Late Night Live - Separate stories podcast The 'Red Hats' - Brazil's landless workers movement
May 15, 2025
Vincent Bevins, an author and journalist specializing in the Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil, shares insight on this influential group of 1.5 million members. He explores their bold methods of land occupation as an act of civil disobedience against land inequality. The discussion highlights the MST's resilience in adapting during challenging political times, their shift towards organic food production, and how they've emerged as a cultural trend among Brazil's elite. The movement’s ongoing fight for land rights under the Lula administration illustrates a complex battle against agribusiness interests.
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Unique Constitutional Land Provision
- Brazil's constitution includes a unique provision allowing land seizure if the land is not used rationally or adequately. - This constitutional right enables the Landless Workers Movement's strategy of land occupation.
Land Reform Blocked by Military Coup
- Latin America's feudal land ownership resisted reform through military and CIA-backed coups. - The MST uses land occupation as civil disobedience to enforce unrealized land reform promises in Brazil.
MST's Integrated Farming Approach
- MST occupies unused land, farms it for subsistence and market sales, and demands legal recognition. - Their goal is integration into the economy and official land redistribution under the constitution.