In its 26th parade, the block takes advantage of the party to talk about important issues such as Latin American sovereignty
The Bloco Sem Terra parade brought together around 5,000 people this Monday (February 16) of Carnival, in Olinda, Pernambuco. So many people, that it forced the block to leave earlier than expected from the tent of the Movement of Rural Workers Without Land (MST), which this year was behind the Carmo Church. The gathering began around 2 pm, bringing together militants, friends and sympathizers with lots of fun, political costumes and national culture, such as Dona Sebastiana from the movie The Secret Agent.
MST flags and a giant puppet of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were also part of the procession. Along the way, the block received broad support from the population on the streets of the Historic Site, such as Rua do Bomfim.
For the participants of the bloc, uniting struggle and fun is fundamental to advancing popular demands. “There is no revolution, nor democracy, without revelry, without celebration, without the joy of the people, without popular culture. That is why we are here once again at the biggest carnival in the world, the Carnival of Olinda, of Recife, to celebrate with the people, to celebrate the landless movement, the carnival and our revolution and democracy,” says Pedro Alcântara, vice-president of the PT in Pernambuco.
In addition to the participants' demonstrations, the bloc also brings a proposed theme for the parade. This year, the motto “sovereignty and revelry are not negotiable” was chosen, raising the banner of the anti-imperialist struggle, criticizing the abuses of the US government under the command of Donald Trump, who is represented by a giant puppet in the bloc.
“This is the main focus at this historical moment, with all this attack that imperialism has been carrying out in Latin America, in the search for the natural resources of the Latin American people, especially with this great aggression that happened to Venezuela and with the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. Sovereignty is not negotiable,” explains Paulo Mansan, from the National Coordination of the MST.
The Landless Workers' Bloc also defended the end of the 6x1 work schedule, from a perspective of leisure as a human right, present in article 24 of the Universal Declaration, a demand directly linked to the right to free time and rest.
The councilwoman of Olinda, Eugênia de Lima (PT), who had a giant puppet in her honor, highlighted that the theme of the Landless Workers' Bloc also dialogues with the demands of the Carnival workers themselves.
“We have the best Carnival possible, not the best Carnival, not the Carnival we wanted. After Carnival, we will begin a public consultation so that we can guarantee the rights and improve the conditions of the workers, who are the ones who make this celebration what it is. Carnival is also politics, and we must guarantee the rights of all the workers who make this festival what it is,” he stated.
Since 2013, parading in the historic center
In 2000, the MST set up a stall to sell food and drinks at the Olinda Carnival, seeking to establish it as a meeting place for activists during the festival. That same year, those present decided to put a parade on the street, starting from Ribeira, with the name "Vará pra funcionar" (roughly translated as "It'll work"), a pun on the bureaucracy involved in putting up a sign in front of the movement's office in Recife, since a permit was required. The following year, the parade brought the popular toy of the ox.
Year after year, the group has grown and, since 2013, has paraded as a large bloc through the streets of the Historic Site, uniting politics and fun, struggle and celebration, and attracting political and social leaders, militants, activists, friends and supporters of the movement, as well as other groups and banners linked to social struggles, such as those run by the National Union of Students (UNE), the Popular Youth Uprising and the Union of Socialist Youth (UJS). In 2026, the Bloco Sem Terra held a free preview at the end of January.
The MST Carnival headquarters was set up at 190 Dom Pedro Roeser Street, in the Carmo neighborhood. The place is popularly known as Seu Reis's Site and is located behind the Carmo Church. With free access and open to the public, the venue features DJs and live bands every day, tables and chairs, the sale of drinks and meals with items from agrarian reform, tables and chairs, a shower, and a trampoline for children.
In 2026, the movement also launched the MST Bloc in Rio de Janeiro, taking to the streets on February 7th in Cinelândia. The Landless Workers' Movement was also honored at the São Paulo Carnival by Acadêmicos do Tatuapé, which had family farming and the struggle for agrarian reform as central themes. The parade featured MST leaders and friends on the floats.
