Brazil – URGENT: BOPE MURDERS A PEASANT IN THE REVOLUTIONARY AREA VALDIRO CHAGAS
We hereby share an unofficial translation of a note published by the Brazilian Association of the People’s Lawyers – Gabriel Pimenta (ABRAPO), shared by A Nova Democracia.
DENUNCIATION NOTE: BOPE PREPARES MASSACRE WITH LULA’S PRESENCE IN RONDÔNIA
NEW STATE TERROR ACTION IN RONDÔNIA WITH ONE CONFIRMED DEAD
This morning, August 8, 2025, the Valdiro Chagas Area in the city of Machadinho d’Oeste, Rondônia, was the scene of another serious episode of state violence against poor peasants. BOPE troops conducted low-flying helicopter maneuvers and fired multiple gunshots in the region, terrorizing the families who live and work on the land. A peasant was murdered by the Military Police, a fact confirmed by the commander of the agency.
This action occurs just before the 30 years of the Heroic Peasant Resistance of Santa Elina, where dozens of peasants lost their lives. This episode is a symbol of the struggle for land in Brazil and of peasant resistance against the brutal repression by the big landlords and the bourgeois State. The moment demanded respect, remembrance, and justice, not the repetition of the same crimes.
In this context, it is unacceptable that another chapter of the war against the poor in the countryside is repeated. Even more serious is that this occurs in the presence of the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the state of Rondônia, without any expression of repudiation or concrete action to contain the abuses of the repressive forces. It is necessary to break the silence and take action, not just with words, but with deeds. The Federal Government must investigate and determine the inquiry into the paramilitary groups in Rondônia, which are even present in the upper echelons of the police forces.
The statement by Commander Braguinha is serious, as he claims in a video shared on social media that he has “neutralized” a peasant from the “terrorist” organization League of the Poor Peasants (LCP). However, the BOPE commander lacks to clarify extremely relevant questions: What judicial order he had? What was the reason? What justified the so-called BOPE operation in the Valdiro Chagas area? It is obvious that BOPE acts as the armed wing of the big landlords in Rondônia, who made the political decision to exterminate poor peasants on the day of Lula’s visit, sending a clear message to the PT leader that they will accept nothing, not even demagoguery, on the agrarian issue in Rondônia.
We inform you that the action is still ongoing and that the number of dead may increase, not only from those already affected but also from those who may be, if this illegal and excessive action is not being stopped. We publicly denounce this criminal operation by BOPE in Rondônia and demand:
– The immediate withdrawal of police forces from the Valdiro Chagas Area.
– Guarantees of safety and physical integrity for all peasants in the region.
– Accountability for those who ordered and executed this act of terror.
– A public statement from State and federal authorities, especially from the President of the Republic, regarding the events.
Violence against the people can no longer be tolerated.
We will not forget Corumbiara, and we will not allow it to be repeated.
Enough of repression! Land for those who live and work on it!
ABRAPO – Brazilian Association of the People’s Lawyers – Gabriel Pimenta
