From Venezuela to Argentina- South America in crisis and revolt

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday April 19, 2002 13:50 by Joe Carolan - Globalise Resistance globalise_resistance at yahoo dot com The Other World which is possible 087 9032281

Globalise Resistance Public Forum

with Don Baron, activist from the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra - MST - Brasil. 3pm this Saturday 21st April at the Vietnamese Centre, 45 Hardwicke Street Dublin 1.

The Brazilian Landless Workers Movement is the largest social movement in Latin America and one of the most successful grassroots movements in the world. Hundreds of thousands of landless peasants have taken onto themselves the task of carrying out a long-overdue land reform in a country mired by an overly skewed land distribution pattern. Less than 3% of the
population owns two-thirds of Brasil's arable land.

While 60% of Brasil's farmland lies idle, 25 million peasants struggle to survive by working in temporary agricultural jobs. The Landless Workers' Movement (MST) is a response to these inequalities. In 1985,with the support of the Catholic Church, hundreds of
landless rural Brasilians took over an unused
plantation in the south of the country and
successfully established a cooperative there. They
gained title to the land in 1987. Today more than
250,000 families have won land titles to over 15
million acres after MST land takeovers.

In 1999 alone, 25,099 families occupied unproductive land. There are currently 71,472 families in encampments throughout Brazil awaiting government recognition.

The success of the MST lies in its ability to
organize. Its members have not only managed to secure land, thereby guaranteeing food security for their families, but have come up with an alternative socio-economic development model that puts people before profits. This is transforming the face of Brasil's countryside and Brasilian politics at large.

These gains have not come without a cost, however.
Violent clashes between the MST and police, as well as landowners, have become commonplace, claiming the lives of many peasants and their leaders.

In the past 10 years, more than 1000 people have been killed as a result of land conflicts in Brasil. Prior to August 1999, only 53 of the suspected murders have been brought to trial.

The MST has resisted this repression and has been able to gather support from a broad international network of human rights groups, religious organizations, and labor unions. It has received a number of international awards, including The Right Livelihood Award and an education award from UNICEF.

In order to maximize production, the MST has created 60 food cooperatives as well as a small agricultural industries. Their literacy program involves 600 educators who presently work with adults and adolescents. The movement also monitors 1,000 primary schools in their settlements, in which 2,000 teachers
work with about 50,000 kids.

Globalise Resistance is pleased to host a public
meeting with Don Baron, a full time activist with the MST, this Saturday. Don will also be talking about the huge upsurge in struggle in other Latin American countries, from the community councils and the uprising against the IMF in Argentina, to the huge mobilisations to defend the popularly elected government of Victor Chavez against a CIA/ Big Business backed military coup in Venezuela. All are welcome.

http://www.mstbrazil.org/

3pm this Saturday 21st April at the
Vietnamese Centre, 45 Hardwicke Street
Dublin 1.