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| Homeless Workers' Movement (MTST) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Homeless Workers' Movement (MTST) |
| Native name | Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Founders | João Paulo (pseudonym), Guilherme Boulos, Heloísa Helena (early allies) |
| Location | Brazil |
| Ideology | Socialism, Land reform, Housing rights |
Homeless Workers' Movement (MTST) is a Brazilian social movement formed in 1997 that organizes urban poor and homeless populations to demand access to housing, land reform, and social services. The movement emerged from interactions among activists linked to trade unions, student organizations, and faith-based groups, and has engaged in high-profile occupations, mass mobilizations, and legal campaigns across São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, and other Brazilian cities. MTST has intersected with broader networks including labor unions, political parties, and international solidarity campaigns.
MTST traces roots to late-20th-century urban struggles in São Paulo amid neoliberal reforms, housing deficits, and demographic shifts that followed the administrations of Fernando Henrique Cardoso and preceding politicians. Early organizers drew on tactics used by Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, Central Única dos Trabalhadores, and community leaders in favelas such as those in Rocinha, Paraisópolis, and Cidade de Deus. Through the 2000s MTST expanded during the presidencies of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, coordinating with networks around the Partido dos Trabalhadores and engaging legal strategies that invoked decisions from the Supremo Tribunal Federal and municipal agencies like the Prefeitura de São Paulo. High-profile episodes included confrontations during mayoralties of Gilberto Kassab and Fernando Haddad, and occupations timed around national events such as the FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The movement adapted to political shifts during the administrations of Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro, participating in protests related to austerity measures and electoral campaigns.
MTST frames its platform within traditions associated with socialism, urban reform, and rights-based jurisprudence influenced by rulings from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and constitutional interpretations by the Supremo Tribunal Federal. Its objectives include large-scale land redistribution initiatives akin to demands of Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, municipal housing programs comparable to policies advanced under Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and legal recognition of informal settlements similar to statutes in municipalities like Curitiba and Porto Alegre. MTST aligns with allied organizations such as Frente Brasil Popular, Central de Movimentos Populares, and international networks connected to Habitat International Coalition and UN-Habitat discourse.
MTST's organizational model combines grassroots assemblies with federated coordination across metropolitan regions including Greater São Paulo, Baixada Fluminense, and the Metropolitan Region of Recife. Leadership figures have included activists who engaged electoral politics and civil society, interacting with politicians like Guilherme Boulos (who later ran for mayor under alliances with PSOL), and collaborating with intellectuals tied to universities such as the Universidade de São Paulo and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. The movement maintains local collectives, legal teams, and alliances with labor federations including Central Única dos Trabalhadores and student groups from institutions such as Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
MTST employs occupations of vacant properties, demonstrations, negotiated settlements with municipal administrations, and litigation in courts including the Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo and the Supremo Tribunal Federal's constitutional docket. Tactics draw on precedents from movements like Movimento Passe Livre and squatters' actions in European contexts such as those in Barcelona and Berlin. The movement stages coordinated actions timed with national political calendars, occupying properties owned by corporations, banks such as Caixa Econômica Federal and infrastructure linked to municipalities like Prefeitura do Rio de Janeiro. MTST also conducts popular education programs with partners including NGOs like Pastoral de Rua and research centers at Fundação Getulio Vargas.
Notable occupations include mass actions in São Paulo metropolitan areas, encampments on Avenida Paulista and in zones adjacent to landmarks like Parque do Ibirapuera, and large settlements demanding regularization in municipalities such as Diadema and São Bernardo do Campo. Campaigns often intersected with national mobilizations during presidential elections involving figures like Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro, and with broader social movements during events such as the 2013 Brazilian protests. MTST's actions targeted assets of corporations and financial institutions, public land near transport hubs like Aeroporto de Congonhas and Estação da Luz, and municipal properties overseen by administrations including Fernando Haddad and Bruno Covas.
Through litigation and public pressure MTST influenced municipal housing policies, compelled negotiations for social housing programs affiliated with agencies such as Caixa Econômica Federal housing lines, and engaged legal counsel in courts including the Tribunal Regional Federal and Supremo Tribunal Federal. Politically, MTST helped shape debates around the Minha Casa Minha Vida program and allied with formations like Frente Povo Sem Medo and Frente Brasil Popular to influence electoral coalitions involving Partido dos Trabalhadores, Partido Socialismo e Liberdade, and leftist caucuses in the Congresso Nacional. The movement's visibility affected municipal zoning disputes adjudicated in bodies such as the Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo.
Critiques have come from conservative politicians including figures aligned with Brazilian Social Democracy Party leadership and administrations of São Paulo municipal authorities, business groups such as Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo, and media outlets that questioned the legality of occupations and alleged links to partisan politics. Legal controversies involved eviction orders from judges in tribunals like the Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo and clashes with police forces including the Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo. Academics and commentators at institutions such as Fundação Getulio Vargas and think tanks connected to Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada have debated MTST's strategies, while civil society organizations such as Amnesty International and local human rights NGOs have sometimes criticized policing responses to occupations.
Category:Social movements in Brazil Category:Housing rights organizations Category:Political movements