MST condemns the dismissal of the superintendent of Incra/SE.

247 - The coordination of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in Sergipe issued a statement this Friday (1st) repudiating the dismissal of the superintendent of Incra in the State, André Ferreira Bomfim, carried out by the interim government of Michel Temer;  

"The Sergipe branch of INCRA (National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform) was never a political appointment, but rather an appointment based on commitments to social movements and the issue of Agrarian Reform. We were surprised by the dismissal of the then-superintendent of INCRA, André Ferreira Bomfim, published in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU) in the early hours of Friday, July 01st. The measures adopted by this illegitimate interim government in just over a month already show a regression, such as the end of the Ministry of Agrarian Development. We do not accept the end of this important Ministry and the consequent losses for settled, encamped, quilombola, and indigenous families," the document states.

Below is the full statement:

STATEMENT OF CONDEMNATION OF THE DISMISSAL
FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF INCRA-SE


Since the end of the dictatorship, with the redemocratization of Brazil, all the INCRA superintendents in the state have shown respect and understanding towards rural social movements. Several of them, including the recently dismissed André Ferreira Bomfim, were appointed with the support of all the movements and civil servants, which was the practice of the Lula and Dilma Rousseff governments. The INCRA Sergipe appointment was never a political one, but rather an appointment based on commitments to social movements and the issue of Agrarian Reform.

We were surprised by the dismissal of the then superintendent of Incra, André Ferreira Bomfim, published in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU) in the early hours of Friday, July 01st.

At a meeting of the State Coordination of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), held today, we approved a Statement of Repudiation regarding the dismissal of the superintendent of INCRA/SE.

The measures adopted by this illegitimate interim government in just over a month already show a regression, such as the end of the Ministry of Agrarian Development. We do not accept the end of this important Ministry and the consequent losses for settled, encamped, quilombola, and indigenous families.

Our state has always fought to prevent violence in the countryside and to build a relationship of respect with public authorities, social movements, and the strengthening of agrarian reform. We have no doubt that this appointment represents a return to conflicts in the countryside and the persecution of social movements.

We reiterate our autonomy and commitment to the movement fighting for agrarian reform, and our solidarity with the struggle of all movements; we will not accept any kind of regression.


01 July 2016

State Coordination
Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST)