Brazilian Politics Society and Economy

Located in Greater Sao Paulo, the Dom Helder Camara Urban Commune was the first MST experiment in an urban area.

In the town of Jandira, an MST flag has been planted as a symbol of unification between the countryside and the city.

Within the town is a property which challenges the commercialization of collective achievement, and stands as a beacon of hope for one of the country's biggest social problems: a lack of housing.

In Brasília (Federal District) at around 3:00pm, the police engaged thousands of people demonstrating in front of the National Congress -- at times with violent force.

By José Coutinho Junior, Vivian Fernandes and Simone Freire of Brasil de Fato

Translated by Colin Murphy

Groups and individuals showed their support and solidarity to João Pedro Stédile after he received death threats

Art  by Pavel Eguez, the great muralist from Ecuador,  in solidarity with Stedile.

Message to the Brazilian people

A “Stedile, dead or alive” ad has been circulated on social media. Presenting him as leader of the MST and "enemy of the Fatherland", the author offers a reward of R$10,000 for those who can fulfill this request. In other words, the ad is encouraging and promising to pay to kill a person, in this case João Pedro Stedile of the national coordination of the MST.

There are indications that this criminal action originated from the personal Facebook account of Paulo Mendonça, a municipal guard from Macaé (RJ). And it was immediately reproduced by most of the social networks that on a daily basis spew hatred of the people's movements, migrants, the Workers Party and now, especially against President Dilma Rousseff. They are the same social networks for the most part who are organizing for protests on March 15 to demand that Dilma,  legitimately elected in 2014, step down from the office of President of the Republic.

The authorities have been contacted so that the author of the ad and all those who are posting it can be investigated and brought to justice, since they are guilty of incitement to murder.

But the posting is only a reflection of the sectors of the Brazilian elite who are willing to promote a wave of violence and hatred in order to destabilize the government and take back the power that they lost with the PT's electoral victory in 2002.

Around 220 people from encampments from 20 classes of Youth and Adult Education (EJA) met on Saturday (January 10) to start along the road to literacy.

The people, who were from encampments in six locations in the south of Bahia, participated in the inaugural class of the "Yes, I Can" Project, whose slogan is "Yes I Can read and write. This is an achievement of the MST."

By Iris Pacheco

In an interview with the MST web site, Alexandre Conceição, from the MST national coordination, says that the role of social activism in this election was instrumental in the re-election of President Dilma Rousseff (PT), and states that "social movements have the big challenge of continuing to struggle for structural reforms in Brazil. "

On Sunday morning August 31, more than three thousand landless families occupied the Santa Monica Fazenda, located between the municipalities of Alexânia, Abadiânia and Corumba (GO). The farm, registered in the name of Senator Eunício Oliveira (PMDB-EC), is a complex of more than 20,000 hectares, self-declared as unproductive.

On Monday July 14 the MST published a letter about the police repression of a protest that was carried out before the final World Cup game in Rio de Janeiro. Hundred of demonstrators were surrounded in the Saens Peña Plaza and could only leave after the end of the game.

Tear gas and rubber bullets were launched indiscriminately and even the wounded were prevented from leaving the area. The police had illegally arrested around 20 people on the previous day.

Here is the letter:

On Monday July 7, various social movements like the MST, People's Uprising of Youth, Consulta Popular, the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB), and the World March of Women (WMW) carried out actions and artistic events throughout the country on the National Day of Action for a Constitutional Referendum .