Encampment for the Sixth National Congress is the size of four soccer fields
February 9, 2014
The 6th National Congress of the MST, taking place from February 10-14 in the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasília, hopes to bring together nearly sixteen thousand delegates from 23 Brazilian states, as well as 250 international guests.
In preparation for the event, a large encampment is being constructed around the Gymnasium — the equivalent of a small city — with a total area larger than four soccer fields.
According to Diego Moreira, from the MST’s national leadership in Paraná, the Congress is a time to crystallize and advance the collective discussion that began two years ago among MST members about the limitations and decline of the classic Agrarian Reform program and the need for People’s Agrarian Reform.
“The decline of the classic Agrarian Reform program is perceived by MST members as the advance of agribusiness, disposession of the land, and lack of agrarian reform. This situation shows our base the practical necessity of building People’s Agrarian Reform,” says Moreira.
The central goal of this grand undertaking is to define a political action plan for the MST, reaffirming the necessity of the struggle for People’s Agrarian Reform across the country.
It’s also a time to celebrate the last 30 years of the movement, which has built settlements for close to 350 thousand families, giving them access to the land they need to sustain their families and improve their quality of life.
Structure
Altogether, nearly 38,000 square meters of tents are being erected outside the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium. These tents will house kitchens, lodging areas, support services like reception and accreditation, health, childcare, and the international delegates, among others. There will also be 280 showers and 400 chemical toilets.
In order to feed all the Congress participants, approximately 150 kitchens will be running throughout the week. They will prepare meals with food grown by landless workers in the MST settlements.
It is predicted that an average of 10 thousand tons of food and about 300 thousand liters of water will be used per day to prepare meals and run bathrooms and water fountains, as well as clean up.
Preparation for the physical aspects of the Congress has been in progress since the end of last year. Since January 21, nearly 140 MST activists have been in Brasília, working in teams to make the Congress a reality.
The installation of structures inside and outside of the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium began last Tuesday. Some of the lodging, shower, and bathroom tents are still missing. They are all expected to be set up by the end of the day on Saturday, February 8 to receive the MST state delegates and national and international guests.
Alongside the Congress, from February 10 to 13, there will also be a National Exhibition of Peasant Culture and Production taking place next to the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium. This event is being organized by rural cooperatives, associations, producers’ collectives, and settlement organizations from various Brazilian states. Agricultural and industrial products from workers in Agrarian Reform settlements
will be sold.
According to Milton Fornazieri, from the production sector of the MST, the goal is to present to society the diversity of products from these settlements and the need for an industrialized rural agriculture in which the workers have control over the processing of the food.
“The exhibition, by showing and selling products of Agrarian Reform, hopes to create a dialogue within society about the importance of family farming, which is responsible for 70 percent of the diverse array of food that ends up on the tables of Brazilian families,” he explains.
There will be more than two thousand square meters of tents displaying products typical of each region of the country, along with 12 small agro-industries that produce sugarcane, cassava flour, yerba maté, and artisanal cachaça, among others.
The event will also feature space for the exchange of seeds and seedlings, as well as cultural presentations from the five regions of Brazil.
Translated by Karen Narefsky
Click on the name for more Congress encampment photos and farmer's market photos.