Brazil: Leader of Housing Movement denounce campaign against him

We hereby share an unofficial translation of an article by A Nova Democracia. We already reported on one assassination attempt against this leader. The people’s leaders in Brazil, despite the PT-Luiz Inácio government portrays itself as a defender of the people, are continuously facing threats, attacks and assassination attempts. Many of them are even being killed. For example we recently reported on the murder of a people’s leader in Paraná.

The leader of the Struggling Movement of Independent Workers (MLTI), Júlio Ferraz, has denounced a new campaign carried out by a suspicious man, military-style, in front of his home on December 18, in Manaus.

This happens just few months after a new assassination attempt against this leader, which is constantly facing threats by paramilitary groups linked to the land grabbers in the Amazonian capital.

According to what he stated, on 05:15 am, Júlio went out of his home because his dogs were making noise, and he saw, in front of his home, a thin man dressed with black clothes as well as military-style boots and haircut. When the man saw that Júlio discovered him, fled the scene on his black Lander motorbike.

The leader has faced other attacks against his life during the last years, being one of them, when paramilitaries wearing hoods invaded his home, and they did not found Júlio at his home but they killed his dogs.

Since then, the leader is part of the federal government’s defense program of human rights defenders. Speaking with the local reporter of AND, Júlio states that this program is just to pretend that something is being done, being completely unable to guarantee his life.

The local reporter of the newspaper A Nova Democracia will continue reporting on the attacks against this and other democratic activists in the region.