MST questions São Paulo governor about imprisonment for those who occupy land.
MST lawyer Ney Strozake said that threats of imprisonment have always been part of the daily struggle for land, and that it is the courts, not the governors, that order imprisonment.
Brazil Agency -The governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, promised prison sentences for anyone who invades rural properties in the state. The statement was made during his participation in Agrishow 2023, the 28th International Agricultural Technology Fair, which takes place in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of São Paulo state.
“We will protect private property in the state of São Paulo. We will not tolerate land invasions here in our state. And those who invade land in the state of São Paulo will have only one destination: jail. Legal security and property rights are fundamental,” he declared at the opening of the fair on May 1st.
MST lawyer Ney Strozake told TV Brasil that threats of imprisonment have always been part of the daily struggle for land, and that it is the courts, not the governors, that order imprisonment.
>>> At Agrishow, Tarcísio criticizes land occupations and promises "jail"
The governor's statement comes amid the installation of a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) in the Chamber of Deputies last Thursday (27) to investigate the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST). In the text, Deputy Lieutenant Colonel Zucco (Republicanos-RS) argues that there is a “disorderly growth” of “invasions” of productive rural properties in the country.
Ceres Hadich, who is part of the national leadership of the MST (Landless Workers' Movement), said in an interview with Agência Brasil last week that the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) "has an extremely political character."
“We are going to the fifth Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) throughout this journey of the MST. They have all had the same character, an instrument to try to put us in a position of bewitchment and highlight the political positions of the extreme right, of the rural landowners in relation to us,” he stated.
Financing
At the event, Tarcísio announced new financing lines for agribusiness, to be launched by Desenvolve SP, the state development agency. These will amount to R$ 200 million in credit. The measure stipulates that borrowers will only pay interest based on the annual application of the Basic Interest Rate, the Selic. According to the government, the repayment terms include a 12-month grace period and a 5-year (60-month) term.