Houses, sheds and corrals destroyed. Flooded plantations and lost harvests. Chickens, pigs and cows carried away by the force of the waters. A “sad and desolate” reality, say small farmers, settlers and quilombolas who are dealing with the different losses caused by the rains in Rio Grande do Sul. The state has been suffering from flooding for a week.
Among the most affected regions are Vale do Rio Pardo and Vale do Taquari, in the center of the state. Miqueli Sturbelle Schiavon lives in the municipality of Santa Cruz do Sul and is on the state board of the Small Farmers Movement (MPA). He reports that workers and families are experiencing an unprecedented tragedy in the countryside.
“The farmers who were on the banks of the Pardo, Taquari and Jacuí rivers lost houses, animals and machines. Others still can’t even calculate their losses because they haven’t been able to return to see the properties. The rain also harmed both subsistence production and those aimed at the market and family maintenance”, says Miqueli. “Farmers in the highest regions suffer from landslides and buried houses. There is still no very concrete information about deaths in rural areas. And a good part of the production was also washed away by the floods.”
While dealing with the current damage, Miqueli also worries about the future of the region after the rains pass.
Miqueli Sturbelle, from the state directorate of the Small Farmers Movement – Photo Personal archive
“These families will necessarily need a lot of support from the federal, state and municipal governments to restructure their properties. To purchase animals and equipment. And also support for families to maintain food, water and electricity for a period of time, because they lost practically everything.”
While this help does not arrive, solidarity between neighbors and other forms of community organization are essential to minimize problems. The Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) is one of the institutions that has played a decisive role in Santa Cruz do Sul. Maurício Queiroz works in the local diocese and is one of the leaders of the CPT. Difficulties in movement and communication have made it difficult for the work to be expanded to nearby areas.
“We still haven’t been able to visit the farmers who were affected. I almost ran out of gas, because the stations had no fuel. It was supposed to arrive today, but it didn’t happen. We are having difficulty getting around and access is very difficult, with mud and other obstructions on the roads”, says Maurício. “It’s something we’ve never seen before. The water reached places I never imagined it could reach. The losses are of all types. There are economic impacts on businesses and commerce in general. Farmers lost houses, warehouses and machinery. And there is the pain of the families and victims, which we will understand better when we can visit them and have a better understanding of what happened”, says Maurício.
In the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, the reality is also one of isolation and destruction. Luiz Antônio Pasinato is a member of the local CPT and has had great difficulty communicating with farmers and settlers.
“I tried to contact several farmers and they didn’t respond. Certainly, they are facing this flood and trying to save their lives. Because gardens and fruit and vegetable crops were completely destroyed. This entire region here was affected. Many families and small farmers plant vegetables to sell at markets in Porto Alegre. The majority that had winter crops ended up losing everything and are isolated because of blocked roads”, reports Luiz Antônio.
What is already estimated is that millions of reais will be needed to rebuild the infrastructure of the affected municipalities. But Luiz Antônio understands that it is necessary to go further and invest in planning so that disasters like this do not happen again.
“First, we need to work on raising people’s awareness. Because there is a lot of climate denialism. We will have to face problems with wisdom and intelligence. Protecting our environment is a key issue. And we need to discuss what model of agriculture we want to implement, which does not destroy water sources. Discuss a housing policy, especially for cities that are on river banks and for families that live in risk areas. And civil society must be included in river basin management committees and in environmental debates”.
Both the Small Farmers Movement and the Pastoral Land Commission participate in the “Mission Seeds of Solidarity: Emergency” campaign, launched in September 2023, and reinforced with the May storms. They are asking for donations to help those who have been hardest hit by the disaster. The amounts can be allocated to the Cáritas Brasileira account, through PIX: 33654419/0010-07 (CNPJ) or bank deposit. Current account 55.450-2, branch 1248-3 (Banco do Brasil).
Impacts on settlements
The state leadership of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) also estimates a major impact on those living in settlements in the metropolitan region. Five of them were submerged due to the rain. In Eldorado do Sul, the settlements Integração Gaúcha (IRGA), Apolônio de Carvalho and Conquista Nonoaiense (IPZ) are in this situation. In Nova Santa Rita, the Santa Rita de Cássia and Sino settlements. At least 420 families were affected by the flooding.
Mauricio Roman, from the MST state leadership, believes that it will still take more than a week for workers to return to the settlements and accurately assess the extent of the damage.
Maurício Roman, from the MST state directorate – Photo Personal archive
“As soon as the waters recede and allow us to enter, which we believe will be in ten days, we decided to prioritize the Eldorado region. To try to save Cootap [Cooperativa dos Trabalhadores Assentados da Região de Porto Alegre], which was flooded. We still don’t know what was inside and got wet, nor how much of the stock was lost”, explains Mauricio Roman.
Regarding harvesting and machinery, it is possible to estimate that the impact was also large.
“We still had a plan to harvest rice. Because we suffered the first flood in November, we planted outside the agricultural window, and we were in the process of harvesting these grains. We already know that more than 50% of this production was harmed. We lost some machines, some trucks, which were very important for the movement in the construction of valleys, in collecting water, in rice production. Unfortunately, we know that there was damage to a large part of the structure, but we are still going to assess the severity”, says the MST leader.
The movement is organizing a campaign to support the rural population and show solidarity with the families affected in the settlements. To contribute financially, donations can be made via pix: [email protected].
Quilombola communities
Those who live in quilombos often suffer from climate imbalances and have historically experienced different negative impacts caused by rain. This is the assessment of Roberto Potácio Rosa, founding member of the Federation of Traditional Quilombola Communities of Rio Grande do Sul.
He lives in the community of São Miguel, in the municipality of Restinga Seca, in the central region of the state. Despite the isolation and communication difficulties, he says that the impacts were not as great as in quilombos in other parts of the state.
“We know that the urban quilombola communities, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, in Canoas, Chácara das Rosas and others nearby are in a serious situation. There are submerged houses and people in shelters. Inside, we have little information, because we are out of contact. We don’t have the signal quality there to be able to communicate properly. But it is a very worrying situation”, says Potácio.
Roberto Potácio, quilombola leader from Rio Grande do Sul – Photo Personal archive
For the community leader, extreme realities like those of today make the vulnerable situation of quilombola peoples even more evident. In addition to the concern for the missing, there is an immediate economic impact on families.
“The majority of communities’ subsistence savings come from pensions. Few have a signed work card. So, there is a budgetary impact on the entire community with this isolation, because these people are unable to move around, work, they are left without a penny, they have no payment to meet their needs”, assesses Potácio. “We also have impacts on food, health and education. And the despair of those who are unable to speak to their families. We hope everyone is well and that this storm has not claimed many lives.”
The Ministry of Racial Equality reported that it is monitoring the situation, especially in quilombola communities, gypsies and traditional peoples of African origin and terreiros affected by the floods. He assured that he has coordinated with other ministries and social movements to send basic food baskets and essential items.
According to the ministry, Rio Grande do Sul has more than 7 thousand quilombola families and approximately 1-300 families from traditional African-based communities and terreiros. And many of them are isolated, without access to water, energy and food.
