Lula is irritated with MST and fears wear and tear with invasions – 04/20/2023 – Power

The wave of invasions by the MST (Movement of Landless Rural Workers) in recent days has irritated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and has caused delays in the timetable for announcing the resumption of agrarian reform policies in the country.

The Chief Executive fears that the actions will cause wear and tear for the government, especially with agribusiness, and called a meeting this Thursday (20th) with ministers to try to overcome the crisis.

There was also fear that this movement would disrupt the progress of agendas of interest to the Lula administration in Congress, such as the approval of the provisional measure that takes Conab (National Supply Company) to the umbrella of the Ministry of Agrarian Development, leaving the portfolio of Agriculture.

Government members who maintain dialogue with the MST criticize the invasions and argue that the initiative, after all, could have the opposite effect: instead of putting pressure on the government, they could delay the resumption of agrarian reform policies in the country.

PT leaders claim that the MST has always been an important partner of the party, but behind the scenes complain about the posture adopted since the beginning of the third Lula administration.

The assessment is that the Executive has faced a series of challenges, as in the case of the invasion of the headquarters of the three Powers on January 8, and that it would not be right for an ally to open a new crisis front.

In conversations with the government, the MST argues that it is the role of the movement to press for the reform to be a de facto priority for the Executive.

Members of the movement make a comparison with the posture adopted by the PT militancy and by the president of the acronym, deputy Gleisi Hoffmann (PR). The acronym has pressured the Executive, mainly the economic team, not to adopt fiscal austerity measures with the objective of forcing the government to have a more leftist posture.

In the case of the MST, they say, it is necessary to make a similar mobilization to prevent agribusiness from winning the debate and having priority in the public policies of the Planalto Palace to the detriment of land redistribution actions.

According to Lula’s allies, there was a mature plan to announce the new agrarian reform still in April. The attitudes of the MST, however, disturbed the environment.

In addition to the reform, the movement has a series of demands to negotiate with the government. However, from the moment they invaded the headquarters of Suzano, in Espírito Santo, and the Embrapa unit, in Pernambuco, ministers warned that they would only resume any conversation if they left the areas.

On Wednesday (19), Minister Paulo Teixeira (Agrarian Development) went to Congress to talk to leaders of the Chamber and Senate and inform them that the MST would leave the areas of Embrapa and Suzano. The objective was to talk to parliamentarians about the approval of the MP that took Conab to the Ministry of Agrarian Development.

This Thursday (20), Lula called a meeting to discuss the issue. The Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, was going to attend an event in London, but had to cancel his participation because he had been summoned by the president to discuss the crisis generated by the MST invasions.

On another front, Minister Fernando Haddad (Finance) decided to meet with members of the MST’s national coordination. On the agenda, there was a request for the release of funds for agrarian reform and other topics of interest to the movement.

After the meeting with the Minister of Finance, João Paulo Rodrigues, from the national coordination of the MST, said that the political crisis involving land invasions was treated in a secondary way.

The coordinator stated that the meeting with Haddad was fruitful in relation to the movement’s demands and that there was no pressure to interrupt or reduce the pace of invasions.

He also declared that the Minister of Finance specifically asked for the evacuation of the Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) area that was invaded in Petrolina (PE).

The Federal Court ordered the landless to vacate the farm belonging to Embrapa in the interior of Pernambuco. The court decision gives a period of 48 hours, from the notification, to leave the area.

In addition to the negative reaction from agribusiness, the government is also concerned about the criticism of the MST coming from the political class, including allies.

In London, at the Lide event, an entity created by former governor João Doria, the governor of Espírito Santo, Renato Casagrande (PSB), an ally of the PT, scolded the landless.

“When the movement occupies an Embrapa headquarters, it loses political support, or when it occupies an Incra headquarters. The moment demands a reflection from the movement and a more accelerated process in the area of ​​agrarian policy”, he stated.

The governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro (PL), stated that the invasions have a clear political meaning and not an expectation of obtaining real conquests.

“They [MST] they have to review what they want. It doesn’t seem to make any sense to invade a productive area, because it is logical that they will be removed from there. It seems to me to be much more a political action than having a practical result,” he said.

Emedebist Helder Barbalho, governor of Pará, said that it is necessary to combine the fight against illegalities with land reform policies.

“It is essential for Brazil to have peace of mind in the countryside, legal security, land ownership. On the one hand, any illegality must be fought. On the other hand, the Brazilian government must institute, together with the states, land reform policies that not only guarantee land, but also allow production for these localities”, he declared.

Another left-wing politician, former Minister of the Environment Izabella Teixeira, said that there must be rationality and political dialogue. “It needs rationality, political interlocution, but without invading public land, property,” she said.

The president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) stated that invasions are contrary to the law, “and everything that is contrary to the law must be curbed and avoided”. “The government is committed to suppressing this type of attitude and seeking to sit at the table in order to be able to negotiate,” he said.

Land reform has always been one of the main goals of the PT, which has historically been an ally of the MST. When Lula was arrested, for example, leaders of the movement participated in the camp in front of the Federal Police in Curitiba and classified the convictions of the petista as political persecution.

_{Journalist Fábio Zanini traveled at the invitation of Lide}