More than 17 thousand representatives of settlements and camps from 24 different states will participate in the MST’s 5^th Congress, the largest gathering in the history of the movement, taking place under the slogan "Agrarian Reform: for Social Justice and Popular Sovereignty" in Brasilia in the Nilson Nelson Gymnasium from June 11^th to 15^th.

This event will be an important celebration of the successes of the Landless Worker’s Movement during the past 23 years. It will also demonstrate the unity between members of the movement and society’s support for their struggle for agrarian reform. "It is time to strengthen and consolidate the movement, based upon our values and our calling to carry out this work," stated Gilmar Mauro, a member of the national coordinating body of the MST.

During these five days, rural workers will camp out around the coliseum where debates will take place concerning the current state of agriculture, the government’s role under the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva and the international political situation.

 "The Congress will be a space to strengthen our internal relationships, where we will bring together the militancy of our struggle from north and south of the country. It will be an unprecedented moment in which to discuss, study and develop tactics," added Gilmar Mauro.

Brazil is now facing a new scenario with regard to agriculture, brought about from the changes introduced in the 90s which set the process of capitalist globalization in motion, imposing so-called “agribusiness” upon rural areas in distant countries.

The agro-export model is characterized by production for export utilizing monoculture on large tracts of land, and introducing the use of agricultural machinery resulting in a reduced need for labour in the countryside. Such advances made by agribusiness and by transnational companies under the hegemony of financial capital have altered agriculture in Brazil.

However, poverty, over-exploitation of rural workers, and land concentration persist without an end in sight. More than 230 thousand families live in camps throughout the country, of which 140 thousand are members of the MST.

The agrarian program

Faced with this situation, social movements recognize the need to create new strategies in order to struggle against sectors which are impeding the democratization of land access and agricultural production.

"During the congress, we would like to strengthen the MST and our project for Brazilian society, particularly with regard to the struggle for agrarian reform, which in today’s society means confronting big business in relationship with financial capital, confronting agribusiness and, above all, discussing a new agricultural model with society at large," emphasized Mauro.

In order to bring about these changes, the MST will present its proposal for rural Brazil under the title: "The Required Agrarian Reform:  a project of the people for Brazilian agriculture."

The agrarian program considers objectives and concrete proposals that will address the problems with agriculture toward guaranteeing a good quality of life and work for landless people and overcoming the atrocious social disparity in the countryside. Additionally, it proposes a model of food sovereignty that includes food production for the entire population together with environmental conservation.

A Bit of History

During the 80s, the urban industrial development model which began in the 30s reached a stage of exhaustion while concurrently, popular social and trade union struggles (mainly in large urban sectors) were demanding that the military regime come to an end in order to make way for democratic freedoms. Trade unions, central trade unions, political parties and workers’ organisations brought forward the idea of reclaiming democracy, as part of the campaign "Directas Ya" (1984 - "direct elections now"), the strongest expression of popular organizations in existence at this time.

In the rural sector, the military government had imposed a policy of agricultural modernisation in order to address urban-industrial demand as well as that of external markets without making changes to the agricultural model. Social exclusion intensified, magnifying the rural exodus, as well as inequalities in technology and social relations in the countryside.

In this context, popular struggles emerged that favoured agrarian reform, the reorganisation of trade unions and opposition to the military government. Within this climate of massive political agitation and the desire for greater social participation, the First National Congress of the MST brought together nearly 1,000 delegates in 1985, with the challenge of putting agrarian reform on the national agenda and finding a way to struggle against large estate owners (latifundistas).

Later, in the second half of the 80s, the First National Plan for Agrarian Reform (PNRA) was developed and the Federal Constitution of 1988 was passed that also reflected the political dynamism of the period. As well, with the electoral defeat of progressive candidates who were born out of struggles against the military dictatorship, the decade concluded at a point in which society was highly mobilized.

The trade union movement continued being combative and active, and progressive forces sought to put forward a project for the country’s development. With regard to agrarian reform, the inclusion of the social function concept of agricultural property in the Federal Constitution provided renewed vigour to the struggle. The MST, with a strong presence in all regions of the country, adopted as a means of struggle the tactic of occupying large unproductive estates.

In response, in 1986, the Rural Democratic Union was formed, which used violent tactics against rural workers. Later on, the election of Fernando Collor brought about new difficulties for those fighting for agrarian reform. In the Congress of 1990, the movement identified the need to address internal issues once again and from there developed a proposal for rural Brazil under the slogan: "Occupy, Resist and Produce."

The Decade of the 90s

During the first half of the 90s, Brazil began adopting neoliberal policies, taking the first steps toward the privatization of state-owned companies and the de-nationalization of the economy. It was then that the social and trade union struggles in the country went into decline, with the exception being the mobilization of the Brazilian people, and students in particular, who wanted to see President Fernando Collor de Mello brought down as a result of allegations of corruption.

In rural areas, also as a result of the weakening industrial development model, the process of agricultural modernization was deepened through more intensive worker exploitation. In this period, thousands of small scale farms disappeared and those who remained on their land had to augment their income with off-farm labour. In some states, a large number of rural workers emigrated to small cities as well as the outskirts of large metropolitan centers.

In the struggle for agrarian reform, the MST understood that the support of Brazilian society was fundamental in order to succeed with a land democratization program. For this reason, they placed special attention on cooperating with other social sectors, including from urban areas, resulting in the selection of the slogan "Agrarian Reform: everyone’s struggle" for the Congress of 1995.

During his first mandate (1995-1998), the government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso backed privatization, de-nationalization and the sale of state structures in a way that was unprecedented in Brazilian history. In 1995, the repression of oil workers demonstrated that the adoption of neoliberal policies required a strong and repressive government. This gave conservative state forces a feeling of liberty to worsen repression, resulting in two farmer massacres: that of Corumbiara, Rondônia in 1995 and of Eldorado de los Carajás, Pará in 1996.

The violence carried out by landowners and the repression exercised by provincial police within this political environment that criminalised rural workers, clarified for farmers and Brazilian society the consequences of sustaining the system of large agricultural estates (latifundios). It became evident that land democratization was necessary to avoid further massacres which was expressed in the slogan of the 2000 Congress, "Agrarian Reform: for a Brazil without large estate owners.”

According to Mauro, the slogan symbolizing this congress arises from the movements’ understanding that the fight against inequality and the guarantee of effective political participation for the entire population depends upon changing the country’s agricultural system.

"The struggle for agrarian reform is closely linked with the aims of social justice and popular sovereignty, within a network of working class struggles to change working conditions, as well as the economic and agricultural models from the perspective of a new project for the country that is being developed in cooperation with Brazilian society,” concluded Mauro.
(Translation: ALAI).