On the morning of this Wednesday (29), hundreds of rural working families closed the BA-250 highway, on the stretch that connects the municipality of Maracás (BA) to Lagedo do Tabocal (BA), denouncing the eviction that took place on Tuesday (28). ) in the area belonging to the company Ferbasa. Since the 28th, the families have been camped near the site and await a possible opening of dialogue with the company and the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra).
The abandoned farm was occupied by the families in November 2022. According to the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), the area intended for eucalyptus monoculture had been abandoned for years. The families that were evicted from the farm were already in the process of organizing to plant agroecological foods.
:: Understand why when the MST makes an occupation it is not the same as an invasion ::
Families were evicted from an abandoned eucalyptus monoculture farm / MST-BA Communication Collective
The approximately 160 families are still camped next to the unoccupied area and claim that the company has sent its security guards to make threats. The workers inform that they will only leave the area when Ferbasa, Incra and the Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA) guarantee a dialogue to solve the problem.
Families are made up of male and female workers who lived on the outskirts of the surroundings and found themselves in difficulties. They complain about the absence of the State in the region in conflict and are waiting for a negotiation about the area to be initiated.
:: MST families occupy a farm that was once used for the exploitation and trafficking of women ::
In a note sent to Brazil in fact, Ferbasa states that “it has always been open to dialogue with the MST and other stakeholders”. The company also claims that it has been working to enforce the eviction “in a peaceful and orderly manner” and regrets the obstruction of the BA-250 by the movement, “mainly due to the inconvenience caused to the local population”.
O Brazil in fact also got in touch with Incra’s communication departments, but until the closing of the matter, had not received a response. The story will be updated as soon as the institution gets in touch.
* Article updated at 14:55 to add information.
Source: BdF Bahia
Editing: Gabriela Amorim
