Three of these lands belong to Brazilian company Suzano Celulose, one of the world’s largest cellulose producer. The company owns factories and plantations in several Brazilian States.

The occupations started on April 1st. Tthe MST aims to occupy 50 lands this month to denounce the agribusiness production model.

“Only three companies –Fibria, Suzano and Stora Enso- control over 1 million hectares. Agribusiness arrived to the region promising many things to the population (…) But time has passed, and these promises have not become true", said leader Evanildo Costa, of the MST in Bahia State.

According to the MST’s website, Evanildo said that contrary to what was promised, agribusiness is “displacing families out of the countryside, poisoning rivers and is not allowing the development of family agriculture”.

The occupations in Bahia are part of the National Day of Struggles for Agrarian Reform called by the MST for April, to remember the 21 people murdered on April 17, 1996.

That day, 1500 peasants of the MST in Para State, who had been displaced from their lands, mobilized to Belem, the State’s capital, to express their demands. When arriving to Eldorado de Carajas, the march stopped so that pregnant women and children could rest.
There, the demonstrators were violently attacked by over 140 military police officers. In addition to the 21 peasants murdered, 69 were injured.

That day, La Via Campesina, a network made up by peasant organizations from all continents, was gathered in La Trinidad, Mexico, in their second international conference. When the leaders learned about the murders in Para, they decided to declare April 17th “International Day of Peasant Struggle”.

None of the people responsible for "the Eldorado de Carajas massacre", are in jail. Only two of them were convicted.
Meanwhile, in Buenos Aires, capital city of Argentina, the National Indigenous Peasant Movement (MNCI) will carry out on Tuesday a protest outside the National Congress to promote the passing of a bill to suspend evictions, so that the daily violent acts suffered in the Argentinian countryside end.

In addition, the Union of Landless Rural Workers of Cuyo (UST), of Mendoza Province, a member of the MNCI, will carry out a march and a festival on Saturday in their headquarters in Lavalle department, to celebrate the International Day of Peasant Struggle. The organization is also celebrating their 10th anniversary.

“The peasant communities of Mendoza and the Argentinian territory are permanently harassed by the interests of agribusiness corporations. The murder of Cristian Ferreyra in Santiago del Estero is a clear proof of this”, reads a statement of the UST that was circulated these past days. “The UST has been struggling for lands for those who produce and for the food sovereignty of the peoples of our region for over 10 years”, it adds.

Photo: http://pcb-guarulhos.blogspot.com