Brazil

In recent years Brazil has enjoyed a reputation for economic vitality and democratic stability. While there is no doubt that there have been improvements from the catastrophic inflation of the 1990s and the military dictatorship of the 60s, 70s and 80s, Brazil still, sadly, ranks high in social and economic inequalities and human rights abuses.

Widespread rural poverty is increasing and the number of landless families is growing. In Brazil, two percent of the population owns 42 percent of the land, much of which lies idle or underutilized or is used for export production that does little to support local economies. A huge peasant population remains landless and lacks access to even the most basic resources.

The semi-arid Northeastern region, one of the poorest regions in Latin America, has been historically plagued by recurring drought. The government has done little to alleviate either the causes or the impact of the drought. Currently, 20 million people in Northeast Brazil live without adequate access to safe water. The land and water rights of indigenous peoples, forest dwellers, Afro-descendents (Quilombolas), and peasants are being threatened. Some of Grassroots’ partners, like Polo Sindical, have helped develop low-cost local solutions that, if funded, could provide clean, safe water for domestic consumption for millions of people with minimal environmental impact. Instead of fully supporting these grassroots initiatives so that everyone has water and the possibility of a sustainable livelihood, policy makers continue to push large infrastructure projects like dams and giant irrigation canal systems, which benefit export-oriented agribusinesses at a high environmental cost.

Meanwhile, violence against organizers has increased in recent years. Death threats, murders, and wrongful imprisonment of activists are commonplace at the hands of both police and privately-contracted gunmen. Activists who organize peaceful protests are prosecuted for gang formation, labeled as terrorists and subjected to repressive “preventive imprisonment” laws that were created to curtail dissent during the military dictatorship. As the criminalization of the struggle for economic and social justice grows, hopes for an equitable and democratic Brazilian society fade. Our partner, the Social Network for Justice and Human Rights fights against this disturbing trend. Their team of human rights experts trains communities to document abuses and pursues prosecution of the assassination of prominent land rights activists like Sister Dorothy Stang, murdered for her outspoken protection of the Amazon and its peoples.

Brazilian social movements like the Landless Workers Movement are working to speed up land reform and make land ownership a reality for more people. Their success is an example for rural peoples around the world, having settled 350,000 families on land the size of Massachusetts. They are themselves part of a larger movement along with slum dwellers, indigenous peoples, rural women’s organizations, Afro-Brazilians and trade unionists to create a more inclusive and equitable economy in Brazil. As Latin America’s largest economy and part of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) group of emerging countries, Brazil plays a vital role in international trade agreements, particularly in areas of agriculture policies and at the level of the World Trade Organization. Strengthening Brazilian social movements to advocate for policies that benefit Brazil’s impoverished majority is crucial to ensuring that Brazil plays a constructive role at that level.

Grassroots International's Brazil program, begun in 1998, supports vibrant social change movements and organizations in Brazil working for land rights, sustainable livelihoods, agroecology, and the democratization of access to resources. This support is that much more important today in view of increasing human rights abuses against landless organizations, decreased governmental support to land reform and the potential for social movements to influence official Brazilian positions in international bodies creating global trade rules.