The “landless” people across Brazil will not miss 2013.
Some positive steps were made throughout the year in terms of the fight waged by the landless movement, with the holding of demonstrations, marches as well as the occupation of land and public buildings.
But virtually nothing was done in terms of agrarian policy reform. In many cases, the government actually went backwards.
This is the view expressed by John Paul Rodrigues, a member of the national coordinating body of the MST (Landless Rural Workers’ Movement), with regard to the agrarian policy pursued by the Brazilian federal government in 2013.
As Rodrigues commented, the government managed to make a bad situation worse.
"Only 159 families were settled across the country. It’s a disgrace. No more than ten properties were expropriated by Dilma’s (Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil) government. That’s worse than under the last military government, headed by General Figueiredo, when 152 properties were expropriated," he said.
The interview is featured below:
- How would you assess the fight for land in 2013, at a time when agrarian reform came to a complete standstill?
Although it was a totally negative year in terms of agrarian reform, the farming communities remain steadfast in their fight for land.
In March, for example, activists set up a permanent camp in Brasilia for three months and staged ongoing protests in the federal capital, including marches, political rallies and the occupation of ministries.
March also saw the mobilisation of 10,000 peasant women to demand land for the 150,000 families that are camping across the country. They occupied land, agrochemical plants and public buildings, staged marches and blocked roads.
Immediately after, during the month of April, the "landless" held another national day of action, with demonstrations in 19 states, as well as in the Federal District. Once again, dozens of roads were blocked, more land, public buildings and town halls were occupied and marches and rallies were staged across the country.
In June and July, the MST joined the demonstrations occupying the streets of the country’s main cities and blocking roads. The "landless young" followed the movement at the beginning of August, holding several days of action. At the end of August, the entire movement joined with trade union centres, staging nationwide actions, holding strikes and blockages in the cities, and stalling roads in rural areas.
In October, over 12 states mobilised around the Day of Unity for Food Sovereignty, when rural people once again led marches and occupied land and public buildings. That same month, landless children joined the fight, highlighting the need for agrarian reform by occupying state departments and ministries.
And these are only the actions taken at the national level; not to mention all the initiatives taken at regional and state level.
In short, it is totally untrue to say that the fight is over in rural Brazil.
- And how about progress with agrarian reform?
That’s where the major problem lies; the balance is extremely negative. The year 2013 was the worst ever for agrarian reform. Rousseff’s government has gone from bad to worse. Only 159 families were settled across the country. It’s a disgrace.
No more than ten properties were expropriated by Dilma’s government. That’s worse than under the last military government, headed by General Figueiredo, when 152 properties were expropriated.
Another serious problem is the fact that the government wants to "emancipate the settlements" by giving those already settled the titles to their plots. In practice, this only frees the state from its responsibility towards the families. But the worst thing is that this policy will result in an agrarian counter-reform, as the large landowners will go on to pressure those living on reform settlements to sell their plots. This will turn everything on its head and lead to even greater land concentration in the country.
-What is behind the failure to progress with land reform?
There are two major determining factors. The first is the fact that the government has been taken hostage by Bancada Ruralista, the largest bloc in the National Congress with 162 deputies and 11 senators, - not to mention the legion of opportunistic supporters - which represents agribusiness interests.
Just to give you an idea of the immensity of the problem, this lobby manages to come out victorious on all fronts, no matter how absurd the agenda, even when it comes to unconstitutional proposals.
Examples include the complete strangling of the Forest Code, the amendment of the law on forced labour, the backtracking on legislation on the demarcation of indigenous lands, the setting up of a special committee to facilitate the approval of new toxic agrochemicals - disregarding the assessments of the ANVISA (National Health Surveillance Agency) and the IBAMA (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) - and the release of new genetically modified crops.
None of these initiatives represent the interests of the Brazilian public. They all respond exclusively to the private interests of the agribusiness sector. The Bancada Ruralista bloc is a cancer that attacks the people of Brazil.
The second factor is the government’s illusion regarding agribusiness. It believes that the exports promoted by this sector allow the country to maintain a primary surplus, which guarantees the allocation of budgetary resources to the financial sector, through interest payments and debt servicing. It is highly regrettable.
The government has, however, implemented a number of public policies that promote family and smallholder farming.
It should be noted that all these public policies have been secured thanks to the fight waged by social movements. We are fighting to guarantee access to affordable food and have secured the National School Meals Programme (PNAE) and the Food Procurement Programme (PAA). We also fight for education in rural Brazil and have secured the National Agrarian Reform Education Programme (PRONERA).
Another struggle is the agro-industrialisation of our produce, for which we managed to secure the Terra Forte programme. We are also fighting for a different agricultural model and have secured the National Plan for Agroecology and Organic Production (Brasil Agroecológico). These are just a few examples.
It has to be said that, although we consider these measures to be important, we recognise their limitations. They are, in fact, insignificant in relation to the investments for agribusiness.
To give you an idea, the 2013/2014 Harvest Plan for family farming amounts to about 20 per cent of the funding allocated to agribusiness.
Moreover, we may be able to rely on these policies today, but there is no guarantee that they’ll still be here tomorrow. A simple change of government, for instance, could mean an end to all the gains we have secured.
-So what needs to be done?
Family and smallholder farming needs to be given priority, and not treated as something secondary.
The government has to understand that an extensive agrarian reform, creating thousands of rural jobs, is the only solution to poverty.
If it fails, we will see the disproportionate growth of the main urban centres, with slums sprawling on the outskirts.
In other words, we need to change the logic and structure of agricultural production in Brazil.
José Graziano, director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) acknowledged that family farming is the only way to ensure food sovereignty and the only way out of the environmental crisis.
The need is such that the UN has declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming.
- But why can’t the two agricultural models be reconciled?
The essence and logic of these models clash. The insatiability of agribusiness, with its gargantuan economic resources, rules out the possibility of developing any other type of agriculture. It will always be looking to integrate the peasants’ land and natural resources into its commodity-production model.
Agribusiness has pushed more than six million people out of the countryside over the last two decades. And where have they gone? To the slums of urban Brazil.
Agribusiness does not generate employment (more than 70 per cent of the rural workforce is employed in family farming), and it swallows up small and medium farm holdings. As a matter of fact, land concentration in Brazil is growing year by year.
The situation with regard to basic food production is also alarming. Between 1990 and 2011, the areas harvesting basic foods such as rice, beans, cassava and wheat fell by between 20 and 35 per cent, whilst the production of prized agribusiness products such as sugarcane and soya rose by 122 and 107 per cent – all for export.
In the future, we will have to import rice and beans from China. It’s alarming.
-The MST is holding its 6th National Congress in February 2014. What is the movement hoping to achieve with this activity?
We are going to consolidate our proposal on Popular Agrarian Reform. The need for agrarian reform is more urgent and essential than ever before. It is, however, a new kind of agrarian reform project, known as popular agrarian reform.
We understand that agrarian reform is more than just a national policy to help rural populations. It is fundamental and crucial to society as a whole.
Only if we want poisoned food that will give us cancer, if we want to grow crops that destroy the environment and contribute to climate change, if we want to evict peasants from rural Brazil and increase the poor population in the big cities, then agrarian reform is not, in fact, necessary.
But if, on the contrary, we want a production model that reconciles production with respect for the environment, if we want the Brazilian people to have healthy food, without pesticides, if we want to eradicate misery and poverty in our country, then reform is more necessary than ever.
That is why we need to show society how important it is, so that the whole working class can assist us in achieving Popular Agrarian Reform, and this will only be possible with a sweeping reform of the political system.
- What are the prospects for the fight during the upcoming period?
Over the last period, we built and expanded on the unity of all the social movements in rural Brazil, with a view to securing an agrarian programme that truly serves the interests of the Brazilian people. This unity is becoming ever stronger.
Coupled with this, there is ever-increasing evidence of the contradictions inherent to the agribusiness model, such as the destruction of the environment, the massive use of pesticides and unstable food prices.
In addition, as a result of the major battles fought in 2013, social organisations have secured the popular support for a far-reaching political reform in 2014, which will pave the way for a radical change in the current landscape.
Source: Alai/MST
