Brasília, March 31, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - The Brazilian Minister of Agrarian Development, Miguel Rossetto, affirms that he has no doubt that the authorization of US$ 580 million (R$ 1.7 billion) in supplementary credits for agrarian reform should reduce tensions generated by land disputes. "We have a national plan of agrarian reform that has been discussed with society, and in the first quarter of this year alone we settled 11 thousand families, double the historical average of the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra)," he adds.

Rossetto reaffirms that the government should meet its target of settling 115 thousand families by this December. He also announces that, in coming weeks, he should conclude contracts with the Ministry of Mines and Energy to bring electricity to the agrarian reform settlements.

In reply to those who demand greater rigor on the federal government's part to control the tensions that surround land disputes, Rossetto affirmed that the government's position is to maintain a permanent dialogue with social movements. "Which doesn't necessarily mean agreeing with their opinions," he observed. According to the Minister, the government respects the law, and the country possesses norms and rules for all to obey.

This week, the leader of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST), João Pedro Stédile, threatened to raise hell in Brazil in April, with land invasions to push for the acceleration of agrarian reform in the country. The Minister repeated that the government expects that the authorization of supplemental funds to guarantee that the goals of the National Plan of Agrarian Reform will be met can alleviate tensions and conflicts in the countryside.

Translator: David Silberstein