The
objective of the research project called “Alternative
experiences in agrarian reform of Brazil”, an initiative
of the Social Network for Justice and Human Rights, in
collaboration with Via Campesina, is to analyze concrete
situations of peasant resistance. The Landless Workers
Movement (MST), the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), the
Women’s Farmworker Movement (MMC) and the Federation of
Brazilian Students of Agriculture (FEAB) were all part of
conducting the research for the project. A team responsible
for all aspects of the research process defined the
objectives and content; elaborated a theoretical frame of
reference and methodologies; selected the areas of study;
surveyed and interpreted the data; wrote the report; and
communicated the results.
The work for the project was developed in collaboration with
the “quilombo” communities of Pará and agrarian reform
settlements in the states of Ceará, Mato Grosso and Santa Catarina.
Based
on the principal results of this research we looked at some
key questions in order to:
- 1. Understand how and why these communities became
references of economic, political and cultural
organization in dispute with the capitalist agricultural
model based on monoculture for export, and on the World
Bank land-market program;
- 2. Identify what the motivations were to change,
since these changes in behavior and values were closely
tied with the structural transformations;
- 3. Highlight that these experiences occurred in
unfavorable national and international conditions,
practically without governmental support;
- 4. Demonstrate that, despite their success, they came
up against limits imposed by agriculture policies that
did not alter the concentrated land ownership that
persists, in association with serious problems such as
environmental degradation, unemployment, hunger, poverty,
social and economic inequality.
Initially,
it must be made clear that there are no established criteria
to compare or classify experiences, as each one of them is
unique. On one hand, they are analyzed by the rhythm of
their own development (life before the conquest of the land
and life today, after the organization of the settlement),
and, on the other hand, in relation to the specific
social-economic, political-cultural and environmental
context in which they exist. All of the experiences are
recognized as being successful by the settlers themselves
and by the local communities.
The settlements of Santana (Ceará), Conquista na Fronteira
(Santa Catarina), Antonio Conselheiro (Mato Grosso) and the
“quilombo” communities of Oriximiná (Pará)
are references of organization and resistance, measured by
how: (a) they confront, with determination and vigor, the
opposing forces to agrarian reform (b) they search to build
alternatives to the agricultural model based on monoculture
for export and large estates. Moreover, they are considered
an example to be followed by communities in their respective
regions. There are relevant aspects in each of them in that
they confront the values that support the dominant
productive-technology model and consequently the land market
programs of the World Bank: individualism, competition, and
profitability.
This
unequal dispute gives birth to a long, difficult process of
collective learning. It’s based on a collective
decision-making process about how to protect natural
resources (land, forests, rivers), and how to utilize social
spaces (schools, cooperatives, etc.).
The
settlers undertake enormous efforts to overcome the large
obstacles they face to obtain land and organize their
communities, amid constant conflicts, by developing their
own abilities and skills. They occupy degraded and abandoned
farms as their only guarantee of survival. When the farms
are disappropriated for agrarian reform, despite the land’s
precarious conditions, they are able to quickly expand
cultivation and livestock, guaranteeing their own food
production. One can see the development and growth of
individuals and communities, in contrast to the families’
previous situation.
In
this territorial and ideological dispute, the communities
organize themselves around specific elements. Starting with
the local reality, they challenge the private appropriation
of the means of production, and the policies based on
monoculture for export. They develop an efficient strategy
to demand agrarian reform mobilizing landless workers, and
pressuring the government by organizing massive occupations
of land. They have achieved positive results in terms of
improved quality of life in comparison to their earlier
conditions, and relative to other segments of the working
class, especially with regard to rural salaries. They have
achieved an intense and permanent process of dialogue and
political action that aims to denounce neo-liberalism as one
of the main reasons for the problems that affect the
majority of the Brazilian population, such as hunger and
poverty.
Agricultural
cooperation, agro-ecological practices, the diversification
of productive activities, work based on collective
principles, and in the ownership and use of indivisible
goods (land, equipment, animals, etc.), as well as the
demands for objective material conditions used to support
production, and community infrastructure (schools, childcare,
health clinics) make up the routine actions of men and women
who, grouped together in clusters and sectors of associated
entities, live these experiences of agrarian reform. It was
also noted by most of the 110 people interviewed, as aspects
relevant to the growth of the settlers’ self-esteem, the
affirmation of an identity as landless workers, and the
equal participation of women, Black people, and youth in
community activities.
The
changes appear to reside in the dynamic of the social
relationships established between settler families, and of
those with nature and society. In respect to grasping the
sense of this change, some characteristic were identified,
with variations, in the four case studies:
·
Respect to the environment and preservation of
biodiversity;
·
Collective administration of land, of work and of
production;
·
Clarity of objectives, political unity and visibility
of actions;
·
Democratic leadership responsible for the planning,
execution and evaluation of strategic activities;
·
Economic diversification and adoption of new
technologies to produce food and generate income;
·
Access to education as the essential factor to the
learning of rights, the exercise of citizenship and
political engagement;
·
Stimulation to cultural activities, and its spread to
the schools and to alternative vehicles of communication;
·
Educational activities in the various instances of
social life, by means of technical and political support,
mixing theory and practice;
·
Incentive to integration of young people and the
affirmation of ethnic and gender equality;
·
Establishment of alliances with labor unions, urban
movements, churches and political parties;
·
Economic and political participation in community
organizing;
·
World vision based on the values of solidarity and
cooperation.
But
this still does not seem to be enough to understand how and
why these communities became a model of organization and
resistance among their peers in the municipality, together
with grassroots movements and the labor organizations, in
the different levels of government, in religious groups,
universities, artistic environments and even, in determined
circumstances, with certain understanding in business and
government circles.
Perhaps
the key factor to understand this process is the
significance the transformations in the researched areas. The
related experiences, despite their positive results, are
affected by unfavorable national and international policies,
according to what multiple experts on the topic have shown
in their analyses on the fundamentals and the consequences
of the neo-liberal project on agriculture, such as plans of
stabilization imposed upon governments by the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund, and the agreements within
the World Trade Organization for the liberalization of
agriculture markets.
It
is widely known that the model for economic development
adopted in Brazil in the mid 1980’s demanded a new form of
government action, modifying the agricultural standard,
through various measures, among them: a unilateral opening
of the international market, with the importation of food
and the exportation of non-traditional agricultural products,
and the reorganization of the production chain and their
control by large corporations. Such measures brought serious
problems for those whose livelihood depended upon
agricultural practices based on food production for the
internal market.
I will
conclude these reflections with a brief portrait of each
experience researched. This study reflects the reality of
many farming communities in Brazil.
NORTH:
The “quilombo” communities of Arancuan de Baixo, Bacabal
and Varre Vento, town of Oriximiná, Pará
Arancuan
de Baixo, Bacabal and Varre Vento, which include a total of
94 families, are located in the headwaters of the River
Trombetas in the Amazon region. These communities fought for
the demarcation of their lands alongside other black
communities and, with the support of the Catholic Church and
the Pro-Indian Commission, formed the Association of the
Descendents of the Quilombos of Oriximiná (ARQMO). The
collective land title was given to the community in 1997 and
corresponds to a common area of 80.877 hectares. The
principal activities of the area are: the extraction of
Brazil nuts, fishing, and the cultivation of manioc.
The
Association brought material and social benefits to the
community, such as vessels, trucks, warehouses and schools.
It also inspired the appearance of other similar groups in
the region. There are many reasons as to why this settlement
is considered a success: the participative form of the
processes of demarcation and obtainment of a collective land
title, the possession of community goods, the education of
children and young adults to develop a relationship of
respect to nature, the growth of self-esteem, the
development of “Black awareness” and the general
improvement of the quality of life as a result of their own
community projects.
These
types of achievements find themselves threatened when
confronted with other concepts of “development.” In an
area of large hydroelectric projects, logging companies,
mining companies and soy growers, the experience of the
“quilombo” communities stand out because of their
creative approach to organizing, and their relationship with
the environment.
NORTHEAST:
settlement Santana, town of Monsenhor Tabosa, Ceará
Santana,
which has an area of 3.213 hectares populated by 76 families,
is located in the backwoods of the Inhamúns, in the
semi-arid state of Ceará. In 1986, a farm was
disappropriated by the agrarian reform program. This
disappropriation was a direct result of the mobilization of
the area’s settlers, and young people of the bordering
communities, as well as the support of CPT and the Labor
Union of Rural Workers. The principal activities of the farm
are: dairy cattle, beekeeping and a consortium of corn and
beans. The Cooperative of Production Cattle Raising (COPAGUIA)
was created in 1990.
The
settlement is structured in the form of an “agrovila”
and has small dams, stables, a cheese factory, bee colonies,
a warehouse, a community store, a school, a daycare center,
a health clinic, and a water treatment station. Today, it
serves as an example of struggle and organization for other
areas of agrarian reform, especially with regard to the
formation of a collective council of land, and an equitable
division of labor. The path traveled by these families to
construct a dignified life included the creation of
educational programs and agricultural cooperatives. The
settlers’ accomplishments benefited the farmers of the
town as a whole. The most notable contributions are: the
elementary and middle schools; the health clinic; the
production of honey and beans for the local market; the
presence of women and youth in various organizations. In an
area that is dominated by large estates, with serious
problems such as illiteracy, the settlement Santana created
new social relationships, carrying out a relevant role in
town life, and in the formation of strong grassroots
organizations.
CENTRAL-WEST:
settlement Antonio Conselheiro, town of Tangará da Serra,
Mato Grosso
Antonio
Conselheiro, which has an area of 37.258 hectars populated
by 998 families, is located in the region of the
“agricultural frontier,” in the southwest of Mato
Grosso, between the towns of Tangará da Serra, Nova
Olímpia, and Barra do Bugres. The disappropriation of the
Tapirapuã farm occurred in 1997, after a year of occupation
by the MST. The land was distributed in familial lots that
varied from 25 to 38 hectares.
The
principal production activities are the planting of bananas
and rice, dairy, beef and the cultivation of corn, beans,
manioc and vegetables. The settled families have electricity,
water, transportation, technical assistance, and three
schools, one of which is a high school. The production is
being done in a new socio-environmental way through capacity
building practices in agro-ecology, conservation of forest
reserves and water resources, the formation of collective
working groups, and food production for local and regional
markets. Education, technical and political training are all
contributing factors to the improvement of the families’
quality of life. In an area dominated by soy and sugarcane
monocultures, the settlement Antonio Conselheiro stands out
because of its community organization, diverse agricultural
production, adoption of agro-ecological practices,
collective commercialization, and its contribution to the
provision of foodstuffs for neighboring cities.
SOUTH: settlement
Conquista na Fronteira, town of Dionísio Cerqueira, Santa
Catarina
Conquista
na Fronteira, which has an area of 1.198 hectares populated
by 60 families, is located in an area of Brazil that borders
Argentina. The Tracutinga farm was disapropriated in 1988
because of the pressure of settler families organized by MST. The Cooperative of Cattle Production of the West (COOPERUNIÃO)
was created as a new economic alternative. Milk, poultry,
fishing, tea, reforestation and the harvesting of grains are
all noteworthy strategic activities.
The
organization of the settlement transformed the large,
non-productive estates into productive land, stimulating the
preservation of biodiversity, the production of food, gender
equality, and income generation. Women and young people
participate in all production activities. The school is
organized as a child-care cooperative.
Conquista
na Fronteira is a planned area based upon the ideals of
respect to nature, production for internal consumption, and
the generation of food surplus for regional markets. The
land is used in a collective form that enables its people as
a group to determine the course of their lives. In an area
dominated by the agro-industry of meat and tobacco companies
designed for export, the settlement Conquista na Fronteira
emerges as a model of organization and struggle, based on
collective work, which benefits the entire region.
Mônica
Dias Martins is a profesor at
UECE (State University of Ceará)
and coordinator of the Observatory of Nationalities.