NEWS FROM BRAZIL supplied by SEJUP (Servico
Brasileiro de Justica e Paz).
Number 482, February 18, 2003
In this edition of News from Brazil, you will find two articles about an
encampment site located just outside the city of Sao Paulo. The first
article is by Sejup's own Chad Ribordy who visited the site last November.
The second article is a translated article which appeared in the Jornal
Cantareira, a local newspaper which sent reporters to the site in January
of this year.
Brazilian Persistence
by Chad Ribordy
"The Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) is the largest social
movement in Latin America and one of the most successful grassroots
movements in the world. Hundreds of thousands of landless peasants have
taken onto themselves the task of carrying out a long-overdue land reform
in a country mired by an overly skewed land distribution pattern. Less than
3% of the population owns two-thirds of Brazil's arable land.
While 60% of Brazil's farmland lies idle, 25 million peasants struggle to
survive by working in temporary agricultural jobs. The Landless Workers'
Movement is a response to these inequalities. In 1985, with the support of
the Catholic Church, hundreds of landless rural Brazilians took over an
unused plantation in the south of the country and successfully established
a cooperative there. They gained title to the land in 1987. Today more than
250,000 families have won land titles to over 15 million acres after MST
land takeovers.
In 1999 alone, 25,099 families occupied unproductive land. There are
currently 71,472 families in encampments throughout Brazil awaiting
government recognition.
The success of the MST lies in its ability to organize. Its members have
not only managed to secure land, thereby guaranteeing food security for
their families, but have come up with an alternative socio-economic
development model that puts people before profits. This is transforming the
face of Brazil's countryside and Brazilian politics at large.
These gains have not come without a cost, however. Violent clashes between
the MST and police, as well as landowners, have become commonplace,
claiming the lives of many peasants and their leaders. In the past 10
years, more than 1000 people have been killed as a result of land conflicts
in Brazil. Prior to August 1999, only 53 of the suspected murders have been
brought to trial.
The MST has resisted this repression and has been able to gather support
from a broad international network of human rights groups, religious
organizations, and labor unions. It has received a number of international
awards, including The Right Livelihood Award and an education award from
UNICEF.
In order to maximize production, the MST has created 60 food cooperatives
as well as small agricultural industries. Their literacy program involves
600 educators who presently work with adults and adolescents. The movement
also monitors 1,000 primary schools in their settlements, in which 2,000
teachers work with about 50,000 kids." (Source: MST Online)
This past year, the MST has been organizing in our neighborhood. The idea
is to invite families who are at-risk to go to the countryside and try to
live off the land in a more dignified way. Earlier this year, about 20
families from our area joined forces with 600+ other families from the
region and occupied a piece of government-owned property.
We had an opportunity to visit the families in late November of last year.
The first thing that impressed us were the plastic tents scattered on the
hillsides. The tents are serving as make-shift housing for the 300
families. The frames are made of bamboo and tree limbs and then covered
with black plastic tarp. They told us that they can erect a tent in one
afternoon. The plastic lasts for about six months and then breaks down due
to the sun's ultraviolet rays. Most of the tents, erected in July when the
occupation began, are showing signs of deterioration. They are hot
underneath the Brazilian sun, and are cold at night.
Of course, there is no running water nor electricity. Some families took
it upon themselves to dig 30+ feet wells…..by hand! Others get their water
from a small creek running through the property.
The families currently have absolutely no source of income. They are
surviving solely on donations. When we arrived, folks were lining up to
receive their allotment of beans and rice, the staples here in Brazil.
They have begun to grow some of their own food, but have harvested very
little at this point. Individuals have planted around their tents, but
also there is a community garden. Everyone is expected to spend some time
working in this garden.
There is also a tent that is used as a pharmacy-all donated medicine-but it
seems that many folks go to the local "doctor," a man who uses natural
remedies. We had a chance to visit this doctor, a very lively, outgoing
man who seems to be a trusted leader of the community. Somehow the topic
of blood pressure came up, and he explained that he has no fancy gadgets
for measuring it. Then he showed us how he does it: He takes a ruler,
places it on the arm, and dangles a pair of scissors connected to a string
above the ruler. The scissors will begin to swing above a number on the
ruler giving the systolic measure, then will swing again on another number
to give the diastolic measure. He demonstrated on one of our friends who
went with us, and she said it was accurate.
The kids of the families go to a tent school where they learn the basics,
but also learn about the philosophy of the MST. While we were there, the
kids were taking a little tour of the community garden and the head
gardener was teaching them about the importance of growing your own food.
Though there is minimal infrastructure, the families have invested a good
amount of time setting up the basics. I asked a man if it was discouraging
to set up everything knowing that at any moment he might have to tear it
all down and move in a short period of time. "No," he replied,
"it's all
part of the struggle. And it's struggle and hope that keep us going."
Said with true Brazilian persistence!
Those in the Land Struggle Are Now Producing
by Jucara Terezinha Zotts
Just outside the city of Sao Paulo, 620 families recently celebrated their
first harvest of beans and corn. The families are occupying 200 hectares
of land owned by the city's water company, Sabesp, which has abandoned the
property. The families began the occupation on July 20th, 2002. "Hunger
is no longer our principal problem as the land is productive and provides
life for hundreds--children, adolescents and adults who were suffering from
hunger in the periphery of the city," commented a smiling Nelson Teodoro,
one of those occupying the area.
President Luis Ignacio da Silva's "Zero Hunger" project is a concrete
reality for the people of this encampment and serves as an example of what
is possible for the rest of the country in terms of eradicating hunger
through policies and incentives for food production and commercialization.
At the same time, this particular encampment is also an example of the
MST's new strategy for land reform. The idea is to occupy land located
near big metropolitan areas, cultivate the land using organic methods,
diversify production and work cooperatively. The produce can then be
transported to the city without incurring as high transportation costs as
they would if the occupation site were far from urban populations. "The
MST's new strategy is one of the most important in attempting to end the
hunger of 46 million Brazilians. It is also a way to diminish
unemployment, reduce incidents of violence and resolve in part the problem
of housing," commented Neveen Manikonspel, a Catholic priest who is
accompanying the occupation.
Adao da Silva, one of the coordinators of the encampment, said that in
initially it was difficult for many workers who were unaccustomed to the
hoe. "Little by little, folks got used to the labor, and today we have
good reason to celebrate. Besides corn and beans, each family planted
their own garden with vegetables and medicinal herbs."
The people on the encampment have come from various regions of the greater
metropolitan area of Sao Paulo. They fled from shanty towns, run-down
apartment buildings, or the street, living in situations where they were
submitted to exploitation, violence and various forms of discrimination.
They also came with the idea of participating in the struggle for agrarian
reform in Brazil. "The urban population in the state of Sao Paulo is
shocking: 93% of the population live in urban areas. A significant
percentage of this population live in areas unsuited for human habitation,
and thus creates chronic problems for these cities as their populations
expand," said Manikonspel. "The encampments and the
‘pre-settlements' are
the first steps for workers who want to return to the land through the
settlement program of the MST. This current phase we are now in
prioritizes activities which help participants understand the MST, develop
skills, and nurture a community spirit."
The MST's struggle on the national level is to gain land titles quickly as
possible for nearly 85,000 families throughout Brazil who are living on
encampments. The hope is that President Lula will use his powers to
appropriate large, non-producing land tracts and redistribute these lands
in an equitable manner.
Source: Jornal Cantareira, January-February, 2003
The reproduction of this material is permitted as long as the source is
cited.
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