MST: Taking Back the Land

It's one of the most popular, organised and contentious social movements in Latin America today, but you may never have heard of it.
Movimento Sem Terra, or MST means movement of the landless.
Hundreds of thousands of Brazil's poorest people have joined to squat unused land right across the country.
Every step is fraught with danger as they face the guns of powerful landowners.
What they're fighting for goes to the heart of politics and power in Brazil- LAND.

From shantytowns to settlements: Taking Back the Land introduces Brazil's famous landless people movement.

Presented by Nina Simoes. Originally made for Channel 4's ALT-TV strand.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• MST
• Brazil
• landless
• Sem
• Terra
• squat
• squatting

[007rocksalotmann]

Nao, nao sou. Ja li sobre o lado deles, e conclui q o MST e mau

[kkkssskkk]

MST is nothing but a terrorist organization in Brazil. I fell bad for those poor land workers who are "brain washed" by the politicians. Because they are terrorists, the authorities should not dialogue with them.

[tls2156]

So you all call the MST a Terrorist group?? OK.......answer me this question....why is it that 46% of the land in Brazil is owned by less than 1% of the population????? is this fair? i will entertain all reasonable responses.

[rodrigrap]

MST is a TERRORIST ACTIVITY. In any serious country, they would be in JAIL!!!!!!! This is just crappy propaganda!

[rodrigrap]

IT is a lie, the MST is a group of criminals, prone to violent crimes and highly criticized by the society. They invade private and productive land, destroy productive farms and have an absurd claim that they deserve the most valuable land in Brasil. Hopefully they will be all in jail. THEY ARE MURDERS, CRIMINALS!!!!

[imranw]

MST, fight for your land, my teachers quote, "If they come for me in the morning, they will come for you in the night" people must band together to protect themselves

[kcwz]

So it sounds as though land and hard work was stolen from previous generations. As a result, the current generation, that did none of the hard work, is stealing it back. What do you think those who are currently losing their hard work and land are going to do to protect it... or reclaim it. Maybe it will be their kids who return to reclaim MST's hard work... No one will feel sorry for them. Welcome to Brazil.

[pampa2]

YES!!

[lsnows]

Just a question: what is an urban laborer going to do with land? He doesn't know how to till and sow. Alot of times MST just takes the land and sells it- sometimes even back to the people they expropriated it from. I don't think anyone disagrees that agrarian reform needs to take place. It just needs to be done right. You don't give land to welders just like you shouldn't give a blow torch to a peasant farmer.

[rickshawandy]

If ,

MST = Anarchy

Anarchy =Good

[Howarddireito]

That is it! Congratulations to your family. People like you built the new world and made it develop. The MST want to become for free the results of the work of people like your family.

[Howarddireito]

Where land is really unused the MST does not want to go! And do you know why? Because the MST wants to keep close to asphalted roads and cities. Analyse where most of the MST "assentamentos" are located at! Besides, they do not know how to manage a farm and even if they would know they have no money to invest in the land they become. So, after becoming land, they want money and if they do not get money they invade other farms in order to protest and keep in the media!