Peasants Prevent Eviction Order in Messias, Brazil

We share an unofficial translation of an article by A Nova Democracia.

Peasants housed in the Zelu gym in Messias (Alagoas), after a brutal eviction in October 2024, achieved a victory on April 25 against the eviction order issued by the city hall. The government wanted to expel the peasants from the gym without offering any alternative accommodation.

The notification was delivered by a representative from Social Assistance, who arrived at the gym accompanied by a team from the military police. The police intimidated the peasants and prohibited recordings. Some residents left the gym due to the threats.

However, a group of residents went to Social Assistance to demand the cancellation of the eviction. Social Assistance denied that the peasants would be expelled and committed to ensuring that the episode would not happen again.

The eviction attempt was yet another act of violence by the government against the peasants piled up in the precarious shelter. The lack of water at the site is constant, forcing the peasants to walk 1 km to a fountain whenever they need this basic necessity.

This scarcity was used as a pressure tactic: during the week of the eviction, a water truck that occasionally provides water to the residents passed through neighboring areas of the gym, but did not supply the shelter.

This attempt at eviction was not the first. At the beginning of April, the city hall had already issued an eviction order, giving the peasants a 15-day deadline to abandon the gym. However, the peasants remained there because they were unable to apply for the “social rent” promised by the city hall.

The city hall has held the land of the Usina, from which the peasants were evicted, for 12 years (see below). The land was expropriated from the big landlord for works related to the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) that were never completed. Even so, they refuse to hand over the land to the peasants.