The CPT, which has supported the struggles of workers and poor people in the 1970s and 1980s, submitted its 27th edition of its report on conflicts in the countryside in Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, on Monday.
The annual report, as the CPT website explains, includes data and information about agrarian conflicts in Brazil, the violent incidents suffered by rural workers and indigenous peoples.

An article published on Monday by the Rural Landless Workers’ Movement of Brazil (MST) says “the increase of rural conflicts reflects the agrarian issues are going backwards”.

According to CPT figures, the total of rural conflicts went from 1,186 in 2010 to 1,363 in 2011. The people involved in the conflicts went from over 550,000 to over 600,000. Of all the conflicts, 1,035 were over land, 260 over work and 68 over water.

The CPT study underscores that the conflicts over land are the ones that increased the most. They went from 835 in 2010 to 1,035 in 2011.
The number of families involved grew 30.3%. The increase of these conflicts took place in 17 of the 27 units of the Brazilian territory. It was more intense in the northeast, Piaui being the most conflictive state.

As part of conflicts over land, they highlight the number of families expelled from the land: from 1,216 in 2010 to 2,137 in 2011. There was also a significant increase in the number of families threatened by gunmen. The participation of private actors in conflicts over land is alarming: ranchers, businessmen, etc. were responsible for 689 of the 1,035 conflicts.

Meanwhile, the MST has a special section on the role of the judiciary in land conflicts. The movement quotes professor Carlos Walter Porto Gonçalves, who says the action of public servants is more effective when the incidents that lead to conflicts are caused by members of social movements. When the conflicts are caused by the land owners and businessmen, it is a whole different story.

Photo: prensalibrecauca.wordpress.com