MA: Peasants and students denounce crimes of land grabbing in Deodoro square

On April 30th, during a demonstration in anticipation of the 1st of May, promoted by several trade unions in São Luís, around one hundred peasant activists from the União das Comunidades em Luta (UCL), coming from the Gurupi River valley (border with Pará), protested against the crimes of land grabbing that have intensified in the interior of Maranhão and gained more strength with the Land Grabbing Law promoted by the Carlos Brandão (PSB) government. Demonstrating in support of the peasants, the Children of the People Student Collective (CEFP), the Solidarity Committee for the Fight for Land (COMSOLUTE) and the AND support committee were present.

The peasant presence raised the tone of the event, with positions from members of UCL and CEFP denouncing the situation of conflict promoted by land grabbing in Gleba Campina, by residents of Povoado Vilela in the municipality of Junco do Maranhão, making clear the connivance of the state government with the crimes committed by landowners. In the cries of protest, they asked for freedom for Isael Batista, a peasant from Povoado Vilela, unjustly imprisoned for more than 50 days for acting in defense of his community against an attempted murder perpetrated by a military police gunman.

In its speech, CEFP also welcomed the presence of administrative technicians and teachers who are on strike, emphasizing the importance of fighting against the structural transfer of wealth from the public to the private budget. He also denounced that the reactionary coalition government of Luís Inácio promoted the Safra Plan for the benefit of large estates with record amounts, while making budget cuts in education. Finally, he stated the importance of unifying the struggle in the countryside and in the city and promoting occupations in universities and schools to denounce funding cuts more intensely, in defense of public education, free and at the service of the people. They also praised the Palestinian Resistance.

After the speeches, peasants, students and other supporters demonstrated en masse in Praça Deodoro, singing songs such as “The risk” and “Conquistar a terra”, distributing more than 1000 leaflets to the working masses of the center, traders and street vendors; carrying signs with the inscriptions “Freedom for Isael Batista!”, “Even if things get worse, this land is ours!” and “Education is not a commodity!”. The protesters received a warm welcome from the masses who stopped to inquire about their demands and supported them from afar.

In his speeches, an activist from the Coletivo Estudantil Filhos do Povo (CEFP), highlighted the reasons why mobilizations continue to take place in the countryside and in the city: “We are here to denounce the state government that betrayed the peasants, when it promised to carry out agrarian reform and did not fulfill. We are also here to denounce the federal government, which promised to solve the education problem, but recently cut funding, meaning that many universities in the country are unable to continue with their doors open – because the government prefers to give money to large estates and for bankers than for the people and education”, said the student.