrorists” who encourage the invasion of private land. In the first half of this year, the rural caucus in the House successfully pushed for a hearings committee to investigate the organization, which will run until September.

Jaime Amorim, an MST leader in Pernambuco, said in a statement: “We elected the Lula government, and we need the [Agrarian Development] Ministry to fulfill its role in meeting the demands of land reform.” The statement argues that the ministry has “broken all agreements.”

Embrapa’s press office told The Brazilian Report that it is “still investigating the information” about the invasion.

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