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| MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra |
| Native name | Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | João Pedro Stédile |
| Headquarters | São Paulo |
| Region served | Brazil |
| Membership | hundreds of thousands |
MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra) is a Brazilian social movement founded in the 1980s that campaigns for agrarian reform, land redistribution, and rural workers' rights. The movement operates through occupations, settlements, cooperative agriculture, and educational initiatives, engaging with political parties, trade unions, nongovernmental organizations, and international solidarity networks. MST's activities intersect with debates involving rural elites, federal institutions, environmental organizations, and human rights groups.
MST emerged from the landless struggle milieu that included links to Campesino movements inspired by earlier peasant uprisings such as the Landless Workers' Movement (disambiguation) and influenced by figures like João Pedro Stédile, Ítalo Argentino, and networks associated with Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura and Central Única dos Trabalhadores. The movement developed strategies modeled in part on experiences from Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Movimento de Libertação dos Sem Terra (historic), and international agrarian campaigns in Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia, and Peru. MST gained visibility during the administrations of José Sarney, Fernando Collor de Mello, Itamar Franco, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Dilma Rousseff, interacting with institutions such as the Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária and confronting landowning interests connected to families like the Magalhães and Neves clans. Key episodes included occupations influenced by precedents from Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (Brazilian history) and responses to policy changes following rulings by the Supremo Tribunal Federal.
MST articulates an ideology combining elements of socialism, agrarianism, land reform advocacy, and popular education drawn from theorists associated with Paulo Freire and movements in Latin America. The movement frames its goals in relation to documents like the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 and engages with international frameworks such as Universal Declaration of Human Rights and discussions at forums including World Social Forum and United Nations agencies. Its platform intersects with parties and organizations like the Partido dos Trabalhadores, Partido Socialismo e Liberdade, Central dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras do Brasil, and civil society groups like Conselho Indigenista Missionário and Pastoral Land Commission.
MST is known for organized land occupations that seek to convert idle private estates into productive settlements, negotiating with agencies such as Incra and sometimes confronting landowners represented by organizations like the Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil. Occupations have occurred in states including Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Maranhão, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), and Goiás, and on estates linked to families and corporations such as Grupo Votorantim, Usiminas, Coteminas, and agribusiness interests like Bunge Limited and Cargill. Settlements produce cooperatives that interact with markets via channels including Cooperativa Central de Trabalho, municipal marketplaces in Porto Alegre, Curitiba, and export logistics through ports like Porto de Santos.
MST organizes through local, regional, and national coordination bodies, with assemblies, brigades, and agrarian committees influenced by organizational models of trade union federations such as CUT and international solidarity structures like Via Campesina. Membership comprises rural workers, landless families, students, intellectuals, and allied activists linked to institutions such as Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, and religious networks like Igreja Católica and Frente de Mobilização Social. Leadership figures have included activists who coordinated campaigns with NGOs like Oxfam and foundations such as Ford Foundation.
MST engages in electoral politics indirectly through alliances with parties including Partido dos Trabalhadores, Partido Comunista do Brasil, and civil platforms such as Coalizão Democrática. The movement has organized mass mobilizations and participated in events related to national debates involving presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Jair Bolsonaro, and institutions like the Câmara dos Deputados and Senado Federal. MST has linked campaigns to international movements such as La Via Campesina and participated in transnational forums including the Habitat assemblies and meetings at Geneva and Brussels.
MST runs schools, literacy campaigns, and agroecology projects inspired by Paulo Freire and models used by Escuela Nacional Florestan Fernandes and Movimento Popular de Alfabetização programs. The movement's pedagogical initiatives coordinate with universities like Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina and research centers such as Embrapa and agricultural extension services in state agencies. Social programs include health initiatives that collaborate with facilities in Porto Velho, Manaus, and municipal clinics, and economic projects that coordinate with credit lines from institutions like Banco do Brasil and cooperative banking networks.
MST has been criticized by landowner associations such as Sindicato Rural groups, political figures in Câmara Rural contexts, and media outlets including national newspapers when occupations led to confrontations with police forces like Polícia Militar; legal disputes have involved courts including the Tribunal Regional Federal and public prosecutors such as Ministério Público Federal. Controversies include allegations of illegal land invasions, clashes resulting in legal cases involving families linked to latifúndio holdings, and debates with environmental NGOs like Instituto Socioambiental and private companies such as JBS S.A. and Ambev over deforestation and land use. The movement's tactics and alliances have been scrutinized by academics at institutions such as Universidade de Brasília and commentators in media outlets in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte.
Category:Social movements in Brazil Category:Agrarian politics Category:Land reform