Brazil: ABRAPO and CEBRASPO – REQUEST FOR SIGNATURES IN DEFENSE OF THE LEAGUE OF THE POOR PEASANTS (LCP)
We hereby share an unofficial translation of a joint note by the Brazilian Association of People’s Lawyers – Gabriel Pimenta (ABRAPO) and the Brazilian Center of Solidarity with the Peoples (CEBRASPO).
Hereby our request for signatures, initiative by ABRAPO (Brazilian Association of People’s Lawyers – Gabriel Pimenta), together with CEBRASPO (Brazilian Center of Solidarity with the Peoples), in defense of the LCP and against its criminalization.
The signatures can be done through this on-line form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfwqOJ8h1qGpBSQFq4ONSeiEY5aN5rbdAejsjK5V6Qo2od45g/viewform?usp=header
We also request that, in each activity, meeting, and social occasion, printed signatures be collected and sent to the email: advogadosdopovo.abrapo@gmail.com.
We, the Brazilian Association of People’s Lawyers – Gabriel Pimenta (ABRAPO) and the Brazilian Center of Solidarity with the Peoples (CEBRASPO), fulfilling our statutory objectives to defend the rights of the people, make a public call to denounce the criminalization of the LCP and invite civil society, democratic entities, popular organizations, and human rights defenders to subscribe to this petition in defense of the League of Poor Peasants (LCP), which is the target of a brutal campaign of political persecution and criminalization.
The struggle for land is legitimate and constitutional. The criminalization of the LCP and its supporters is a frontal attack on the poor people of the countryside, on the rights of the people, and on democracy. We reaffirm our militant solidarity with the peasants and call on all entities, organizations, and democratic personalities to join this campaign:
Denouncements:
In recent months, we have been monitoring serious violations against peasants struggling for land in Rondônia and in various regions of the country:
- The organization/movement “Invasão Zero” is part of a true war policy against the poor people of the countryside, promoting violent evictions, arbitrary detentions, and planned massacres with the full support and/or disregard of the Brazilian State.
- Peasant leaders have been executed by goons and paramilitaries, often with the complicity of police forces, as demonstrated by the cases of Gesulino Castro and the attacks in Machadinho d’Oeste.
- The Judiciary of Rondônia has acted in favor of the latifundium, criminalizing leaders and persecuting land defenders.
- Our companion, the lawyer of the people Dr. Lenir Correia Coelho, was criminalized and convicted for fulfilling her constitutional duty.
- Various reports highlight the collusion between big landlords, police forces, and paramilitary groups, which today threaten new massacres.
Demands
We, the undersigning party, demand:
- The immediate end to the criminalization of the League of the Poor Peasants and all movements that struggle for land, bread, and dignity.
- Civil, criminal, and administrative accountability of those who order and execute crimes against the people.
- The guarantee of the free exercise of people’s advocacy and the end of the persecution against defenders of the people.
- The independent and impartial investigation of the allegations of police involvement in crimes serving the interests of the latifundium.
- The fulfillment of the constitutional and international human rights obligations by the Brazilian State, ensuring life, security, and the freedom of expression and organization of workers.
- The guarantee from the Brazilian State of the rights to land, work, and the territories already settled, by all legal means.
Land for those who work and live on it.
Against the criminalization of the LCP!
