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Around 1,700 members of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) invaded three eucalyptus farms belonging to the company Suzano Papel e Celulose, in the municipalities of Teixeira de Freitas, Mucuri and Caravelas, in southern Bahia. A fourth area, Fazenda Limoeiro, owned by another owner, was occupied in the municipality of Jacobina. The company and the owner filed repossession actions.
First Mass Occupations
These were the first mass occupations by the MST since the beginning of the Lula government. The invasions mainly mobilized women in reference to 8 March, International Women’s Day.
The entry of the invaders began on 27 March and continued until the following day, according to the Military Police of Bahia. The MST members arrived in several convoys that left settlements in the region and other places in the state.
Productive Farms
The invasions contradict the speech of today’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. During the election campaign, he said that the MST did not occupy productive properties. However, Suzano’s areas are not inactive.
Invasions Will Continue
According to MST’s official webpage, the actions will continue. They are part of a campaign that aims to restart negotiations with the federal and state governments to resume the agrarian reform, and to create a project for family farming.
More Invasions -The National Front of Fight Country and City
During Carnival, between 18 and 22 February, the National Front of Fight Countryside and City (FNL) invaded seven farms in Pontal do Paranapanema, in the extreme west of the state of São Paulo, and a rural property in Japorã, in Mato Grosso do Sul. In the action, called Red Carnival or “Carnaval Vermelho”, the militants demanded “land, work, housing and education”.
FNL leaders claim that the occupied farms had already been recognized as public lands by court decision, but remained “abandoned, without fulfilling a social function”. The eight areas have already been vacated. The FNL is a movement fighting for land led by José Rainha Junior, a dissident from the MST.
Minister Intervenes
On Wednesday (08/03), Agrarian Development Minister Paulo Teixeira said that the company Suzano and the management of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) should meet to reach an agreement and end the actions against eucalyptus farms of the company in three cities in the extreme south of Bahia.
Teixeira made the statement after leaving a meeting to mediate the conflict with representatives of the company and the movement, as well as members of the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra), the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the government of the state of Bahia.
Moments of Tension in Limoeiro Farm
On Friday (03/03), farmers moved in a convoy of vehicles to the Limoeiro Farm, in Jacobina (BA). The area had been occupied by around 150 families from the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) since last 27 February.
During the incident, the farmers dismantled shacks and set on fire to the encampment. The landless families left the place and went to another camp a few kilometers away. Some got lost due to the panic generated. Some of the farmers were armed, according to media sources. The Military Police removed the landless workers equipment, such as pickaxes, rakes, hoes etc.
