The Rosimeire Conceição Camp, where 200 families from the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) live in Jaguaquara (BA), went through moments of tension when, at the end of April, a motorcade of landowners surrounded the area in an unsuccessful attempt to evict . Almost a month later, the feeling, residents say, is “euphoria”.
Representatives of Incra and the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture (MDA) were at the camp last May 16th and told residents that the regularization of the so-called Jerusalem Farm as an agrarian reform settlement is progressing.
From Incra, the director of the Chamber of Agrarian Conciliation, Maíra Coraci, and the head of the Advanced Unit for the South and Extreme South of Bahia, Marcos Nery, were present. From the Ministry, the general coordinator of the Department of Mediation and Conciliation of Agrarian Conflicts, Daniel Lerner.
To the Brazil in fact, Incra confirms that the “expropriation of the farm” is “in progress”. The autarchy informs that “it works to ensure the destination of the property for agrarian reform while waiting for the unfolding of the lawsuit”. The referred action was filed by the landowner who claims to be the owner of the area, Reinaldo Polycarpo Hüghes da Silva, questioning the INCRA report which points out that the land was unproductive.
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Despite the current pending legal stage at the Federal Regional Court (TRF-1), a presidential decree was signed almost a decade ago, in December 2004, declaring this rural property as “of social interest for the purposes of agrarian reform”. In 2005, the document was supported by the Federal Supreme Court (STF). In 2010, Incra determined the expropriation of the farm and, in 2020, the farm became part of the list of properties in which the amount of compensation to the owner has already been deposited and is under the guardianship of Justice.
During this period, the land was occupied by the MST three times. The most recent was last April 24th. “The farm was abandoned, unproductive, without any inhabitant, the houses falling down”, says Neto Onirê Sankara, from the coordination of the Brigada Vale do Jequiriçá, of the MST. “But now we already have almost six hectares of plowed land to start production, we made the first division of the area for people to start planting, already thinking about taking advantage of the winter”, he says. The campers intend to grow pumpkin, cassava, gherkin and watermelon.
siege of farmers
According to Sankara, the families took advantage of the presence of members of Incra and the federal government to denounce threats suffered by landowners. Last April 24th, hundreds of landowners and their employees surrounded the area, together with the Military Police (PM), with the aim of expelling the campers.
“We saw the people who were there at the gas station where they gathered, we saw rifles and pistols”, warns a resident of Camp Rosimeire Conceição heard by the report. The tension lasted for hours and, after conversations with the Military Police and the Federal Highway Police, the motorcade of trucks withdrew.
Among the landowners who organized the action is Alberto Trípode, president of the Association of Farmers of Bahia (AFB). This was an unsuccessful attempt to repeat another intervention by landowners that attacked an MST occupation in Jacobina (BA) in March.
Actions like these are being carried out by a group of ruralists in 130 municipalities in Bahia that, under the motto “Zero Invasion”, seek to prevent, with their own hands, popular movements from occupying areas to demand agrarian reform. The main public figure of this group, which has the support of the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of Bahia (FEAB), is the farmer and politician from Ilhéus Luiz Uaquim (MDB).
“We know that it is difficult, that unfortunately there is still a risk of an armed attack”, says Onirê Sankara, “but we are hopeful because there is a real chance of, very soon, taking possession of the area”.
Editing: Nicolau Soares
