Uma Luta de Todos! The Landless Rural Workers Movement in Brazil: From Land to Democracy (1985-2023)
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Date
2024-12
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
This paper examines how the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) adapted to shifting political paradigms in Brazil’s New Republic (1985-present). It examines the movement’s ideological and organizational evolution across three critical periods: the neoliberal administrations from 1985-2002, the left-wing administrations of Luiz Inácio da Silva and Dilma Rousseff (2003-2016), along with a short period of Michel Temer as president (2016-2018), and ending with the right-wing Jair Bolsonaro administration (2019-2022). It traces the MST’s shifts from direct land occupations to broader engagement with grassroots social and political movements, both domestically and globally, while also navigating internal and external conflicts with agribusiness elites, ineffective state institutions, and multinational corporations. These movements sought to consolidate democracy and reinforce the Brazilian government’s commitments to implementing and enforcing social and economic rights and protections enshrined in the country’s progressive liberal-democratic constitution. Drawing on primary and secondary documents and interviews, this paper investigates how the MST linked the issue of agrarian reform with extensive social, economic, and environmental issues.
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Keywords
landless rural workers movement, democracy, agrarian reform, neoliberalism, land occupation