The parliamentary commission of inquiry into the MST exists to divert attention from crimes committed by agribusiness, says João Pedro Stedile.
A member of the national leadership of the movement believes that right-wing parliamentarians want to destabilize the government.
Thalita Pires, Brazil of Fact - The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) that intends to investigate the activities of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), established this week in the Chamber of Deputies, exists to divert attention from illegalities committed by agribusiness. This is the assessment of João Pedro Stedile, a member of the Movement's national leadership.
Present at the event where details of the fourth edition of the National Agrarian Reform Fair were presented, which will take place between May 11 and 14 at Parque da Água Branca, in the western zone of São Paulo (SP), Stedile proposed investigations into the activities of large landowners and agribusiness.
"What should happen is a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry to investigate who deforested, who invaded indigenous land, who invaded quilombola areas, and who used pesticides," he pointed out.
Stedile highlighted that, during the first PT (Workers' Party) administrations in the Presidency of the Republic, some right-wing parliamentarians and their supporters always insinuated that the MST (Landless Workers' Movement) lived off public money. However, he recalled that the movement emerged strengthened after more than six years under the governments of Michel Temer (MDB) and Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
According to a member of the MST leadership, the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) was created to try to destabilize the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). "They want to control the government. Much more, from the point of view of political struggle, [the CPI is] against the government than against us. It's like saying to the government: 'don't move forward with agrarian reform, don't present an agrarian reform plan, don't help the MST'," he added.
Partnership with the Chinese
A member of the delegation that traveled with President Lula to China this month, Stedile said that there have been advances in the movement's relations with the Asian country. Since 2022, there has been an agreement, initially signed with the Northeast Consortium, for the supply of machinery to small farmers.
Following this month's visit, it was agreed that Chinese companies will send approximately 50 agricultural machines designed for small farms. Arrival is expected in August and September, followed by a testing period. The next step is the creation of joint ventures with Brazilian and Chinese capital to manufacture the most useful machines in Brazil.
"All of our settlements need machinery. Nobody wants to continue using a hoe. Even to replace herbicide, for example, which is poison, you need a mechanical weeder. You're not going to be weeding 10 hectares with a hoe. But, if you have a small tractor, you can weed and eliminate the poison, the herbicide," he explained.
Minister of Agriculture
Stedile also spoke about his relationship with the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro, who this week, in statements to journalists, defended the right to land, but said that "invasions" are comparable to the episode of January 8th of this year, when Bolsonaro supporters vandalized the Planalto Palace and the headquarters of the National Congress and the Supreme Federal Court in Brasília.
The MST leadership member stated that Fávaro is "a serious man who wants agriculture to solve the people's problems," and said he believes the ministry is "in good hands." He also said that the minister's comparison is a common rhetoric among political agents.
"Those who invade the country are the agribusiness sector, invading indigenous land, quilombola land, public land. That's invasion. Appropriation of property for personal gain. Occupation is a social mobilization of peasants, with their families, to pressure the government to apply the Constitution. And they mix everything up. The next time I meet with Fávaro, I'll explain it to him," he concluded.