Position of MST on the Legal Proceedings in the Supreme Court and the Political Prisoners

Dear Comrades José Dirceu and José Genoíno,

The National Directorate of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) has been following with indignation the Judgment of Exception and unjust conviction.

We vehemently repudiate the action of the Brazilian judiciary, especially the Supreme Court (STF), servant to the ruling class in thecountry, which for years has been acting against the working class, social movements and political struggle.

For Social Movements, criminalization is a retreat from democratic gains obtained through the historical struggles of the workers, of which you are subject protagonists.

In the last period, the MST has also been the target of the partisan actions of the judiciary in relation to the blockade of Agrarian Reform, the continuing violence in the countryside, the perpetuation of impunity for crimes and massacres committed and to the political persecution against our legal entities.

This action has been strengthened by the means of mass communication from a class alliance between the dominant sectors, which think up “media shows," restricting the right to information and criticism. In the case of this trial, the alliance between Globo and the STF are evident and reveal, once again, the power of hegemonic domination.

Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment to denounce and combat promiscuous practices of the judiciary and the Brazilian bourgeois media. We will continue in the struggle to build a sovereign country with effective popular participation and uncompromising construction of social justice.

Expressing our indignation, we join with you and demand your immediate release.

“AGAINST THE INTOLERANCE OF RICH, THE INSTRANSIGENCE OF THE POOR "
Florestan Fernandes

São Paulo, November 22, 2013

[Ed. Note: José Dirceu and José Genoíno are two former leaders of the Workers Party who were accused of public corruption in the so-called “monthly payments” scandal.  Both have a long history of struggle against the elites, as leaders in the struggle against the military dictatorship and as leaders in the militant labor movement.]