If they can do it in Brazil... Films about the MST

[Tony Gosling]

Also - Reddit, Mozilla, rights groups to protest 
online snooping in memory of Aaron Swartz 
http://rt.com/news/online-spying-protest-swartz-556/

MST: Taking Back the Land (3.5mins) film by Dylan Howitt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWjrTKuYsJg
It's one of the most popular, organised and 
contentious social movements in Latin America 
today, but you may never have heard of it. 
Movimento Sem Terra, or MST means movement of the 
landless. Hundreds of thousands of Brazil's 
poorest people have joined to squat unused land 
right across the country. Every step is fraught 
with danger as they face the guns of powerful 
landowners. What they're fighting for goes to the 
heart of politics and power in Brazil- LAND. From 
shantytowns to settlements: Taking Back the Land 
introduces Brazil's famous landless people 
movement.  Presented by Nina Simoes. Originally 
made for Channel 4's ALT-TV strand
As part of 35 minute full YouTube 
playlist  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56ovNOytyzQ&list=PL1C3C2F9A344FC585

Landless Workers' Movement 
(<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_language>Portuguese: 
Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra, or MST) is 
a 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_movement>social 
movement in Brazil, being generally regarded as 
one of the greatest (or, according to some, the 
greatest) in 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_America>Latin 
America with an estimated informal 1.5 million 
membership in 23 of Brazil's 26 states. According 
to the MST, its aims are: firstly, to fight for 
access to the land for poor workers in general, 
something to be carried out, secondly, through 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_reform>land 
reform in Brazil, and, thirdly, through activism 
around social issues impinging on the achievement 
of land possession, such as unequal 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_distribution>income 
distribution, 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism>racism, 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexism>sexism, and 
media monopolies. In short, the MST strives to 
achieve a social covenant providing a 
self-sustainable way of life for the poor in rural areas
Following in the tracks of various 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianism>messianic 
or partisan-inspired movements for land reform in 
Brazil, the MST differs from its previous 
counterparts in its being mostly a single-issue 
movement, treating land reform as a 
self-justifying cause. It claims its effort at 
land occupations are legally justified and rooted 
in the most recent 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Brazil>Constitution 
of Brazil (1988), by interpreting a passage which 
states that land property should fulfill a social 
function. It also claims, based on 1996 census 
statistics, that just 3% of the population owns 
two-thirds of all 
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arable_land>arable land in the country


25 MST arrested after occupation in Monte Alegre de Minas


Site was first occupied in 2011. Incra said farm 
was inspected and deemed unproductive.

http://g1.globo.com/minas-gerais/triangulo-mineiro/noticia/2014/01/integrantes-de-mst-sao-presos-apos-invasao-em-monte-alegre-de-minas.html
Mariana GoulartG1 Triangulo Mineiro    21 comentários
Grupo foi parar na Delegacia depois de ocupação (Foto
Group ended up at the police station after 
occupation (Photo: Flavio Henrique/G1)

Twenty-five members of the Landless Workers 
Movement (MST) were arrested on Tuesday (1) in 
<http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=pt-BR&tl=en&u=http://g1.globo.com/mg/triangulo-mineiro/cidade/monte-alegre-de-minas.html&usg=ALkJrhhObczsH9JW-49sw1Lu1fKGK3tJFQ>Monte 
Alegre de Minas , in Minas Triangle. According to 
information from the Military Police (MP), the 
arrests were made because the movement occupied 
the Farm Palermo, which is 15 kilometers from the 
city center, since dawn. According to the 
military, there was an injunction of Justice to 
repossession of the site. However, there is a 
determination of expropriation signed by 
President Dilma Rousseff and published in the 
Official Gazette on December 26 area.
Also according to the PM, despite the publication 
of the document, the National Institute of 
Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) must 
appear at the place and analyze whether it is of 
interest to agrarian reform and that has not 
happened yet. In a statement, a spokesperson for 
the Incra reported that the administrative review 
process for the farm was opened in 2010 and there 
was survey, getting found that the area was 
barren and so it was decreed the expropriation 
for agrarian reform. The next step in the process 
of expropriation is the deposit in court of the 
appraised value. If the owner does not agree with 
this value, may challenge in court.
By phone, the owner of the farm, Adevanir de Lima 
said that there is no negotiation with the Incra 
and that the farm will not be expropriated.With 
the reinstatement of the document in hand, the PM 
sought Adevanir Monte Alegre that went to the farm and removed the occupants.
This is not the first time that the site is 
invaded.In 2011 was recorded the first occupation 
on the farm. The coordinator of the Pastoral 
Land, Friar Rodrigo, said the military action was 
violent and incorrect, since the determination of 
the President revokes any injunction of Justice. 
Members of the movement claim they were beaten, 
handcuffed and had their vehicles towed and 
removed to the courtyard of Monte Alegre.
The prisoners were taken to delegadia and signed 
a Circustanciado Occurrence (TCO) committing to 
attend the next Friday (3) to provide information 
on the invasion. After the signing, all were 
released. Nine cars and a motorcycle were seized 
and sent to the Patio of vehicles in the city.

US video short -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pCRs8e__0g


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