MST invades Codevasf area in Bahia in protest over water – 03/10/2024 – Power

The MST (Landless Rural Workers Movement) invaded a Codevasf area in Juazeiro (BA) this Sunday (10), in protest over the alleged lack of compliance with the agreement for the settlement of a thousand families in the state.

According to the movement, 300 families from the Terra Nossa camp participate in the mobilization. The group also complains about the lack of access to water from the state-owned company. Codevasf did not comment until the publication of this report.

The MST has been complaining throughout the Lula government about the delay in advancing agrarian reform policies. Last Wednesday (6), the topic was the subject of a speech by federal deputy Valmir Assunção (PT-BA), linked to the movement, who expressed concern about the return of the occupations.

“Incra’s budget is the smallest of all PT governments’ budgets. This is a concern. In the settlements there is a lack of water, a lack of roads, there is no expropriation”, he states.

According to the MST, this Sunday’s action took place to demand compliance with an agreement established in 2008 between the movement, Codevasf and Incra for the settlement on 13 thousand hectares acquired by the state-owned company.

“After 16 years, only 192 families are settled and just over 5,500 hectares regularized”, says the movement.

The entity also states that Codevasf prevents access to water from an irrigation project that is 800 meters from the Terra Nossa camp. According to the MST, “the families have been camped since April 23rd without access to water for planting and food production.”

“The area is located on vacant land with around 4,000 hectares and is 800 meters from the Codevasf saltpeter project, which has 51 thousand hectares of water mirror. The privatization of water carried out by Codevasf privileges large companies and large businessmen, ensuring water abundance for agribusiness, through irrigated perimeters, excluding family farming and small producers”, states the MST.

As shown by Sheet in the “Politics of Drought” series, parliamentary amendments and the allocation of federal bodies, especially Codevasf, have deepened the inequality of access to water in the Brazilian semi-arid region.

Resources arrive in abundance to areas indicated by deputies and senators, and not necessarily in regions of greatest need. Residents ignored by the amendments and state-owned companies are forced to take long daily walks to a reservoir or river or have to choose between buying food and a bottle of water.