Pereira Mello, Lucio
The Landless Movement in Brazil at a crossroad
- 2023.
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The MST had great success in the 1980s—450,000 families in assentamentos (owners) or acampamentos (occupiers)—and served as an example for many mobilisations and land occupations around the world. During the Bolsonaro era, the movement has undergone various adaptations. It adopted the narrative of the agricultural entrepreneur, influenced by the evangelists—from the communitarian “theology of liberation” to the individualistic theology of success. Under constraints and repression, it has moved away from occupying land to developing organic farming and producing “healthy” food, largely for the cities. In this way, it has strengthened the links between rural and urban areas, and strategically drawn closer to the homeless (Roofless Movement).