Memories of Struggle in the MST
Stedile, João Pedro
Joao Pedro Stedile is one of the founding members of the Movimento dos Trabathadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), Brazil's Landless Rural Workers' Movement, and one of its most vocal leaders. NACLA...
...25 MARCH APRIL 2005 REPORT ON SOCIAL MOVEMENTS this neoliberal conceptualization of our economy and society...
...15 Like many of Latin America's recent social and political movements, the Sem Terra are well aware of how their struggle is linked to international conditions...
...In Brazil we haven't gone through a true bourgeois revolution...
...We have learned from Latin American campesino movements, which have an historical tradition of struggle...
...From all we have learned from history, we realize that the health of the social movement depends on a large degree of political and ideological independence...
...But the true history of humanity is based on solidarity, equality and social justice...
...First of all, we face the economic and political power of the large landowners...
...The Sem Terra envision a thoroughgoing land reform and complete restructuring of agrarian production in all of Brazil, as suggested by their pamphlet prepared for their fourth national congress in 2000, "Agrarian Reform for a Brazil Without Latifundios...
...We are in permanent negotiations with the governments in search of our objectives...
...We were lucky to be accompanied by the photographer Sebastio Salgado, who documented the operation...
...But we always set our own goals and methods...
...The MST had the good luck to be born in a historical period that permitted us to build on the experience of many movements that had preceded us...
...Our movement was born in a historical confluence of several factors...
...Developing organization and group actions, sometimes with the outside assistance of progressive That's how I got my start and here I am today, still in the struggle...
...p. 24].18 This strategy is widely communicated to those affiliated with the organization...
...Second, the Brazilian state always acts to maintain the privileges of the dominant classes...
...NACLA invited him to speak of his memories of the movement and to reflect on the MSTs role in Brazilian politics and history...
...1 3 ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF RECENT SOCIAL movements like the MST is a broad national vision...
...But the true history of humanity is based on solidarity, equality and social justice...
...The structures of domination are very strong in our society...
...there were so many people we couldn't find transportation for ii them all...
...And years of work in the Church culminated in a pastoral letter on the land, based on liberation theology...
...I also have some painful ones...
...We have always tried to learn from others...
...We have learned from the historical struggles of Brazil...
...But we always set our own goals and methods...
...Among the best is April 15, 1996, when we organized the greatest , land occupation in the history of the MST...
...Low levels of political understanding and cultural development make it hard to broaden mass organization...
...1 4 The MST believes that it is impossible to develop the nation, construct a democratic society, or alleviate poverty and social inequality in the countryside without eliminating the latifundio...
...What follows is a portion of his response: I have some very good memories of the activities of the movement...
...It was awesome...
...Also, society had risen up against Brazil's dictatorship and had lost its fear of struggle...
...But they go on to say that agrarian reform is only viable if it is part of a popular project that would transform Brazil's economic and social structures...
...We have learned from the peasant movements coming before us that were defeated by the military dictatorship...
...Another problem lies in the difficulty of organizing millions of poor people who are still at a low level of political and ideological consciousness...
...It was at the end of the 1970s when the model of dependent industrialization and modern agriculture was entering into crisis...
...We have learned from the peasant movements coming before us that were defeated by the military dictatorship...
...That's how I got my start and here I am today, still in the struggle...
...Local general assemblies convene frequently and all members of the family units are encouraged to participate...
...Because of my links with the pastoral letter I was invited to organize the landless campesinos who lived in another region of my state, Rio Grande do Sul...
...I also have some painful ones...
...To be autonomous does not mean that we can't enter into alliances and relationships...
...What follows is a portion of his response: I have some very good memories of the activities of the movement...
...We had 6,000 a families camped all night by the side of the road...
...I had been active in the wine-producers unions in my family's home region...
...Third, we have to deal with the nature of the governments that utilize the state and its laws in order to maintain the privileges of those same dominant classes...
...Third, we have to deal with the nature of the governments that utilize the state and its laws in order to maintain the privileges of those same dominant classes...
...A pamphlet disseminated by the organization, "Brazil Needs a Popular Project," calls for popular mobilizations, noting that "all the changes in the history of humanity only happened when the people were mobilized," and that in Brazil, "all the social and political changes that happened were won when the people mobilized and struggled...
...We have alliances with other sectors that are fighting for the same causes, and also with political parties...
...Then we walked together to an 85,000 hectare (230,000 acre) farm, the largest landed estate in the state of Parana, and we took it...
...17 Mass political mobilization is another fundamental organizational principle as seen in their massive mobilizations for land takeovers and street demonstrations [See "Memories of Struggle...
...From all we have learned from history, we realize that the health of the social movement depends on a large degree of political and ideological independence...
...We were lucky to be accompanied by the photographer Sebastito Salgado, who documented the operation...
...We have always tried to learn from others...
...We have learned from Latin American campesino movements, which have an historical tradition of struggle...
...Among the best is April 15, 1996, when we organized the greatest land occupation in the history of the MST...
...We had 6,000 families camped all night by the side of the road...
...Another good moment was our arrival in Brasilia on April 17, 1997, after a three-month march of 1,500 kilometers (950 miles...
...We are in permanent negotiations with the governments in search of our objectives...
...Also, society had risen up against Brazil's dictatorship and had lost its fear of struggle...
...1 6 In a draft document on the "Fundamental Principles for the Social and Economic Transformation of Rural Brazil," they note that "the political unity of the Brazilian dominant classes under Fernando Henrique Cardoso's administration (1994-2000) has consolidated the implementation of neoliberalism [in Brazil]," and that these neoliberal policies have led to the increased concentration of land and wealth in the hands of the few and the further impoverishment of Brazilian society "Popular movements," the document goes on to say, "must challenge MEMORIES OF STRUGGLE IN THE MST J oio Pedro Stedile is one of the founding members of the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), Brazil's Landless Rural Workers' Movement, and one of its most vocal leaders...
...The structures of domination are very strong in our society...
...That pastoral letter helped raise the consciousness of the campesinos so that they could organize and struggle...
...Among the bad moments, the most painful was the massacre of Caracajas, when the police killed 19 of our compafieros, one of them was a 19-year-old activist who was made to shout "Viva the MST" as they shot him...
...More than 100,000 people came into the streets to receive us...
...12 Their political culture and decision-making processes clearly break from the authoritarian tradition...
...Therefore, we always insist that the MST and other social movements have to be autonomous in their relations with political parties, the government, the state, the Church and all other institutions...
...The MST had the good luck to be born in a historical period that permitted us to build on the experience of many movements that had preceded us...
...My participation dates from those beginnings...
...First of all, we face the economic and political power of the large landowners...
...Therefore, we always insist that the MST and other social movements have to be autonomous in their relations with political parties, the government, the state, the Church and all other institutions...
...Our movement was born in a historical confluence of several factors...
...We have always understood that only they who travel on their own feet and think with their own heads can go far...
...It was awesome...
...Another good moment was our arrival in Brasilia on April 17, 1997, after a three-month march of 1,500 kilometers (950 miles...
...My participation dates from those beginnings...
...Another problem lies in the difficulty of organizing millions of poor people who are still at a low level of political and ideological consciousness...
...We have learned from the historical struggles of Brazil...
...It was at the end of the 1970s when the model of dependent industrialization and modern agriculture was entering into crisis...
...The campesino class in Brazil is only 100 years old, very young in terms of human history, and we have learned from the historical experience of the working class...
...1 9 As has been the case in other Latin American countries, traditional politics and political parties have proven unable and/or unwilling to address the deteriorating economic conditions of marginalized groups who suffer the negative effects of economic globalization...
...Indeed, the strongly participatory nature of the organization and the collective nature of leadership and decision-making have made for a political culture that challenges traditional authoritarian notions and vertical decision-making structures...
...1 Leadership is collective at all levels, including nationally, where some 102 militants make up the National Coordinating Council...
...We knew we had popular support, but we didn't know how strong it was...
...The campesino class in Brazil is only 100 years old, very young in terms of human history, and we have learned from the historical experience of the working class...
...When we arrived U 24 in the city, our reception had the feeling of a general strike...
...Low levels of political understanding and cultural development make it hard to broaden mass organization...
...We have alliances with other sectors that are fighting for the same causes, and also with political parties...
...The movement has been heavily influenced by liberation theology and the participatory democratic culture generated by the use and study of Paulo Freire's approach to selftaught, critical education...
...Among the bad moments, the most painful was the massacre of Caracajas, when the police killed 19 of our companeros, one of them was a 19-year-old activist who was made to shout "Viva the MST" as they shot him...
...Second, the Brazilian state always acts to maintain the privileges of the dominant classes...
...When we arrived in the city, our reception had the feeling of a general strike...
...Thus, they begin by challenging the positive vision of neoliberalism presented by global media...
...We knew we had popular support, but we didn't know how strong it was...
...Because of my links with the pastoral letter I was invited to organize the landless campesinos who lived in another region of my state, Rio Grande do Sul...
...NACLA REPORT ON THE AMERICAS REPORT ON SOCIAL MOVEMENTS groups of about ten families, which constitute a "Base Nucleus" in each neighborhood...
...We have always understood that only they who travel on their own feet and think with their own heads can go far...
...Frequently held regional, state and even national assemblies in turn incorporate representatives of these local-level units...
...I had been active in the wine-producers unions in my family's home region...
...Then we walked together to an 85,000 hectare (230,000 acre) farm, the largest landed estate in the state of ParanS, and we took it...
...That pastoral letter helped raise the consciousness of the campesinos so that they could organize and struggle...
...So sooner or later, I know we will win...
...More than 100,000 people came into the streets to receive us...
...In Brazil we haven't gone through a true bourgeois revolution...
...there were so many people we couldn't find transportation for them all...
...To be autonomous does not mean that we can't enter into alliances and relationships...
...And years of work in the Church culminated in a pastoral letter on the land, based on liberation theology...
...In turn, the social movements have responded with grassroots organization and the development of a new repertoire of action that breaks with old forms of political activity...
...NACLA invited him to speak of his memories of the movement and to reflect on the MSTs role in Brazilian politics and history...
...So sooner or later, I know we will win...
Vol. 38 • March 2005 • No. 5
