Brazil – AND: Revolutionary Quilombo of Carmo Reoccupies the Icaraí Farm
We hereby share an unofficial translation of a statement published by A Nova Democracia (AND) on September 10, including the introductory editor’s note.
Statement from Revolutionary Quilombo of Carmo in São Roque Regarding the Reoccupation of the Icaraí Farm
Editor’s Note: Below, we reproduce an important statement from the Quilombo Revolucionário do Carmo regarding the reclaiming of the Icaraí Farm in São Roque (SP). The statement addresses the legitimate reclaiming of land belonging to the Quilombo families – a right guaranteed by the Constitution – since the land has ceased to fulfill its social function. The families report that they were repressed by the Special Police Operations Battalion (Bepe), to secure ownership of the land for a South Korean group, and that the police officers involved in the violent eviction are providing security services for latifundium – an activity prohibited for military police and which, at worst, may constitute the formation of a private militia, as defined in Article 288-A of the Penal Code.
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São Roque (SP), September 5, 2026 – Early Saturday morning, our community carried out a new occupation of our traditional territory. The reoccupation of the Icaraí Farm was aimed at guaranteeing access to, protection of, and conservation of natural resources – especially water resources – as well as securing spaces for housing, farming, and land regeneration, which are fundamental to the continuity of our ways of life.
Our action is part of a historic struggle. Our resistance in this territory dates back to 1727, when our ancestors were kidnapped and brought to Brazil to be enslaved. In 2027, we will mark 300 years of our people’s resistance and presence on this land. Our association represents the continuation of this centuries-old struggle and is recognized by federal agencies – such as the Palmares Cultural Foundation (FCP), the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA), the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN), and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) – as a remnant Quilombola community of Carmo.
The 1988 Federal Constitution, through Article 68, recognized the right to definitive ownership of the lands occupied by remnants of quilombola communities and the State’s duty to grant them title. Our community has been recognized by the FCP as Brazilian Cultural Heritage since the 2000s. In November 2024, 18 years after the process began, INCRA published the Technical Report on Identification and Delimitation (RTID) for Quilombo do Carmo, recognizing our traditional territory, which includes the Icaraí Farm.
The Icaraí Farm is a portion of the lands “belonging” to a multimillionaire South Korean foreign-capital group within our territory, which also includes the forests and Pedra Balão. The area had been leased for livestock raising and was abandoned after the workers who lived there left, ceasing to fulfill its social function. For years, there has been speculation that the land would be used for a luxury condominium and the “largest golf course in Latin America,” a project that reportedly had not moved forward due to zoning restrictions.
Everyone was released around 2 p.m. According to what we were told, the police station employee had ordered the removal of the police cars that were still on the scene.
It is worth noting that neither a police chief nor an official clerk was present: the station was closed, with only one employee on duty and attorney Júlio Meneguesso – representing the group claiming “ownership” of our lands – already waiting inside the station. A police report was filed that contains legal irregularities due to the official absence of a police chief on duty and the determination, under these circumstances, that a completed act of dispossession had occurred. Upon leaving the police station, in a friendly and collaborative manner, the lawyer briefed the Military Police captain on the case, while also attempting to personally intimidate the Quilombola leadership in a completely abusive manner.
When the community leaders returned to the occupation site, the Military Police were already threatening to enter and forcibly remove the community. The police presence increased as the hours passed, with several patrol cars surrounding the occupation site, including teams from the Tactical Unit and the Special Police Operations Battalion (Baep). The documentation presented by the police was limited to the property’s registration number. To date, no court order authorizing or justifying the police operation or the forced removal of the families occupying the territory has been presented to the community leaders.
During the afternoon, the threats intensified, with military police officers stating that they would remove the community “by force of arms,” putting the lives of the families and everyone present at risk. Several partners, organizations, and supporters went to the site to show solidarity and offer support.
Early in the evening, BAEP teams stormed the occupation without a court order and moved in to attack the quilombo families. Faced with threats of eviction by armed force, the leaders determined that remaining on the site would endanger the physical and psychological well-being of the community, especially children, women, and the elderly. We therefore decided to return to the quilombo’s headquarters, prioritizing the safety of our families.
Our departure from the Icaraí Farm does not mean we are abandoning the struggle or relinquishing the territory. We remain mobilized and organized to defend our rights, the natural resources historically plundered from our territory, and, above all, the survival of our people and our ways of life. Our struggle is ancestral, legitimate, and collective. We will not accept that centuries of resistance be erased by the violence, intimidation, or criminalization of our leaders and our community by the São Paulo Military Police.
We will continue to seek, through all appropriate political, legal, and institutional means, the recognition and guarantee of the rights enshrined in Article 68 of the Federal Constitution. It is unacceptable for a quilombola community to be subjected to intimidation, coercion, or threats while peacefully exercising its legitimate right to land.
Early in the evening, BAEP teams stormed the occupation without a court order and moved in to attack the Quilombola families. Faced with threats of eviction by force of arms, the leaders concluded that remaining on the site would put
As for the illegal actions of the police officers who moonlight as security guards on the farm, the major and captain of the Military Police responsible for the operation, those responsible for the administrative and criminal violations committed, and the party that invaded our lands, the Quilombola Territory Association of the Carmo Neighborhood (Atequibaca) GUARANTEES that every person involved will be held individually accountable and will face justice and the State agencies that defend the Quilombo cause.
Revolutionary Quilombo of Carmo, a Land Without Masters.
