Post deceives by associating marijuana plantations in Bahia with the MST – 07/21/2023 – Politics

The post that says that the Military Police of Bahia would have seized marijuana plants in a settlement of the MST (Movement of Landless Rural Workers) in the city of Jacobina, Bahia, is misleading.

According to a police report, there is no indication of any relationship between the MST and the case and there is no mention, in the video, that the seizure is linked to land under the responsibility of the movement. As verified by Projeto Comprova, the narration is made by a man who is impressed by the amount of marijuana seedlings, informing only that the action takes place in the city in northern Bahia.

The same video has been found on social networks since April 2020. Until July of this year, the publications made no mention of the MST. It was from this month that the subtitles began to associate the movement with the case.

Contacted by the report, the MST informed that it has no settlements or encampments in the Jacobina region, that it does not plant marijuana and that it has no connection with the published video. On February 27th of this year, 150 families linked to the movement were occupying Fazenda Limoeira, in Jacobina, but there was an eviction on March 4th.

The text that accompanies the post also informs that the MST is a PT institution and that it does not have the CNPJ (National Register of Legal Entities). The MST replied that it has no ties to any political party and does not have a CNPJ because it is not a company or even an association, as it is a popular movement.

Misleading, for Comprova, is content removed from the original context and used in another so that its meaning undergoes changes; that uses inaccurate data or that induces an interpretation different from the author’s intention; content that is confusing, with or without the deliberate intent to cause harm.

Reach

Comprova investigates suspicious content with greater reach on social networks. As of July 20, the post had 30,100 views, 1,400 shares and 2,100 likes.

How do we check

First, Comprova tried to identify the video published in the post to verify its veracity. Google Lens and Search By Image were used. The origin of the video was not found, but old replications of it in a context that does not refer to the MST.

As a result, a search was carried out using the terms “seizure”, “marijuana”, “mst” and “jacobina” in search of news that linked the seizure to the MST. News was found about two police actions in the city, in April 2020. They did not mention the social movement.

The team compared the photos provided by the Bahia Military Police at the time of the police operation with those released by the press to try to identify which of the acts the video corresponded to. Contacts were made with the MST, with the PT and with the Civil and Military Police of Bahia. Finally, Bianca Monteiro, a lawyer specializing in management of the third sector, was interviewed.

Seizure

The video posted with the PMBA action is the result of an operation carried out by the 24th Independent Company of the PM on April 24, 2020, which seized 126,000 marijuana plants “in the locality known as Angical, belonging to the village of Barra in Mirangaba”, according to the police report. It is a region close to Jacobina. The operation was based on an anonymous complaint about the movement of cars and people with suspicious attitudes in a rural property.

The previous month, the same military company had seized a plantation of 190,000 marijuana plants in the same region of Bahia. Comparing images between the video and the PMBA photos makes it possible to say that this is the April operation, especially due to the arrangement of the nurseries with the seedlings and the dripping system for irrigation, as well as a tree among the plants. In none of the cases did the police find involvement with the MST.

According to the police report, with the arrival of the military, there was an exchange of shots from a large caliber weapon, which ceased with the advance of the troops. There were five plantations on the site, of which three were ready for harvest and two had recently been planted. There were also two nurseries with marijuana plants and bags containing the substance ready for consumption. About 100 kilos of ready-to-eat grass were accounted for, 126,000 plants in an area of ​​10.7 square meters and two nurseries with a huge amount of seedlings.

In contact with Comprova, the PMBA assured that no drug seizures related to the MST were made. The Civil Police of Bahia analyzed the images and “the regional coordinator of Jacobina is unaware that they are related to cities coordinated” by the local coordination recently.

CNPJ

The MST confirms that it does not have its own CNPJ, as written in the text of the post verified here, as well as guaranteeing that it does not have any political-party ties, contrary to what the misleading post claims. However, the justification is that the movement is not a company. Settlement products are sold locally or at fairs by local associations or cooperatives, each with its own CNPJ.

The controversy over the lack of a CNPJ for the MST has been going on since 2007, when the Superior Council of the Public Ministry of Rio Grande do Sul approved a report by prosecutor Gilberto Thums proposing a public civil action to declare the movement illegal. However, it was not possible to carry out the action because it was not possible to legally identify the MST, as the movement has no legal personality. At the time, the national coordination of the MST stated that “you don’t need to have a CNPJ to fly the banner of agrarian reform”.

In 2009, after occupations on farms in the interior of São Paulo resulted in armed clashes and the death of four people, STF (Supreme Federal Court) Minister Gilmar Mendes granted an interview to characterize the transfer of public funds to movements that carry out actions of this type as illegal. However, there was not and there is no financial transfer to the MST, precisely because the movement does not have a CNPJ and cannot establish contracts or agreements.

This year, the movement’s lack of legal personality came to the fore at the MST’s CPI held by the Federal Chamber, when the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado (UB), was invited to speak and stressed that the movement “does not exist under the law, has no statute or CNPJ”.

“As the MST, purposely, evades its responsibilities by not assuming legal personality, address, CNPJ, this shows that, effectively, all these branches are arms of the same movement: FMN, Via Campesina, Camponeses Poores de Rondônia, it is all the same thing. In practice, this allows us to track resources”, explained the CPI rapporteur, deputy Ricardo Salles (PL).

According to lawyer Bianca Monteiro, specialist in third sector management, the social movement is an organization that does not need to have a CNPJ. “They [grupos] create an association with CNPJ as this makes it possible to obtain resources from public and private bodies or fundraising in a structured way. With this, they manage, for example, to remunerate the people who work in the structure and provide security. The CNPJ becomes responsible for that operation”, he explains.

What the person responsible for the publication says

The report contacted the person responsible for the publication on Twitter and did not receive any response until the closing of this verification.

What can we learn from this check

It is common for misinformers to use videos that circulate with subtitles that change context. When having access to images without proof of their context, doubt. When you come across information about crimes allegedly committed by popular movements, research the subject in the professional press or even in the official channels of the local public security agency.

why do we investigate: Comprova monitors suspicious content posted on social networks and messaging apps about public policies and elections at the federal level and opens investigations for those publications that have achieved greater reach and engagement. You can also suggest checks via WhatsApp +55 11 97045-4984. Suggestions and questions related to questionable content can also be sent to Sheet via WhatsApp 11 99486-0293.

Other checks on the topic

The video verified here was also verified by Aos Fatos.

The MST is a frequent target of disinformation content. This year alone, Comprova has already verified that the killing of cattle has nothing to do with the group and that a deputy’s post is misleading in associating an occupation in an upscale neighborhood in São Paulo with Boulos, MST and Lula.