Political Education: The experience of MST in Brazil

Ana Justo, Florestan Fernandes National School,
The Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST)

Ana Justo has been a leader of Brazil's Landless Workers Movement Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra - MST) for 23 of its 25 years. The largest social movement in Latin America, the MST has 1.5 million members. The MST struggles for land reform, access to healthcare, schools, organic production and infrastructure by promoting ground-up sustainable development based in the needs of all Brazilians. Ana coordinates the Secretariat of the MST's Florestan Fernandes National School located in Guararema, Sao Paulo.

World transformations in recent years have resulted in the centralization of capital accumulation in the financial sphere and for transnational corporations. These transformations have had serious consequences and resulted in growing conflicts between two worlds of agricultural production. The capitalist model is one of an alliance between large landowners, transnational business and the financial system. The businesses supply inputs, buy materials, control the market and fix the prices of agricultural products.

At the beginning of June, the special parliamentary committee which is discussing changes to the Forest Code should issue its final report of changes in the legislation. Because of the absence of a full debate, we denounce the report as serving only the interests of the rural caucus. They are planning to consolidate the deforestation that they have already promoted the in the Cerrado, Mata Atlantica, and Caatinga Pampas and which is advancing the destruction of the Amazon.

Most advanced land reform project to date is still the one presented by João Goulart‘s administration
Published on May 4, 2010
A republican and democratic reform necessary in Brazil
By Mário Augusto Jakobskind - Editor in Chief / Página 64 (Page 64)

Nearly 30 years ago, the Movement of Landless Workers (MST) began to organize nationally with a purpose: to promote agrarian reform in Brazil. The years passed, the movement has consolidated, thousands of activists formed settlements, and the focus of the MST has expanded.

The Swiss multinational Syngenta, which produces genetically modified seeds, was denounced and condemned in the Fourth Permanent Peoples' Tribunal, held in Madrid May 13-17 of this year. This was the second complaint made against the company in court, only this time related to human rights violations resulting from its activities with GMOs, pesticides and seed market dominance. The first complaint (http://terradedireitos.org.br/biblioteca/noticias/tribunal-dos-povos-divulga-sentenca-contra-transnacionais/) was related to the murder of rural worker Keno in 2007, in a company experimental field in Parana.