MST and Working Class Unity

To Beth Rocha, transvestite and acampada*, building mechanisms to ensure an egalitarian society imbues respect for different identities.

The men wore dresses, lipstick, false eyelashes, heels. The women, boots, loose shirts, belts, baseball style caps. The proposal was to bring forth a reflection on the construction of gender identity and respect for different sexual orientations.

Without prejudice or preconceptions, landless youth held Agitation and Propaganda against homophobia on Tuesday (March 17) during the state march of MST in Bahia.

The action mobilized some 100 young people from different regions of the state, and proposed gives visibility to LGBT landless and fight against any kind of violence. Also, the march reaffirmed that the struggle for People’s Agrarian Reform should be everyone’s struggle.

Groups and individuals showed their support and solidarity to João Pedro Stédile after he received death threats

Art  by Pavel Eguez, the great muralist from Ecuador,  in solidarity with Stedile.

"We need to radicalize the fight for land!"

The 6th Congress of the MST was a moment of debates and struggles that aligned the movement's policies for the next period, and put on the agenda the discussion of People's Agrarian Reform, says Kelli Mafort, of the national coordination of the MST and the gender sector of the movement.

European Committees of Friends of the MST met from October 24 to 26, 2014 in Mondoñedo, Galicia, Spain. Representatives from FMST Committees of Germany, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Belgium and Galicia, Basque Country and Catalonia in Spain met for their bi-annual meeting. Sending their regards, but unable to attend, were the committees from Italy and Finland.

Ana Chã, a member of the MST’s Culture Collective, gave two presentations on the role of culture in social movements, particularly the MST. On August 11, 2014, in the Bay Area, she addressed cultural workers at Occupy the Farm in Albany, CA. Read more and view photos.

In New York City, on August 13, 2014,  Ana gave a presentation on thesame topic with an emphasis on mística to a gathering at a collective space in lower Manhattan. Read more and view photos.

On August 8, 2014, the Uri-Eichen Gallery in Chicago’s Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen hosted artwork and presentations on the MST and the rise of new democracy in Canoas, Brazil. MST posters, original oil paintings by Aliene de Souza Howell and products of worker’s cooperatives were all displayed in the gallery. Read more and view photos.

On July 8, 2014 our sister and comrade, Charity Hicks, succumbed to injuries she sustained from a hit and run accident in New York City. Charity was a member of the delegation to the MST Congress in February. For many of us it was the first time we had encountered Charity’s energy, humor, strength and commitment to struggling for a better world.

The Friends of the MST is saddened to report the death of John Kinsman on January 20, 2014 at the age of 87.  John was a founder and president of the Family Farm Defenders, a member organization of La Via Campesina. John, a fourth generation family farmer, operated a dairy farm near Lime Ridge, Wisconsin.

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.

On Thursday, July 11, 2013, Brazil erupted in mobilizations, strikes, work stoppages, occupations and road blockades in a National Day of Struggle. Called for by CUT (Central Workers Union), an assortment of labor unions and a vast array of social movements, including the MST, the National Day of Struggle put forth specific demands for the working class and social movements, including a call for agrarian reform.  The MST participated and helped lead this mobilization through the country.

The Friends of the MST has translated summaries of the July 11 mobilizations from various sources and presents information on this important struggle.  Very few U.S. newspaper carried stories on this phase of the struggle in Brazil.

We are providing these summaries from Brasil do Fato, Folha de São Paulo, Reuters and the Charlotte (NC) Observer.