AND – New Brazil Bulletin: Riacho Fundo Secures a Victory Against Deforestation and Land Grabbing
We hereby share an unofficial translation of an entry from the week 22.06-28.06 issue of the New Brazil Bulletin published by A Nova Democracia on the 29th of June.
Peasant families in Riacho Fundo, in Fernando Falcão (MA), achieved an important victory after the Federal Court suspended the environmental permits granted to the company Terra Forte Agro Ltda. The documents had been used to justify deforestation in an area traditionally occupied by peasant, Quilombola, Indigenous, and other traditional communities.
According to the Committee for Solidarity with the Struggle for Land (Comsolute), the ruling pointed to evidence of irregularities in the licensing process, including the use of barbed wire, deforesting of protected species, and the failure to consult with the communities living in the affected territory.
On Saturday, June 27, families organized by the Union of Communities in Struggle reported that the company was continuing to send machinery to the area, despite the suspension of its permits. The residents arrested four men in the act, seized two tractors and a pickup truck loaded with oil used in the operations, and called the police.
The action was based on Article 301 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides for the possibility of arrest when caught in the act by any member of the public. The community reported that the equipment remained in their custody until the police arrived to take those involved into custody and take the appropriate measures.
The following day, families from Gleba Campina, in Junco do Maranhão, held a solidarity rally for the peasants of Riacho Fundo and denounced the illegal appropriation of traditionally occupied lands in the region.
