In a report for Real World Radio, Via Campesina International´s communicator Viviana Rojas, present in São Bernardo do Campo, interviewed Maria Costa of the National Coordination of the MPA.

The fact that this meeting starts with a Women´s Assembly is an important element in the history of worker and activist women of this movement. According to Maria: “at the first national meeting there were three women. At our second meeting there were 200 women, and at the third meeting there were 400 women. Now we held a women´s assembly with over 1000 peasant women”.

The Brazilian peasant leader said that a priority of this event is the participation of peasant youth to “ensure a political debate about the permanence of the Brazilian peasants in the countryside”. For this reason, in addition to organizing a youth assembly on the first day, the movement ensured that 60% of participants in this first meeting were young people.

As part of the programme of the event, the MPA is also organizing the first National Festival of Peasant Agriculture with agroecological products and crafts made by peasants from the 19 Brazilian States where the MPA has grassroots groups. For more information: http://congressompa.org/