Landless occupy two areas in Paraná and intensify the struggle for land

Monday, January 19, 2015

On Friday January 16 in the middle of thousands of hectares used for the monoculture of sugar cane , landless workers occupied the Tabapuã Farm, in Centenário Sul belonging to the Atalla Group, owner of the Central Sugar Cane Mill of Paraná.

Currently, more than 1500 families organized by the MST are living in encampments in the region, producing food where before only there was only sugar cane and poverty.

In addition to food production, land occupations have been transformed into rural communities that restore and recognize aspects of life such as education, culture and agroecology. These communities are becoming models for the municipalities where they are established.


The struggle for land in the Porecatu region is unprecedented. In the 40s and 50s, there were many conflicts between squatters and peasant gunmen, funded by farmers and the state.

The conflict, known as the "guerrilla Porecatu" was "forgotten" in the memory of the region, thanks to the large amount of violence used in their repression

Today, peasant families without land demand that the land be used for agrarian reform, in order to ensure the distribution and allocation of land for those who work in them.

Motivated by the slogan "while there is land without people and people without land", peasant families who are the heirs of struggle continue building a new reality for Porecatu region.

On Saturday (17/01), about 80 families also occupied the Farm Arapongas in Jardim Alegre, center west region of the state. The area has been inspected by the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA), but have not published the report.