Military police attack Encampment Nova Esperança in Rondônia, Brazil

We hereby publish an unofficial translation of an article by A Nova Democracia:

On Monday morning (December 30), the Rondônia military police once again attacked the peasants of the Nova Esperança Camp. The camp, located on the Capão da Onça hacienda in Nova Brasilândia, has been the recurrent target of attacks aimed at evicting and intimidating the peasants.

In a report sent to AND, the police incursion tried to remove the families by force, including shooting at women, children and men. The attack left several injured and, without access to medical care, the victims remain in the camp in precarious conditions and without the possibility of leaving. In addition, the squatters report that all their motorcycles have been confiscated by the police, with no explanation as their destination or justification for the seizure.

This is not the first MP-action against the families, who have been camped on the hacienda since the area was identified as public land suitable for land reform. Despite this, the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) has still not fulfilled the commitment it made in August 2024 to carry out a population survey on the site.

On November 25, the State Military Police carried out an action that resulted in the forced removal of families camped on the Capão da Onça farm, located in the rural Nova Brasilândia. According to the complaints, these people were evicted without a court order and abandoned in precarious places, such as the town’s sports court and the courtyard of a Catholic church, where they were pressured to vacate.

A repossession suit filed by a landowner has been underway since 2021, but the case has been shelved due to a lack of movement on the part of the plaintiff. Even so, the families face constant threats, both from police raids and from gunmen operating in the region.