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| Chico Mendes Movement (MST) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Chico Mendes Movement (MST) |
| Native name | Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founders | João Pedro Stédile; Darci Frigo; Miguel Arraes; João Paulo dos Reis Velloso |
| Headquarters | Brasília; São Paulo; Pará |
| Region | Brazil |
| Membership | ~1,500,000 (est.) |
| Ideology | Agrarian reform; Socialism; Landless workers' movement |
| Website | (omitted) |
Chico Mendes Movement (MST) The Chico Mendes Movement (MST) is a Brazilian social movement advocating agrarian reform, land redistribution, and rural social justice. Rooted in peasant mobilization across Amazonas, Bahia, Pará, São Paulo, and Mato Grosso, the movement traces intellectual and tactical lineage to Latin American land struggles such as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation inspirations and the legacy of syndicalists like César Chávez and Luís Carlos Prestes-era activists. MST operates through direct action, cooperative settlements, and political alliances with parties like the Workers' Party and NGOs such as Pastoral Land Commission.
MST emerged in the 1980s amid land conflicts that referenced earlier episodes such as the Canudos War and land tenure debates involving figures like Getúlio Vargas, Juscelino Kubitschek, and policies from the Military dictatorship in Brazil (1964–1985). Early organizing involved leaders linked to trade union currents exemplified by Central Única dos Trabalhadores networks and activists influenced by the assassinated rubber tapper and environmentalist Chico Mendes; contemporaneous allies included Francisco Julião-inspired peasant leagues and intellectuals from Universidade de São Paulo. The movement’s growth paralleled Brazil’s re-democratization events, with key confrontations such as occupations of estates in Goiás and disputes with landowners tied to agro-oligarchs like the Ruralistas. International solidarity appeared from organizations like Amnesty International and unions such as International Trade Union Confederation.
MST articulates agrarian reform goals informed by Marxist, Liberation Theology, and social-democratic currents associated with thinkers like Florestan Fernandes, Paulo Freire, and activists linked to TECHO. Core aims include redistributive land reform traceable to proposals in the 1988 Brazilian Constitution, creation of peasant cooperatives modeled after Kibbutz and Mondragon Corporation examples, and environmental stewardship recalling advocacy by Yvon Chouinard-style conservationists and dialogues with Greenpeace and WWF-Brasil. MST’s program references legal instruments such as the Statute of the Land and engages with international frameworks like International Labour Organization conventions.
The movement’s structure combines grassroots assemblies inspired by Zapatista Army of National Liberation autonomie with federative coordination similar to Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura. Decision-making occurs in local base nuclei linked to regional coordination forums and a national secretariat populated by figures formerly active in Central Única dos Trabalhadores and allied with politicos from Partido dos Trabalhadores leadership. Educational initiatives draw on methodologies from Paulo Freire and partner with universities such as Universidade Estadual Paulista and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Financial and logistical support has alternated between solidarity from organizations like Oxfam and municipal programs initiated by administrations in São Paulo (city) and Porto Alegre.
Land occupations (known as "ocupações") reference historic struggles like the Canudos War and modern tactics similar to La Via Campesina actions. MST has organized mass occupations of latifundia estates in regions including Rio Grande do Sul, Maranhão, and Pernambuco, leading to formation of settlements (assentamentos) and agricultural cooperatives comparable in aspiration to agrarian reformas in Cuba and Bolivia. Some settlements have been regularized via instruments connected to the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA), while others faced eviction orders involving state police and legal processes at tribunals such as the Supremo Tribunal Federal.
MST operates a network of schools and cultural centers influenced by Paulo Freire pedagogical models, creating the Flora de Educacao-style literacy campaigns and agroecology training programs comparable to initiatives by Instituto Galeano and Embrapa. Cooperative enterprises in milk, coffee, and biofuels link to markets served by solidarity chains including partnerships with fair-trade labels and associations like Fairtrade International. Health initiatives coordinate with municipal secretariats and NGOs such as Médicos Sem Fronteiras and local hospitals, while cultural projects have collaborated with artists connected to Movimento Armorial and intellectuals from Universidade de Brasília.
MST has influenced electoral dynamics through alliances with Workers' Party administrations including the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, policy debates in the National Congress of Brazil, and mobilizations during events like the World Social Forum. Campaigns have targeted agrarian policy, environmental law reform connected to Código Florestal debates, and international trade arrangements such as negotiations within Mercosur. The movement has also engaged in litigation at courts including the Supremo Tribunal Federal and lobbied intergovernmental bodies like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Critics include large landowner federations such as the Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil and politicians allied with the Ruralistas, who allege property rights violations, economic disruption, and alignment with leftist parties like Partido Comunista do Brasil. Human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch have both criticized and defended aspects of MST responses to violence perpetrated by private militias and paramilitary groups tied to disputes in states like Pará. Academic critiques from scholars at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and University of Oxford have examined MST’s internal governance, gender dynamics, and long-term sustainability relative to agribusiness models promoted by firms such as JBS S.A. and Bunge Limited.
Category:Social movements in Brazil