From Quilombo to the Landless Peasants' League — 500 Years of Land Struggle in Brazil

Beyond intensifying the assassination of peasant leaders, the state launched a psychological warfare campaign to undermine unity among the landless. In 2003, Lula issued a presidential decree establishing legal criteria for defining 'quilombo' communities; subsequent measures introduced official recognition categories such as 'landless peasants' and 'indigenous peoples.' Authorities exploited these identity distinctions to provoke conflict within communities—for instance, informing quilombo communities that neighboring landless villages had occupied land eligible for quilombo land claims. Peasants were told they need not struggle: simply registering would suffice (leading to a bizarre situation where officially registered land in Brazil exceeded the country’s total land area—large landowners refused to cancel titles on lands claimed by landless peasants). This misled some into believing an era of equitable land distribution had begun, when in fact large landowners expanded their holdings under the so-called 'Legal Land Program' (Terra Legal), while the government, citing 'economic development,' turned a blind eye to destructive practices—including rapid deforestation in the Amazon, monoculture eucalyptus plantations, sugarcane cultivation, cattle ranching, and mining. 4. Radicalization of the Peasant Movement after 2013 After Lula’s two consecutive terms, his Workers’ Party (PT) comrade Dilma Rousseff assumed the presidency in 2011. She continued Lula’s policies favoring export-oriented agribusiness and monoculture—policies that serve imperialist profit extraction at the expense of national resources. Following the landmark nationwide protests of 2013, the peasant movement radicalized. Several leaders of the Revolutionary Peasant League (LCP) were assassinated: Renato Nascimento in Rondônia State in 2012; and Cleomar Rodrigues, a northern Minas Gerais leader who had organized and lived in a revolutionary zone since 2008, was stabbed to death at the entrance of that zone in 2014. In 2016, Rousseff was impeached amid corruption allegations, exposing deep fissures within the ruling class. When economic crisis—both domestic and international—threatened elite interests, popular trust in the PT eroded, as the party failed to resolve fundamental issues like agrarian reform. In truth, the PT’s thirteen years in power constituted a betrayal of peasants and workers: no genuine 'agrarian reform' occurred, and repression against revolutionary peasant movements intensified beyond that of any previous administration. Meanwhile, the leadership of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) entered the bourgeois-landowner state bureaucracy, gradually abandoning its anti-latifundium struggle. It shifted instead toward promoting 'ecological agriculture' and denouncing foreign agrochemical and GMO seed corporations—brandishing the hollow slogan of a 'people’s agrarian reform.' The MST not only abandoned its historic tactic of land occupations but also began attacking revolutionary peasant movements, complicit in the very murders of peasant leaders. It became integrated into political policing, repressive forces, and the 'Rural Peace Operation' task force—an arm of the old state apparatus tasked with persecuting, arresting, and eliminating social fighters. Growing popular distrust toward the PT and, above all, toward the MST leadership led to rising voter abstention—even though voting is mandatory in Brazil. In the 2018 elections, public anger over opportunistic policies drove voters toward the far right: fascist Jair Bolsonaro won with 57 million votes, while PT candidate Fernando Haddad received 46 million; 57 million citizens boycotted the election—the highest electoral boycott in Brazilian history. Since 1995, revolutionary peasant movements have called for electoral boycotts; the LCP, from its founding, has consistently advocated boycott. Today, opportunists claim Brazil has already become a fascist state—and that the only viable political intervention is 'Free Lula' (who was imprisoned from 2017 to 2019 on charges of corruption and money laundering). But the Landless Peasants’ League insists on advancing its line of dismantling the latifundium system and seizing land step-by-step, declaring: without reclaiming the sacred historical peasant war through a correct revolutionary strategy and political line, the land struggle cannot advance further.

This Is Lula’s and Brazil’s Victory!

In March 2019, Bolsonaro met with Donald Trump in the United States, having openly declared himself a fervent admirer of Trump and of American politics and lifestyle. In environmental policy, regulatory agencies were gutted and Indigenous leaders persecuted, resulting in record-breaking destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Images of forest fires and illegal land grabs spread globally, plunging Brazil into diplomatic isolation. In foreign policy, under Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo, the Bolsonaro administration was saturated with the conspiratorial worldview of Brazilian right-wing writer and intellectual Olavo de Carvalho—attacking China and Europe, blindly following Trump and Israel, opposing the United Nations, and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. These positions harmed Brazilian exporters and fractured relations with traditional partners. The pandemic response fully exposed the dark core of 'Bolsonarism': denial of science, sabotage of vaccination efforts, and repeated dismissals of health ministers—making Brazil one of the world’s deadliest countries in terms of COVID-19 fatalities. While millions of families mourned lost loved ones, Bolsonaro mocked victims, encouraged mass gatherings, and promoted ineffective treatments. This tragedy tore apart the economic and political elite: business sectors that had previously supported him began criticizing his disastrous pandemic policies and the ensuing economic turmoil. Trump’s defeat in 2020 and Biden’s election signaled the U.S. establishment’s intent to curb the radical tendencies of 'Bolsonarism.' Simultaneously, the 'Car Wash' (Lava Jato) operation collapsed amid scandals involving procedural abuses and political manipulation—clearing the path for Lula’s exoneration and release from prison. Hit hard by both the pandemic and austerity policies, Brazil’s economy plunged into recession, further eroding Bolsonaro’s popular support. This political ebb culminated in 2022—when trade unions, social movements, cultural figures, intellectuals, the middle class, and even segments of the business elite formed a broad democratic coalition to resist the far right. Selecting Geraldo Alckmin, a veteran centrist conservative and former leader of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), as Lula’s running mate symbolized the coalition’s inclusivity. In the October 2022 general election, despite Bolsonaro’s deployment of state machinery, widespread disinformation, and intimidation tactics, he was defeated by Lula—whose political charisma remained undimmed. Bolsonaro’s subsequent rejection of the election results, pressure on the military, and incitement of coup-related protests directly triggered the January 8, 2023, riots. From Electoral Defeat to Failed Coup: How Bolsonaro’s Conspiracy Was Crushed by Lula’s Democratic Front Bolsonaro’s 2022 electoral loss did not end his authoritarian ambitions. Immediately after the final vote count, his supporters blockaded highways and camped outside military barracks, demanding 'military intervention.' Strategically coordinated truckers—funded by Bolsonaro’s business allies—launched targeted blockades aimed at provoking shortages and economic chaos to justify a coup. Bolsonaro’s camp aggressively disseminated false claims of electronic voting fraud, echoing Trumpist election-fraud rhetoric. Bolsonaro himself maintained strategic silence, refusing to explicitly acknowledge his defeat, while his children and close allies paved the way for more extreme actions. This conspiracy peaked on January 8, 2023—when thousands of extremists stormed and vandalized Brazil’s National Congress, Presidential Palace, and Supreme Court. Brazilian, U.S., and Israeli flags flew side-by-side, symbolizing Bolsonaroism’s subservience to Trumpism. Subsequent investigations revealed that senior officers—including three army generals and one navy admiral—actively participated in logistical support, deliberate dereliction of duty, and even planning of the attacks.

Brazil’s Farm Lobby Will Gain Even More Power If Bolsonaro Wins

Oct 20, 2026

A potential Bolsonaro victory in Brazil would empower the farm lobby to relax environmental regulations and secure subsidized credit for major exporters like soy and beef, contrasting with current policies criticized by agribusiness groups for high interest rates and bureaucratic hurdles.

bloomberg

2026-10-06

Bolsonaro Surge in Brazil Opens Door to Commodities Trade Shift

2026-10-20

Brazil’s Farm Lobby Will Gain Even More Power If Bolsonaro Wins

Brazil’s Farm Lobby Will Gain Even More Power If Bolsonaro Wins

FAQ