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The MST (Movimento dos Sem Terra) was founded 30 years ago as a reaction to rural exodus and unequal land distribution. Since the transition from military dictatorship to the present day, it has been the largest civil society force in Brazil and a central symbol of its democratization.

At the core of the movement is the occupation of large estates, whether they are fallow speculative properties or are subject to serious violations of environmental and labor laws. As a result, there is either legal recognition in the course of a state agrarian reform, or expulsion by private militias and the military police. The activists' first goal is their own piece of land.

Together they work for better conditions for ecological and family farming: through small loans and quotas in public procurement, through agricultural cooperatives and their own distribution networks. The MST itself runs almost 3,000 schools and enables the activists to train and study. Central orientations are human rights, educational justice, equal rights for women and the idea of sustainability.

The overriding goal of MST is a democratic development of Brazil, which is characterized by class antagonisms. In the foreground are demands for a different model of rural development, a new agricultural and environmental policy or the establishment of a just constitutional state. In this sense, it works closely with other actors in the countryside and in the cities and is active in the Via Campesina against the global domination of agribusiness.

(Source: https://mstbrasilien.de/mst/)