Brazil – CEBRASPO: Latifundium on Trial
We hereby share an unofficial translation of a statement issued by the Brazilian Center for Solidarity with the Peoples (CEBRASPO) and published by A Nova Democracia (AND) on the 26th of March.
On March 28th and 29th, 2026, a People’s Court will take place in Porto Velho, the capital of the state of Rondônia , to judge crimes committed by latifundium in Rondônia over decades, and especially in recent years, where there has been a growing number of assassinations, illegal evictions, and threats against landless peasants, squatters, indigenous people, small miners, riverside dwellers, and quilombola communities. In recent years, in Rondônia, the escalation of violations perpetrated by big landlords and paramilitary groups has been met with the effective action of police forces that have begun to act in a way that criminalizes thousands of families and lawyers working in the agrarian sector.”
The year 2024, whose consolidated data was published in April 2025 by the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), marked a paradoxical period in Brazilian agrarian dynamics. Although there was a quantitative reduction in the number of direct murders, indicators of land conflicts reached their highest level in the last decade, totaling approximately 1,768 occurrences. This data signals a crystallization of territorial tensions, consolidating 2024 as the second most violent year in the historical series that began in 1985.
The scenario of agrarian conflicts in Brazil presented a critical worsening in 2025, characterized by an increase in lethality in territorial disputes. Preliminary data from the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) indicate that the number of murders in the countryside doubled compared to the previous year, jumping from 13 deaths in 2024 to 26 registered cases by December 2025. The state of Rondônia is one of the federal states that leads this macabre ranking. In light of the factual and legal situation encompassing the numerous assassinations and agrarian conflicts that mark the recent history of Rondônia, the Brazilian Association of People’s Lawyers (ABRAPO), the Brazilian Center for Solidarity with the Peoples (CEBRASPO), the Committee of Solidarity with the Struggle for Land (COMSOLUTE), the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), the Organization of Indigenous Peoples of Rondônia, Northwest Mato Grosso and Southern Amazonas (OPIROMA), the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), the Committee to Support the Struggle for Land – Rondônia, the League of the Poor Peasants of Rondônia and Western Amazon (LCP), and other organizations propose a People’s Court that will put big landlords on trial.
The Court will be presided over by Dr. Jorge Moreno (retired judge of the TJMA and vice-president of ABRAPO) and will have a jury composed of jurists from Rondônia, other states in the Amazon, the Northeast, the Midwest, the South and Southeast of the country; researchers from UNIR, IFRO and other Federal Universities in Brazil; as well as journalists, union representatives, associations and social movements that will make up the People’s Jury.
Among these, noteworthy figures include Professor Dr. Helena Angélica de Mesquita (retired professor from UFG, who thoroughly researched the Corumbiara Massacre), Dr. Siro Darlan (retired judge from Rio de Janeiro), representative of the National Human Rights Commission of the OAB (Brazilian Bar Association), and the historic leader of the rubber workers Dercy Teles, from Xapuri (Acre), the first woman to preside over a union in the Acrean Amazon, the Rural Workers’ Union – STR of Xapuri, in 1981. She is one of the central figures in the blockades organized by rubber workers in Xapuri, along with historical figures such as Chico Mendes and Wilson de Souza Pinheiro.
The People’s Court will also have coverage from the popular and democratic press, with journalists who write for various media outlets throughout Brazil such as Ópera Mundi, Intercept Brasil, Repórter Brasil, A Nova Democracia, Rondônia Plural, Voz da Terra, and others. Other representatives from entities and movements such as the National Network of Popular Lawyers (RENAP), the National Zero Eviction Campaign, the Bem Viver Movement, and Global Sumud Brasil will also be participating. Indigenous, peasant, riverside, and rural community leaders, as well as representatives from associations and movements of smallholders, small miners, and rural and urban occupations, will be present as prosecution witnesses.
The “People’s Court Against Latifundium Crimes” will take place in the SINTERO Auditorium (Rua Rui Barbosa, nº 713, Arigolândia neighborhood) starting on Saturday, March 28th, at 8:00 AM and continuing until Sunday, March 29th, where the final session will include the presentation of closing arguments from the prosecution and defense, the jury meeting, and the reading of the defendants’ sentences. Registration will be done on-site.
