Brasília, November 21, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Leaders of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST), the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag), and the Pastoral Commission of the Land (CPT) are scheduled to be received at 11 A.M. today in the Planalto Palace by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The coordinator of the Landless Workers Movement, João Paulo Rodrigues, hopes that the National Plan of Agrarian Reform will be discussed at the meeting with President Lula. "Since the campaign, the President has been promising to announce a plan with a budget for the next four years, for the expropriation of unproductive plantations and the consolidation of settlements," he said.

The hope of the president of the Contag, Manoel dos Santos, is that the government will present a proposal that can guarantee progress in agrarian reform in the country. "We are at the end of the Administration's first year, it has three years to go, and it is essential that the government present a proposal, with planning, goals, and resources to guarantee the activities over the next three years," Santos affirmed.

At an encounter last night, the leaders of the three groups, who are camped out in Brasília to demand action for agrarian reform, defined the number of people who will meet with President Lula. (DAS)