#Farmers Rise Up Against Agribusiness, Face Down #Riot #Police in #Brazil Nearly twenty thousand march for stronger reforms in a country with one of the most unequal distributions of land in the world Thousands of farmers marched on Brazils capital Wednesday in the face of riot police, tear gas and rubber bullets, demanding justice for the millions of landless farmers they say have suffered for years under the countrys agricultural policies. The farmers, organized by the Landless Workers Movement (MST), numbered around 16,000 in the streets of Brasília where they were confronted by riot police in the city center as they headed towards the presidential palace. Many of the MST protesters today are angry that President Dilma Rousseff is backtracking from the policies of the past two administrations and allowing agro-business to undercut chances of land reform. The MST has won land titles for more than 350,000 families in 2,000 settlements as a result of MST actions, and 180,000 encamped families currently await government recognition, they state. Coinciding with the March, from Monday until Friday, the MST has been holding its 6th National Congress in the capital to map out strategies going forwards in the fight for land reform. commondreams.org/headline/2014/02/13-4#.Uv2UOP84Lv4.facebook
Posted on: Fri, 14 Feb 2014 04:23:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015