NEWS IN ENGLISH – Landless movement families leave two farms

allen — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:34:44 +0000

Marli Moreira Reporter Agência Brasil

São Paulo – Yesterday, Sunday, September 9, landless movement families (“Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra da Base - MSTB”), who had invaded seven farms in the western part of the state of São Paulo, in a region known as Pontal do Paranapanema, began evacuating two of the farms in obedience to a court order. The farms that were peacefully exited were Clarice, in Iraci, and Mondengo, in Arco-Iris.

The leader of the MSTB group, Luciano Lima, declared that the movement, which presently consists of some 8,000 families, will continue on the five remaining farms and intends to invade others in the near future.

“We decided to obey the court injunction and leave the two farms, but we will stay where we are [on the other five farms] and undertake new occupations soon,” he declared.

Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English

Link - Famílias de sem-terra deixam fazendas ocupadas em São Paulo

NEWS IN ENGLISH – Landless movement invades farms in São Paulo

allen — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:31:40 +0000

Marli Moreira Reporter Agência Brasil

São Paulo – Members of the Landless Rural Workers Base (“Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra da Base - MSTB”), a dissident offspring of the original MST, have occupied a series of farms in the Pontal do Paranapanema region in the state of São Paulo, a region that has long been an area of land conflict.

According to the leader of the movement, Luciano de Lima, around 200 families invaded two farms on September 8, bringing the total of farms that have been invaded to seven.

The owners of three farms have obtained court orders allowing them to repossess their land. They are the owners of the farms known as Célia Maria, in the municipality of Marabá Paulista; Clarice, in Iacri and Mondengo, in the town of Arco-Íris.

The MST leader, Lima, says his people will meet to decide what to do about the court orders. He explained that the group is acting on decisions made at a recent Forum on Land Reform (“Fórum Estadual São Paulo pela Reforma Agrária”), an umbrella group of social movements and labor unions, such as the CUT. The present wave of land invasions by the MSTB is part of larger social movement known as the Cry of the Excluded (“Grito dos Excluídos”).

Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English

Link - Sem-terra ocupam sete fazendas no Pontal do Paranapanema