This article explores the social(ist) pedagogies of the Brazilian Landless Workers
Movement (MST), a large agrarian social movement that fights for socialism in the Brazilian
This article explores how social movement co-governance of public education
offers an alternative to neoliberal educational models. The Brazilian
Landless Workers Movement (MST) is one of the largest social movements
in Latin America. We describe one of the many schools that the MST
co-governs, the Itinerant School Paths of Knowledge (Caminhos do Saber),
located in an occupied encampment in the state of Paraná. We analyze
three of the most unique pedagogical innovations in the school: the
Agroecology, as a social movement and scientific discipline, applies ecological principles to the design and management of agricultural systems to improve environmental outcomes and livelihoods for farmers and rural communities. However, little research to date has assessed the policy mechanisms that could facilitate increased adoption of agroecological management practices. We investigated if and how public food procurement programs that provide financial incentives for organic and agroecological production can mitigate key constraints to agroecological transition.
The major challenges of improving food security
and biodiversity conservation are intricately linked. To
date, the intersection of food security and biodiversity
conservation has been viewed primarily through an agricultural
‘‘production lens’’—for example, via the land
sparing/sharing framework, or the concept of sustainable
intensification. However, a productionist perspective has
been criticized for being too narrow, and failing to consider
other relevant factors, including policy, equity, and diversity.
This study assessed the socioecological resilience
of family farms in three land reform settlements in
Mato Grosso, Brazil, located in the ecologically threatened
Cerrado biome. Using focus groups, a household
survey, and analysis of soil samples we characterized
farming systems and quantified indicators of resilience,
which we contextualized with a qualitative analysis of
distributions of power and access to rights and resources.
In Mato Grosso, where diversified agriculture
is a marginal presence in an industrialized agricultural
This contribution explores the strategies used by popular movements seeking to advance
social reforms, and the challenges once they succeed. It analyzes how a strategic alliance
between the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) and the National
Confederation of Agricultural Workers (CONTAG) transformed the Ministry of
Education’s official approach to rural schooling. This success illustrates the critical
role of international allies, political openings, framing, coalitions and state–society
This article provides insights into the process of grassroots educational innovation,
illustrating that communities draw on a diverse set of educational theories that resonate
with local practices and beliefs to develop alternative proposals for their schools. The article
also suggests that certain questions arise about the purpose of public education when social
movements with particular visions of societal transformation demand participation in the
public school sphere. The article argues that this social movement participation is appropriate
The Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) works to create solidarity and collective identity among its members through a variety of pedagogical practices. One such practice is mística, which is at once a public, expressive dramatic performance and, drawing on Christian mysticism, an way of making contact with a transcendent reality. Mística draws on Christian theology generally, and specifically on the practices of the Christian base communities associated with liberation theology which were key in the emergence of the MST.
The struggle over autonomy in farming is emblematic of the philosophical and practical tensions
inherent in solving multi-scalar environmental issues. We explore the multiplicities of autonomy
This article provides an introduction to the Brazilian social movement known as the Landless Workers Movement (MST). After a brief history of the landless struggle and the international organisation of the movement, the article discusses educational philosophy and practice in the MST. The MST actively cultivates a 'culture of study' within all the diverse spaces of the movement including (but not limited to) its schools and literacy programmes, political education, agricultural production, and culture and media communications.
When the Movimento de Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra do Brasil (Movement of
Landless Rural Workers’ of Brazil—MST) occupies land and forms autonomous agricultural
communities, it aspires to achieve the supremacy of labor over capital and to embody
socialist values. However, a policy of organizing production cooperatives on its settlements
in the early 1990s was unsuccessful, principally because of a failure fully to respect
traditional forms of work and sociability. However, the MST learned from its early mistakes
How do grassroots social movements respond to shifting perceptions within their bases
on key issues? This article centres its analysis on the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais
Sem Terra (MST – Landless RuralWorkers’ Movement) and instances of the movement’s
cultural activity, in particular, mı´stica. It is recognised that the MST’s cultural activity
reflects a deep engagement with cultural politics, and further, that the movement’s
culture sector contributes directly to the delineation and formation of the ‘landless’
The Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) has been the principal protagonist
developing an alternative educational proposal for rural public schools in Brazil.
This article analyzes the MST’s differential success implementing this proposal
in municipal and state public schools. The process is both participatory—activists
working with government officials to implement MST goals—and contentious—the
movement mobilizing support for its education initiatives through various forms of
The Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) has been the principal protagonist
developing an alternative educational proposal for rural public schools in Brazil.
This article analyzes the MST’s differential success implementing this proposal
in municipal and state public schools. The process is both participatory—activists
working with government officials to implement MST goals—and contentious—the
movement mobilizing support for its education initiatives through various forms of
Education for rural Brazilians has historically been dominated by two imperatives: human capital and political patronage. For the last four decades, the Landless Workers Movement (MST) have maintained a struggle to democratise public education and democracy itself. In this article, I make a situated analysis of the educational politics of the MST for adult education.
