Wave of attacks against peasant encampments in Brazil

Different cases of repression against peasants by goons who have the help of the Military Police (MP) have been reported by the revolutionary newspaper A Nova Democracia. In all cases, the paramilitary forces in service of the latifundium, as goons, have the freedom to shoot the peasants and destroy their homes and lands, protected with total impsunity given by the MP, who have this purpose. We summarize some of the news about it:

Revolutionary Area Renato Nathan

In 2009, the peasants of the Messias region in Alagoas joined the League of Poor Peasants (LCP) in the struggle to conquer the land and destroy the latifundium. As A Nova Democracia reports, through People’s Assemblies it was decided to establish a People’s Court in 2012, in addition to people’s schools or the electrification of the area.

But after years of living and working on the land, even for the benefit of the nearest municipalities, participating in the fairs for the people, the latifundium has launched a new attack, promoting the destruction of the Revolutionary Area Renato Nathan. “My houses, my farms, my crops are all destroyed. All for the decision of a corrupt judge, a thief, who expelled us without the right to do anything”, a peasant stated to the revolutionary newspaper. The cousin of the Defense Minister José Múcio, Eduardo Queiroz Monteiro, is the one who claims the lands where the peasants have lived and worked for 15 years. In total more than 720 families living in the Revolutionary Area organized by the LCP have been affected by this attack.

Apparently, it is not the first time that this judge, José Afrânio Os Santos Oliveira, is clearly positioned in favor of the latifundium, even not considering the laws. “Afrânio has a huge list of accusations of sale of sentences and is recognized as one of the most corrupt of the judicial power of Alagoas”, the peasants say. He was the one who gave the permits so that, protected with armed men, they demolished the houses of the peasants with backhoes, and producers were prohibited from collecting their goods and animals. All this is even more bleeding since it had been promised to the peasants to expropriate the lands to their benefit for October 25.

The LCP states that it will not accept the destruction of homes and of the production of the peasants, and that the mobilization has already begun against the judge’s decision: “In spite of everything, they could not destroy the entire area, they only caused more hate in the heart of the peasants, who will surely know how to answer this cowardly attack (…) they will pay for this cruelty, injustice and breach. Each enemy of the aforementioned people will receive, in due time and to their own extent, the payment that corresponds to it. We will return stronger and more prepared.”

Eviction attempt in Ceará

A war operation was carried out by the Government of Ceará on October 23 using police, backhoes and goons to expel families from a large property in the municipality of Morrinhos. The land, which belongs to the Secretary of Cities of the Government, Zé Albuquerque, was claimed by peasants after years of abandonment.

On September 23, the land re-taking of Poet Colibri, a name given by the peasants, which is located in the Sítio Alegre district, was conducted. The dozens of families are facing the government, the police and the paramilitary forces since then.

Again, as in the Revolutionary Area Renato Nathan, police and goons act together and without a court order against the peasants. Sometimes, the combination of forces is for the MP to escort the goons, with the guarantee that they will act without punishment. In other cases, the MP participates directly in repression.

MP helps latifundium to destroy indigenous plantations

In Guaíra, Paraná, the latifundium has sent its henchmen to poison the plantations of indigenous peasants, everything, again, under the protection of the MP. The events occurred on October 23. This attack breaks with what the judge stipulated: respect the boundaries of the peasants and the landowner is only allowed to approach in the presence of the National Force.

There is an escalation of violence in last weeks. On October 17, a truck and four backhoes tried to invade the community for the benefit of a big landlord who claims to be the owner of the land. Subsequently, rests of desiccant silica gel, toxic when ingested, got into contact with the skin or been inhaled, was found.

The leader of the indigenous peasants, who remains in anonymity, spoke through a newspaper, and affirms that the indigenous people also promise to resist the offensive of the latifundium. “We will die, but we will not go back”, he said.

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