[5th National Congress] Brazilian Landless Support ALBA Integration Effort

Brazilian Landless Support ALBA Integration Effort

BRASILIA .— The Landless Workers Movement of Brazil (MST) closed their Fifth National Congress this Friday, with marked support for the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), the integration group formed so far by Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua.

The ALBA promotes social and economic development through mutually beneficial trade and solidarity among its member nations.

In the final declaration of its 5th Congress the Movement adopted a commitment to fight against large estates and imperialism, as well as new proposed limits to the size of land holdings.

The MST goals are contained in a document titled the Charter of the 5th National Congress of the Landless Workers Movement, and includes 18 short statements that summarize the topics discussed during the meeting that began Monday attended by 17,500 delegates.

Among the items approved, the landless rural workers highlighted their interest in discussing with other social groups the building of a popular project against neo-liberalism and imperialism, and the structural causes of the problems that affect the people of Brazil.

They pledged to continue struggling for the expropriation of all large estates and “to fight against the transnational corporations that want to control the seeds, production and agricultural trade of Brazil, like Monsanto, Syngenta, Cargill, Bunge, ADM, Nestlé, Basf, Bayer, Aracruz and Stora Enso, among others.

We will also be battling for laws that limit the size of farm properties, something that doesn’t exist at this moment, said Vanderlei Martine, a member of the 300-strong national coordination committee.

The Landless Workers Movement, Martine stated, is advocating for a maximum property size of between 400 and 500 hectares, which they consider enough for both agricultural and cattle production. Such a limit would also provide the opportunity for at least a quarter of a million families, of whom 140,000 are members of the movement, to have access to plots of land to farm.
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Article originally available at http://www.periodico26.cu/english/news_world/landless061607.htm