MST Occupies INCRA in Maranhão to Demand Expropriation of Illegally Occupied Land

Since Monday (January 30, 2012), about 450 rural workers have occupied the headquarters of the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) in Imperatriz (MA). Workers organized by the MST - representing families of nine camps in the southeastern region of the state - demanding the expropriation of land for the settlement of about 3,000 families camped in Maranhão.

At the moment, they are waiting for the meeting, scheduled for Friday (February 3, 2012), with the superintendent of the state agency, José Ignacio Sodré.

Some of the families that occupy INCRA are from the encampment Roselí Nunes, of Senator La Roque, where about a thousand families could benefit if the plot with 28,000 hectares of illegally titled land were expropriated.  [Ed. The term used in the article is “terras griladas” which refers to land where the title of ownership was falsified by the current “owner.”]

In addition to the settlement of encamped families, the occupiers will discuss with José Inácio improvements to the settlements of the region and benefits [i.e. credits] for production.

This is the third round of negotiations with workers in the region, since José Inácio took control of the state INCRA at the beginning of last year. Disappointed with the delay of INCRA in solving problems, farmers promise stronger actions if they don’t consider the negotiations satisfactory this Friday.

February 2, 2012