Brasília, May 16, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The president of the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag), Manoel José dos Santos, declared that he was satisfied with the results of the Cry of the Land 2003. For him, the fact that Contag is debating with a government that is democratic and popular made the dialogue much easier. "Eleven Ministers took part in our negotiation, and that's no small thing," he underlined.

Among the items that Santos points out as most important are the volume of credit, R$ 5.4 billion, the effort to guarantee the resources and reduce bureaucracy, the commitment to give priority to the settlement of those who are camped out, the strengthening of credit cooperatives, the improvement in the text of the provisional executive order that guarantees the renegotiation of the debts of all family farmers, and the maintenance of rural workers in the general system of Social Security beyond 2006.

For the Contag president, the personal participation of President Lula was fundamental in the government's response to rural workers. (DAS)