VZCZCXRO6774
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0200/01 0911902
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011902Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9083
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0228
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 4335
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 9092
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 3461
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 3708
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 2882
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 2708
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 4086

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SAO PAULO 000200 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM KPAO BR
SUBJECT:  BRAZIL'S MST LANDLESS MOVEMENT:  MARGINALIZED OR 
RADICALIZED POLITICAL FORCE? 
 
REF: 08 Sao Paulo 248 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  The Landless People's Movement (MST) increased 
activity in recent months in the run up to "Red April," the 
traditional high season for MST land invasions.  The main reason for 
the uptick in activity, according to observers, is the MST's 
weakness.  Increasingly ignored by its former supporter, President 
Lula and his PT Worker's Party, and undercut by both economic growth 
and the positive effects of Lula's Bolsa Familia (BF) program, the 
MST finds itself on the defensive.  It remains to be seen whether a 
weakened MST would lose influence in Brazil, however.  The 
organization is responding to challenges by radicalizing its 
actions, distancing itself from the President, and broadening its 
message.  In a period of global economic turbulence, a leaner MST 
could still present problems for the GOB.  End Summary. 
 
The MST 
------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The Landless People's Movement (MST) is a twenty-five year 
old social movement whose members take over privately held lands, 
alleging that the lands are either not legally titled and/or not 
being used productively, in accordance with the Brazilian 
constitution.  MST supporters argue that the movement is an 
understandable activist response to Brazil's unequal land 
distribution.  MST critics argue that the movement is a violent, 
illegal shake-down operation that uses land invasions to capture 
resources, disrupt agriculture, and promote violence.  (For more 
background, see Reftel.) 
 
More Active, More Visible 
------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) There has been a predictable and noticeable uptick in the 
activities of the Landless People's Movement (MST) over the last 
three months as April approached.  April is traditionally the most 
active MST month and coordinated land invasions take place to bring 
greater national exposure to the MST.  (Note:  According to the MST, 
the group focuses activity in April as a commemoration for the 
confrontation with military police at ElDorado de Carajas, Para 
State in 1996 in which 19 MST members were killed.  End Note.) 
Among the recent actions are the following: 
 
-On February 21, MST members reportedly shot four security guards 
who were working on a farm in San Joaquim dos Montes in Pernambuco 
State in northeast Brazil after MST members tried to invade and take 
over the property. 
 
-On February 24, a faction of the MST invaded eleven farms in the 
Pontal do Paranapanema in western Sao Paulo State.  MST leaders 
dubbed this action "Red Carnival" because it took place at the same 
time as the popular Brazilian holiday.  Sao Paulo State 
representatives broke off talks with the MST after the takeover and 
two days later, MST members abandoned the farm in what they 
described as a conciliatory gesture. 
 
-On February 28, MST members invaded properties in Para State owned 
by Daniel Dantas, a Brazilian banker under investigation on charges 
of corruption.  Three weeks later, the police officer who led the 
investigation against Dantas, Protogenes Queiroz, defended the MST's 
takeover of lands owned by "the bandit banker" at a pro-MST 
gathering in Sao Paulo.  (Note and Comment: Queiroz was removed from 
the Dantas case for allegedly misusing wiretaps in his 
investigation.  By targeting Dantas' lands, the MST guaranteed that 
it would get visibility.  End Note and Comment.) 
 
MST Critics Strike Back 
----------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) The MST's critics have been active in questioning the 
organization's methods and subjecting its activities to more rigid 
scrutiny.  Among the charges recently leveled against the MST: 
 
-On March 29, Sao Paulo daily "Folha de Sao Paulo" ran a long story 
detailing how the GOB gave millions in grants to NGOs linked to the 
MST, in effect funding the movement's activities.  Subsequent media 
reports indicate that this funding has decreased dramatically. 
(Note:   According to the NGO Contas Abertas, direct federal 
transfers to NGOs linked to the MST reached a peak in 2004, when 
they received R$ 12.56 million.  During the first six years of 
President Lula's mandate, the MST received a total of R$ 42.13 
 
SAO PAULO 00000200  002 OF 003 
 
 
million (approximately 18.72 million USD) in the first six years of 
Lula's mandate.  However, the annual funding dropped to R$ 1.47 
million in 2008.  End Note.) 
 
-In February, Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) President Gilmar Mendes 
urged governors in states where the MST is active to enforce the law 
against violations of property.  Mendes also questioned the MST's 
financing, stating that the MST cannot receive public funds. 
President Lula later stated that Mendes spoke as a private citizen 
and not as STF President, a characterization that Mendes later 
denied. 
 
-In its January 28 edition, news weekly "Veja" published a long 
article entitled "The Guerrilla Manual" that produced papers, seized 
from an MST encampment, detailing how MST members planned to break 
the law - including alleged plans to commit document fraud and other 
illegal activity. 
 
Twenty-Five Years:  But Not a Happy Birthday 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Behind the increase in takeovers and the media discussion 
lies the fundamental reality of the MST's decreasing strength.  This 
year was the 25th anniversary of the movement, and the MST still 
finds itself challenged by a number of factors, the most prominent 
of which is, ironically, its erstwhile ally, President Lula. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The flagship of Lula's poverty reduction strategy is the 
Bolsa Familia (BF) program.  BF recipients have to stay in one place 
and keep their children in school to receive benefits.  This 
directly cuts into the pool of rootless poor that constitute the 
best targets for MST recruitment for land takeovers.  Brazil's 
strong economy, particularly the stunning growth in agricultural 
exports, created new jobs in rural areas and closely tied 
agricultural interests to Lula's government.  The GOB is 
understandably reluctant to upset the prosperous applecart of 
agriculture-driven exports by pushing for a massive agrarian reform 
of the type envisioned by the MST, which would promote small and 
medium-sized landholdings. 
 
¶7.  (U) The MST's frustration with President Lula explains the 
movement's decision not to invite the Brazilian President to an 
"anti-imperialist" conclave its leaders organized at January's World 
Social Forum meeting in Belem.  MST leaders met instead with the 
Presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Paraguay, the last of 
which used the occasion to criticize the treaty that governs the 
Itaipu Dam, jointly owned by Brazil and Paraguay.  (Note: Paraguay's 
President has repeatedly criticized the Itaipu Treaty, which 
determines the price Brazil pays for electricity generated by the 
dam.  End Note.) 
 
¶8.  (U) The MST's problems, however, are not just personal, but 
structural.  Brazil's booming agricultural development and the Lula 
government's successes reduced the space for land invasions. 
University of Sao Paulo (USP) Geographer and MST analyst Professor 
Ariovaldo Umbelino de Oliveira cited statistics kept by the Pastoral 
Land Commission (CPT) to make this case.  According to the CPT, the 
number of people living in MST encampments (land occupiers) plunged 
from almost 60,000 in 2003 to just over 6,000 today, a drop of 
almost 90 percent. 
 
But Don't Count the MST Out 
--------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Despite the movement's problems, observers maintain that the 
MST remains an important force and might even become more 
problematic as its traditional role, as an organizer of 
land-occupations, shrinks.  Oliveira cautions that the MST retains a 
strong base of 80,000 supporters who received land thanks to its 
efforts.  The movement also institutionalized itself, creating 
schools throughout the country and enjoying a permanent presence at 
scores of Brazilian universities, where its followers pursue 
agrarian studies.  Finally, Brazil's land tenancy problem remains 
severe, according to Oliveira.  Land ownership remains highly 
unequal and poorly documented.  In a major agricultural state like 
Mato Grosso, for example, Oliveira said that between 30-40 percent 
of the large land owners do not possess clear legal title to their 
holdings. 
 
 
SAO PAULO 00000200  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The MST hasalso responded with some creativity to the 
challenges it faces.  The movement amplified its message in recent 
years, going beyond advocacy for land reform and launching a fight 
against big agribusinesses, "transnationals," and genetically 
modified foods.  The MST also supports Paraguay's cause in pushing 
for a re-negotiation of the Itaipu Treaty.  For these reasons, 
political consultant Thiago de Aragao warns that a smaller MST could 
well become more radical and, perhaps, an even more difficult 
organization for the GOB. 
 
Comment:  More Red Aprils 
------------------------ 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Several factors have contributed to marginalizing the MST 
as a political force:  President Lula's election and seven years of 
rule, the recent success of the Brazilian economy, and Lula's Bolsa 
Familia program.  That said, Brazil's land tenure system remains 
riddled with legal problems and the MST movement is adapting to the 
new Brazilian economic and political realities; branding itself in 
new ways.  Though the MST's social base has narrowed, it has not 
disappeared, and the ongoing global economic crisis could add oxygen 
to the MST's cause.  While the MST is weaker, there are likely still 
many more "Red Aprils" in Brazil's future. 
 
¶12.  (U) This cable was coordinated/cleared by Embassy Brasilia. 
 
WHITE