Brazil – AND Support Committee Promotes Debate on Resistance of Barro Branco and Agrarian Revolution
Activists hold a banner in support of the squatters of Barro Branco.
We share an unofficial translation of an article published on A Nova Democracia.
Last Thursday (21st of November), the A Nova Democracia (AND) Support Committee in Belo Horizonte held a debate on the heroic resistance of Barro Branco, the struggle for land, and the advances of the agrarian revolution.
The auditorium at the Faculty of Letters at UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais) was filled with photos in tribute to the peasants killed by latifundium.
The debate began with a greeting from the AND Support Committee to the peasants of Barro Branco and their heroic resistance, as well as the just self-defense of the squatters.
Soon after, the representative of the League of Poor Peasants (LCP) started his presentation, providing a recent historical context of the advance of Bolsonaro’s paramilitary groups, specifically Invasão Zero, which emerged after their eviction of the Tiago Capim dos Santos camp in Rondônia in 2020. Since then, they have indiscriminately attacked peasants, indigenous people, and Quilombolas.
On September 28, they attempted to expel the squatters from Barro Branco but were thwarted by the courageous resistance of the peasants and students who blocked the reintegration of lands attempt coordinated by the company Mata Sul; the actions of the Invasão Zero paramilitaries were frustrated.
The LCP representative also recalled the attacks against the Ava Guarani and Guarani Kaiowá indigenous peoples, who were surrounded and attacked by Invasão Zero as well. In both situations, the military forces of the old State were backing the Bolsonaro paramilitaries to ensure security during their bloody attacks.
The students present asked questions about the LCP’s position regarding indigenous peoples, and the representative reaffirmed that indigenous lands must be demarcated and respected. In the end, students and activists chanted slogans in defense of the struggle for land and the agrarian revolution.
