The Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture, Paulo Teixeira.| Photo: Joédson Alves/Agência Brasil.

The Minister of Agrarian Development, Paulo Teixeira, said this Thursday (2) that he is participating in the negotiations for the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) to vacate Suzano’s properties. The invasion took place at the beginning of the week in three farms in Bahia, which are used for the cultivation of eucalyptus. The properties are in the cities of Teixeira de Freitas, Mucuri and Caravelas.

“I called the MST and asked them to leave and I spoke with Suzano, so that they also respect the agreement,” said Teixeira, reported the newspaper O Globo. At an event in Planalto, the minister stressed that the government will try to resolve the situation “through dialogue”.

“We are planning a meeting with Suzano and the MST next week. This is the route we have already taken today in relation to this conflict in the south of Bahia. A conflict that we are going to try to resolve through dialogue, through conversation and re-establish a negotiation that, according to them, was interrupted 10 years ago,” he said.

To justify the invasions, the MST points to issues such as the water crisis, rural exodus, supposed damage to the region due to the use of pesticides by the company, and also criticized the monoculture of eucalyptus. Two other properties were also occupied in the cities of Jacobina and Itaberaba. The MST alleges that these farms have been abandoned for years.