Brazil: Quilombolas resist harassment by the latifundium in Paraná

Featured image: Quilombolas mark and protect its territory against the entrance of goons. Source: A Nova Democracia

A Nova Democracia (AND) has reported on the resistance by the Quilombolas in Varzeão, community of Doutor Ulysses (Vale do Ribeira, Paraná) against the company Rio Bonito Administração de Reflorestamento LTDA, a logging company since November 2024 tries to grab the Quilombola lands. While the Quilombola peasant are working and living on the land, the company just want the wood to increase its profits.

The peasants are blocking the entrance to their lands and resisting also the goons hired by the company. The criminal goons have already caused fires on the lands and attempted to violently evict the peasantry from the lands. Rio Bonito LTDA wants to grab a total of 7,242 hectares, where currently 70 families are living.

The company argues with fake documents that those lands are its property. For the past years the company has been illegally grabbing the lands. On the other hand the Quilombolas have proves of their establishment on the land since mid-19th century. The Quilombolas have already lost many lands in this area: they had 90,404 hectares but this amount has been reduced because of the greed of the latifundium for the pines, to sell its wood.

In November 2024 the Quilombolas started to block the entrances to their lands. The peasants decided to defend themselves against the raids by the goons. Tensions escalated in December 2024 when armed goons invaded the territory for threatening and they shot Quilombolas who mobilized to defend their lands.