Three thousand MST families occupy the Santa Monica farm belonging to Senator Eunício Oliveira

On Sunday morning August 31, more than three thousand landless families occupied the Santa Monica Fazenda, located between the municipalities of Alexânia, Abadiânia and Corumba (GO). The farm, registered in the name of Senator Eunício Oliveira (PMDB-EC), is a complex of more than 20,000 hectares, self-declared as unproductive.

"The MST denounces the scandalous association of Senator Eunício with the expulsion of dozens of peasant families in the region, with the sole intention of promoting land speculation in a region where land prices have been appreciating in recent years. Currently, in addition to vast expanses of unproductive land, some properties are leased for the production of soybeans and corn, demonstrating the exclusively financial interest that the senator has with the area," says the note from the MST members.

Senator Eunício Oliveira, candidate for governor of the state of Ceará, is considered the richest candidate for governor in Brazil, taking into account his declared assets - R$ 99,022,714.27.
Besides investments in the pension fund of Banco do Brazil (BrasilPrev Insurance and Pension) - worth R$ 1.5 million - and Agribusiness Credit Bills of the same bank (R$ 2.1 million), the Senator has more than 40% of his wealth reported in rural properties in the state of Goiás.

Read the whole note from the MST

STATEMENT FROM THE MST ABOUT THE OCCUPATION OF THE SANTA MÔNICA FARM – CORUMBÁ/GOIÁS

On Sunday, August 31, about three thousand families of the Rural Workers Landless Movement (MST) occupied the Santa Monica Farm, one of the properties of the candidate for governor and senator from the state of Ceará, Eunício Oliveira.
The properties of the Senator are located between the municipalities of Abadiânia, Alexânia and Corumba, 150 km from Brasilia and 120 km from Goiania. According to data collected by the MST, all the senator's properties are over 20,000 hectares and are self-reported as unproductive.

The MST denounces the scandalous association of Senator Eunício with the expulsion of dozens of peasant families in the region, with the sole intention of promoting land speculation in a region where land prices have been appreciating in recent years.

Currently, in addition to vast expanses of unproductive land, some properties are leased for the production of soybeans and corn, demonstrating the exclusively financial interest that the senator has with the area.
This is a clear example of how the Brazilian state has deep ties with the landowners and agribusiness. The national parliament is today dominated by large farmers, who make up more than one third of the total number of deputies and senators, while there are fewer than a dozen peasant representatives.

It is precisely these large farmers who destroyed the Forest Law and are now moving to destroy indigenous lands (with PEC 215) in addition to defending the easing of labor laws and prevent stricter regulation of pesticides.
Despite the power of agribusiness, which influences the current electoral process, financing the campaign of the leading candidates for executive and legislative positions, the strength of our occupation demonstrates that this death model is living on borrowed time. As the largest occupation held in the state of Goiás in the last 10 years, it is made up of young men and women who demonstrate the relevance of agrarian reform for a new development project for the country, based on the real needs of the working people in Brazil.

With this occupation, MST reaffirms its commitment to Brazilian society to fight for the end of the large estates, against agribusiness and or the production of healthy food for the people of the city and the countryside.
The non-implementation of agrarian reform only benefits a small elite who defend only their own interests, not those of Brazil. So we continue to struggle! And we advise the senator and the state and federal powers: We came to stay, we want Agrarian Reform now!

Struggle, build People's Agrarian Reform!
Corumbá – Goiás, August 31, 2014
State leadership of the MST-Goiás