MST Informe
April 4, 2003
MST

In that context, numerous activities have been developed throughout Brazil, such as marches, assemblies of landless people, occupations,walks, lectures, and expositions to denounce the continuation of the latifúndio in Brazil and to proclaim the need for a genuine Agrarian Reform.

Agrarian Reform, in its essence, is the action of the government to expropriate the large, unproductive landholdings and to distribute them to the rural poor to work them. And through that governmental action, comes about a process of democratization of the ownership of land.

The country has 27,556 large landowners who own farms larger than 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres), about 43% of all Brazilian lands - enough to settle all landless Brazilians.

The numbers in the agrarian issue bring us to the problems of the entire Brazilian society: - Brazil has the largest latifúndio on the planet, an area of 4.5 million hectares (11 million acres) belonging to contractor CR Almeida of Curitiba. - The concentration of land results in the cultivation of only 40 million hectares (100 acres) or 10 % of arable land. - Foreign companies in Brazil own more than 30 million hectares (74 million acres) of land; the majority of the land in the municipality of Luis Eduardo Magalhães, in the west of the state of Bahia, has been bought by landowners from the United States. - In the United States, the population in prison is greater than the population living in rural areas.

Today, more than ever, agrarian reform is a necessary policy for resolving the problems of the entire Brazilian society, and not just of the rural landless workers. It is essential for growth and for national sovereignty. The ownership of land should belong to Brazilians, in order to produce food for the population, and to generate employment in the countryside, and an internal market for industry. This policy will tend to considerably improve the quality of life in all society, through the containment of the rural exodus, which today produces the swelling of population in urban centres, lack of employment, hunger and the wild increase in violence.

NEWS BRIEFS

New Occupations Kick Off Campaign Against the Latifúndio in Pernambuco

Since March 29th, the MST of Pernambuco has been carrying out a series of occupations on unproductive landholdings as a way of hastening the process of Agrarian Reform. The occupations mark the beginning of activities for the World Day of Peasant Struggle, created in honour of the deaths in the massacre of de Eldorado dos Carajás. Almost 3000 families took part in the occupations which extended over 12 municipalities in the state.

Harvest Festival in Goiás

On the last weekend of March, the Second Harvest Festival was celebrated in the settlement of Canudos in Goiás. The settlement is the fruit of a five-year struggle and today it holds 350 producing families. The festival relied on the presence of the settlers and invited friends who support the struggle, cultural presentations and great participation from the students of the 26th Group of the National School of Formation.

Extra! Extra! Brasil de Fato Newspaper in Newstands Now

The newspaper Brasil de Fato, launched during the World Social Forum of 2003, is now in newstands. In its 4th edition, the newspaper presents the news of Brazil and the world without bias. It can be obtained in the nearest newsstand for R$ 2 (just under US$1). To subscribe, contact by telephone 3333-6244 or by electronic mail: assinaturas@brasildefato.com.br. Visit http://www.brasildefato.com.br/

Letters

The MST is to be congratulated for its anti-war stance. Violence begets violence. The northamerican people need to show Bush that he is being insane.

Thank you for LetraViva, through it I accessed the electronic address of the embassy of the USA. I have already sent a message. Greetings, in peace, without war!

I fully agree with you. I imagine that nothing remains to be done, except to pray that this war does not last long.