Landless Rural Workers Movement Research Articles

Dinâmica Temporal do Assentamento e os Projetos de Vida da Juventude Rural

Resumo: Esta pesquisa aborda a apropriação do espaço pela juventude rural, tendo em perspectiva a dinâmica temporal de um assentamento rural organizado pelo Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra (MST), em Teresina, Piauí. Os jovens assentados pesquisados foram inseridos na luta pela terra, em sua maioria, em decorrência da decisão de seus pais. Assim, a partir dessa luta eles tiveram que (re)construir seus projetos de vida no espaço do assentamento, num processo tensionado pelas transformações do mundo rural e das problemáticas próprias da juventude do campo. A partir de uma pesquisa participante, por meio da técnica de grupo focal, com o Coletivo de Jovens já existente, foram discutidos os processos e vetores que atuam na construção dos projetos de vida dos jovens rurais com relação ao assentamento Vale da Esperança. As informações, analisadas por meio da técnica de Categorização da Análise de Conteúdo, apontaram para a importância da forma de inserção na terra como também atuação de mediadores sociais na apropriação do espaço e construção de projetos de vidas voltados para o próprio assentamento.

Challenging Social Inequality: The Landless Rural Workers Movement and Agrarian Reform in Brazil ed. by Miguel Carter (review)

Challenging Social Inequality: The Landless Rural Workers Movement and Agrarian Reform in Brazil ed. by Miguel Carter (review)

Use of Mobile Devices in Participative Documentaries in the Settlements of Landless Rural Workers Movement in Brazil

This paper examines how the production of participative hypermedia documentaries with mobile devices can foment subjectivities and generate social movement within the interstitial settlements of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in the state of RS, Brazil. We draw upon the appropriation of media art and technology to establish links between the creation of subjectivity as emergent identity, the detection of memory as integrative process within social movement. To activate our theoretical framework in praxis, we situate mobile devices at the intersection of environmental, social and mental ecologies within locative art. We examine the micro-politics of the quotidian and memory as integrative of experience to bring forth singularizing experiences where both sender and receptor become generators of content mediated through a generalized web of connectivity which provides local value within global connections.

A journey with the movimento dos trabalhadores rurais sem terra (mst) across Brazil and on to South Africa

The paper analyses the role of the Brazilian Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in building a specific form of contentious politics for rural struggles the author refers to as the “movement form”. Following the author's journey over the past twenty years with MST's activists across Brazil and in South Africa, it seeks to present the conditions that allowed certain features of the MST's modus operandi to be incorporated by other groups at the national and international levels. While recognizing the valuable contributions of the movement to an innovative assemblage in terms of the state-landless relations, the author presents the limits of the MST's approach to land claims, which cannot be reduced to merely agriculture.

Currículo e MST: conflitos de saberes e estratégias na produção de sujeitos

Este artigo trata dos conflitos em torno dos saberes disponibilizados nos currículos de duas escolas do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) e das estratégias ali inscritas para a produção de sujeitos. Insere-se no campo do currículo na vertente pós-crítica, incorporando ferramentas conceituais dos Estudos Culturais e dos estudos de Michel Foucault. O argumento desenvolvido é o de que apesar de as relações de poder-saber forjadas no currículo das escolas investigadas serem marcadas pela presença predominante dos conhecimentos autorizados, há ali um esforço de ensinar outros saberes que contribuem para disponibilizar algumas posições de sujeito que são de importância estratégica para a produção do sujeito Sem Terra.

Countering Inequality: Brazil's Movimento Sem‐Terra

Data from a national survey of formerly landless peasants residing in federal land‐reform settlements in Brazil (Pesquisa Nacional de Educação na Reforma Agrária—) confirm that the Landless Rural Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem‐Terra—) has been far more successful than other settlement movements in assuring a better quality of life for its members. This superior performance is attributed to an organizational structure that demands and assures membership involvement, and a commitment to participatory education in an environment that fosters and supports 's goals and objectives. 's members have higher self‐perceived social status than members of non‐ movements, have better residential environments and more material possessions, and experience an education that emphasizes the movement's principles of social justice, radical democracy, and humanist and socialist values.

Quando a consciência histórica é a consciência organizativa: formação política e ensino de História no MST

Neste artigo propõe-se analisar a relação entre consciência histórica e consciência organizativa no Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), considerando-se o lugar ocupado pelo estudo da história na formação de quadros políticos num período de consolidação do movimento social. Ao longo dos anos, meios de comunicação e materiais didáticos do MST se tornaram instrumentos de difusão de representações políticas, o que permite entender como o movimento social deu sentido ao passado e ao ensino de História na organização dos sem-terra. Trata-se de uma abordagem sobre representações que delinearam funções preliminares da consciência histórica e do ensino de História na mobilização dos trabalhadores rurais sem-terra.

Solidarity Economy and Agricultural Cooperatives: The Experience of the Brazilian Landless Rural Workers Movement

Based on field research in southern Brazil, this paper examines successful experiences of encampment, and especially of two agricultural cooperatives of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) as part of the solidarity economy. These co-ops exemplified collective searches for better living conditions to respond to people's needs and hopes, beside and beyond the market economy. The paper thus explores (1) community dynamics and movement-building among MST participants as they interact with one another and are shaped by daily practices in their collective struggle for land access and justice; (2) how they foster alternative imaginaries (vision, hope, projects), forms of production, and social reproduction that nurture greater autonomy, solidarity, cooperation, and democratic participation; and (3) how various forms of cooperation allow MST participants to appropriate, defy and transform dominant norms and practices in their everyday lives. The latter process is crucial for researchers and activists interested in social change since these forces are contributing to opening up spaces that allow the emergence of new norms and values, intertwined with new practices and ways of being in the making, despite existing obstacles and challenges.

Diálogo entre universidade e movimentos sociais: busca de compromisso e transformação social

Este artigo propõe uma discussão sobre a entrada de cursos superiores pelo Programa Nacional de Educação na Reforma Agrária (PRONERA) em universidades públicas do Estado de São Paulo, e traz para isso, o curso de Pedagogia da Terra da Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), o primeiro curso desta natureza no estado. O curso de Pedagogia da Terra da UFSCar é composto e acompanhado por 4 movimentos e organizações sociais diferentes: Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), Organização das Mulheres Assentadas e Quilombolas do Estado de São Paulo (OMAQUESP), Federação da Agricultura Familiar do Estado de São Paulo (FAF) e Federação dos Empregados Rurais e Assalariados do Estado de São Paulo (FERAESP). A educação do campo e em especial o curso de Pedagogia da Terra, trouxe para os sujeitos do campo a possibilidade de acesso ao ensino superior o que lhes proporcionou uma forma de gerenciar suas próprias vidas, sendo sujeitos tanto do processo de proposição do modelo de educação que querem, como também participando ativamente na construção de novos conhecimentos. Sujeitos que aprendendo e ensinando vão buscando novas possibilidades de sobrevivência e de conquista de uma vida de qualidade

O Museu do MST e a emergência de uma nova museologia

The article deals with the emergence in Brazil of a new type of museum: the Museum of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST). We discuss this sense as well as the social and political need and eplain that this type of museums may have a major significance for the country. We show that this new design museum, also emerged from the new museology. Keywords: MST Museum; memory of struggle; museology; agrarian reform; social development.

Diagnóstico socioeconômico da produção leiteira em três assentamentos de reforma agrária no semiárido do Estado de Sergipe

The aimed this research was a socioeconomic survey of dairy farms, from November 2007 to January 2008, in agrarian reform settlements Paulo Freire, Cachoeirinha e Cajueiro, located respectively in municipalities Porto da Folha, Gararu e Poço Redondo in the semiarid of Sergipe State. Data were obtained through questionnaires to producers, containing questions that dealt from the social to the economic factor. Was observed a high rate of illiteracy among producers (varying from 28.5 to 49%), which prejudice the production system due to their incapacity to understand and apply new technologies. The herd was characterized by crossbred animals derived from crosses between Holstein and Gir or Guzera and small production daily (5.4 to 6.5 liters/cow), with reduction in profitability and commitment of family lace. It was perceived unfavorable relationship between the amount received per liter of milk - varying from R$ 0.52 to R$ 0.54, between the settlements - and the average cost of producing a liter of milk, varying from R$ 1.19 to R$ 1.44. Moreover, the difficulty of access to technology and technical assistance are problems found in 23.8, 90 and 84.8%, respectively, in the settlements Paulo Freire, Cachoeirinha and Cajueiro. Therefore, is necessary the fomentation of research and development of alternatives to improve the productivity and sustainability of producers with these breeding conditions and the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST) invests mainly technical assistance and education to the settlers to that be promoted an acceleration and improvement in its development.

A estrutura organizacional do MST: lógica política e lógica prática

Nosso objetivo é compreender as relações entre a base do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) e suas lideranças, tomando como elemento de mediação a estrutura organizacional formalmente adotada em 2003. Para tanto, três chaves analíticas são utilizadas: Clastres, que explora a ideia de estrutura separada do corpo social; Leach, que opõe um modelo abstrato de organização às situações práticas observadas e interpretadas a partir da materialidade do comportamento dos assentados e acampados; o Neo-institucionalismo, que trata as instituições enquanto regras e normas que regulamentam a vida social. As análises foram baseadas em observações realizadas no XII Encontro Estadual do MST na Paraíba e nos assentamentos rurais José Antonio Eufrosino e Osiel Pereira, localizados no município de Campina Grande. Recusando as abordagens que tentam medir o grau de adoção dos modelos organizacionais formais pelos grupos sociais, tentamos revelar as incongruências produtoras das dinâmicas de reestruturação da organização do MST.

Epidemiological aspects of schistosomiasis in workers of the Movement of Landless Rural Workers

Schistosomiasis is endemic in 74 countries and is considered a serious public health problem in some locations. A transverse study was performed of 13 landless settlements in southern Sergipe from February to December 2009. The study included 822 settlers, of whom 601 underwent stool testing. The prevalence of schistosomiasis in landless workers was 4.3%. The population has a low education level, and basic sanitation services are not available to all residents. The prevalence of schistosomiasis was low in the population and among different settlements, possibly because of different forms of water use by the settlers.

A proposta pedagógica do MST e as escolas de campo

Without education, land reform is not complete. Was thinking this way that the Movement of Landless Rural Workers proposed and succeeded in institutionalizing a proposal for education in the field, appropriate to the reality of the field. The teaching of the MST preaches that besides the land farmers need a transformation of education, an education does not equal, but different from that practiced in the city and own field outside the world under the direct influence of the movement social. In this paper, the intention is to analyze the pedagogical MST, enhancing their power, their actions and their limitations.

Socialist Values and Cooperation in Brazil’s Landless Rural Workers’ Movement

When the Movimento de Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra do Brasil (Movement of Landless Rural Workers’ of Brazil—MST) occupies land and forms autonomous agricultural communities, it aspires to achieve the supremacy of labor over capital and to embody socialist values. However, a policy of organizing production cooperatives on its settlements in the early 1990s was unsuccessful, principally because of a failure fully to respect traditional forms of work and sociability. However, the MST learned from its early mistakes and has since developed elaborate forms of informal and formal cooperation on land that is essentially the common property of a democratic settlement association. It is therefore living up to its socialist objectives and manifesting a real alternative to capitalist work and property relations.Cuando el Movimento de Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra do Brasil (MST) ocupa tierra y forma comunidades agricolas autonomas, aspira a lograr la supremacia del trabajo sobre capital y encarnar valores sociali...

Legitimidade dosatos de desobediência civil do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais sem Terra sob o enfoque da teoria de Hannah Arendt

Legitimidade dosatos de desobediência civil do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais sem Terra sob o enfoque da teoria de Hannah Arendt

Globalizing the social movements? Labour and the World Social Forum

As trade unions have come to confront new challenges, many have turned to alliances with NGOs and community groups. On a global scale, most prominent alternative to 'traditional' institutions comes in form of World Social Forum. This paper will examine origins of World Social Forum providing a short history of its foundations. It then proceeds to critically analyse forum, its foundations, organizing principles and achievements.The first World Social Forum (WSF) was held in Porto Allegre as a response to World Economic Forum. According to one of founders of WSF, Fransisco Chico Whitaker, development of WSF can be seen in context of emerging protests against World Trade Organization, IMF and World Bank in 1998 and 1999 . Following this, Whitaker suggests that fellow Brazillian, Oded Grajew, suggested idea of a social forum similar to World Economic Forum which had taken place in Davos for roughly 20 years3. This led to consultation with director of newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique and president of Association for Taxation of financial Transactions for Aid of Citizens (ATTAC) in France, Bernard Cassen. Cassen provided encouragement, and promised promotion through his newspaper4. After consultations between Whitaker, Grajew and other interested organizations in Brazil, it was decided that first WSF would be held in Porto Allegre, Brazil in 2001.As a proposal, WSF can be considered Franco-Brazilian in origin (mostly Brazilian) with initial network of organizations consisting of Brazilian Association of Non-Governmental Organizations [Brazil]; ATTAC [France]; Brazilian Justice & Peace Commission [Brazil]; Brazilian Business Association for Citizenship [Brazil]; Central Trade Union Federation [Brazil]; Brazilian Institute for Social and Economic Studies [Brazil]; Centre for Global Justice [Brazil] and Landless Rural Workers Movement [Brazil]5. These organizations sent a delegation to Geneva where a major anti-globalization demonstration was taking place against United Nations' Copenhagen Summit, and set up first Committee, to organize forum.Since 2001, WSF has run in successive years in a variety of locations including Brazil, India, Mali, Venezuela, Pakistan and Kenya. The organizations with delegates on International Council have expanded to include various trade union confederations, non-government organizations, peasant organizations from around world with many more organizations taking part in forum each year.From perspective of trade union internationals, it appears that participation in WSF has been largely instrumental in nature, in particular in relation to promotion of Decent Work agenda. Evidence of this is in formation of Decent Work Alliance, a subgroup within WSF. According to ITUC, the Decent Work Alliance, led by ITUC, ETUC, Solidar, Global Progressive Forum and Social Alert, will also be organizing events during WSF on following themes: a new financial architecture to ensure decent work; a global welfare state; and decent work, decent life campaign6. Such participation has led commentators such as Peter Waterman to conclude that ...the newly-merged International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is coming in forcefully, under banner of 'Decent Work'7. Other national trade union confederations have forged links with forum in terms of seeing common aims and goals. An example of this is Australian Council of Trade Union's 2003 congress which in relation to its campaign against financial deregulation resolved to participate in new organizing frameworks including WSF8.While WSF may be an impressive event from an organizational and logistical perspective, ability of WSF to represent labour on a global scale is a separate question. Its effectiveness in terms of how its participating organizations are achieving its stated aims of opposing neoliberalism and. …

Estratégia de articulação e estratégia de aliança: possibilidades para a luta política

Este artigo tem por objetivo discutir estratégias de luta política desenvolvidas por movimentos sociais que atuam na sociedade brasileira, tendo como problema: quais as possibilidades de democratização social frente ao descentramento do espaço político e a pluralidade de sujeitos políticos que caracterizam as últimas décadas das sociedades ocidentais contemporâneas? Foram entrevistados representantes de grupos do movimento feminista (Marcha Mundial das Mulheres - MMM), do movimento negro (Negras Ativas - NA), do movimento camponês (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra - MST), do movimento sindical (Central Única dos Trabalhadores - CUT), do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Desempregados (MTD) e da Brigadas Populares (BP). Além disso, foram entrevistadas a secretária da Assembleia Popular Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte (AP-MBH) e a vice-presidente "Trans" da Associação Brasileira de Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais (ABGLT), entidades que, na pesquisa, denominamos de espaços de vínculos entre sujeitos políticos. Também coletamos, junto aos grupos, materiais referentes a ações desenvolvidas por eles, à história dos grupos, às suas bandeiras políticas. Para a análise dos dados, nos concentramos teoricamente em uma teoria democrática específica, denominada Teoria Democrática Radical e Plural, desenvolvida por Ernesto Laclau e Chantal Mouffe, desde meados da década de 1980. A partir da leitura das entrevistas, dos documentos coletados junto aos grupos e das considerações da Teoria Democrática Radical e Plural, construímos categorias analíticas referentes ao problema proposto na pesquisa. Discutimos, neste artigo, duas estratégias de luta política, denominadas estratégia de articulação e estratégia de aliança. A estratégia de articulação é concebida como a construção de uma relação de equivalência ("nós") entre diferentes sujeitos políticos, de modo a se construir um projeto contra-hegemônico. Já estratégia de aliança é definida como a construção de vínculo, em torno de demandas especificas, entre sujeitos políticos na construção de ações conjuntas, sem que isso implique, necessariamente, na promoção de uma relação de equivalência entre os grupos. Entendemos essas duas formas de estratégia política não como opostas, a priori, mas como modos complementares de se construir a mudança social. As estratégias debatidas podem ser úteis para pesquisas no campo dos movimentos sociais, sobretudo, na análise dos modos de construção da luta política.

A pedagogia do movimento dos trabalhadores rurais sem terra/ Pedagogy of the movement of landless workers

The present study summarizes a bibliographie and documentary research that analyzed the relation between education and social movements, taking in particular the development of the process of implementation and delivery of Education in the core of MST - Movement of Landless Rural Workers. The choice made by the MST (the of the MST) was due not just because among the social movements it is presented as something exciting, bustling, controversial but by understanding that a complete and robust model of education was produced, which can be called as School in Movement, drawing attention not just for the degree of differentiation before the traditional school, for its pedagogical character but also for what it represents in terms of winning and popular achievement in the course of its history, its growth and maturation . To understand the range and network of new and disturbing facts we seek to study authors such as Gohn (1997), Touraine (1989, 1994) Santos (1994), Caldart (2004), Arroyo (2004) and Freire (1987, 1996, 2000). To understand the world situation, from the periods of 1980 to the present authors developing relevant subjects researched were: Santos (2003), Anderson (2004), Boron (2004), Oliveira (2004) and Castells(1999).

Resources of origin, investments and expectations of rewards in the militancy of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST)

The problem studied consists of the relations between the interests and militancy and the differences in expectations of rewards in an agrarian reform settlement linked to the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST). In this settlement, many ‘leaders’ gathered the ‘socialisation of production’. The situation arising from these circumstances produced the different reasons for engagement and different relations with the militancy. In the transition from the encampment to the settlement, it becomes important for the leaders to reinforce their positions both of ‘leadership’ and as mediators of policies and public resources, while it becomes difficult for those settled to maintain their previous investments in strong engagement. Consequently, these new conditions tend to increase the differences between the expectations of rewards from the militancy. These expectations can be pragmatic, such as viability as a farmer, or have a more symbolic character, which is associated with the struggle to create social organisation models.