Change of command occurs after pressure from the MST, which asks for the replacement of Incra superintendents in the states.| Photo: Joedson Alves/EFE

In seven states in the country, INCRA superintendents were replaced by the government between last week and this Tuesday (18), after the beginning of a series of invasions by the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in Pernambuco, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Ceará. The exchange of regional commands is one of the demands of the movement, historical supporter of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

According to publications in the Diário Oficial da União between the 13th and 18th of April, Nelson José Grasselli was nominated for Rio Grande do Sul, Francisco Erivando Santos de Sousa for Ceará, Paulo Roberto da Silva for Mato Grosso do Sul, Elias D’Angelo Borges for Goiás, Nilton Bezerra Guedes for Paraná, Maria Lúcia de Pontes for Rio de Janeiro and Edvânio Santos de Oliveira for Mato Grosso.

Also on Tuesday (18), government ministers criticized the invasions promoted by the movement, mainly in the area of ​​the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) in Pernambuco, such as Alexandre Padilha (Institutional Relations), Paulo Teixeira (Agrarian Development) and Carlos Fávaro ( Agriculture).

At the end of March, the MST criticized the president for the delay in changing the command of Incra’s regional headquarters. According to the movement, the replacements are necessary for the “creation of new settlements”, since the current superintendents would be linked to agribusiness.