Brasília, 7/3/2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Leaders of the Landless Rural Worker Movement (MST) left their meeting with president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva yesterday optimistic about an ample, massive land reform taking place in the country in the second half of this year. Calling the meeting highly productive, they promised to take a message of hope to the countryside in order to reduce tensions there. "We left [the meeting] confident. Now it [land reform] will happen: that is the message we are taking to our people," declared Gilmar Mauro, the national coordinator of the movement.

The MST presented Lula with a big list of grievances and got a promise that the government will make a survey of all public lands that could be expropriated for land reform. The MST leaders said Lula expressed a willingness to reduce the red tape in expropriation processes, strengthen the Land Reform Institute (Incra) and study the creation of special credit for land reform.

In spite of the optmism and government promises, the MST leaders did not commit themselves to putting an end to property invasions. According to the leaders, property invasions are a strategy the movement uses to speed up changes. According to Gilmar Mauro, there can be no pause in their struggle, even though a friendly administration is in office in Brasilia. Their struggle is against the latifundium and they carry out that fight with invasions, marches and action, he said. (AB)