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NEWS & LETTERS, NOVEMBER 2003Our Life and Times by Kevin A. BarryBrazil’s homelessIn recent months, the urban Movement of Homeless Workers (MTST), a smaller counterpart to the rural Movement of the Landless (MST), has been on the move. In Sao Bernardo do Campo, a suburb of Sao Paulo, MTST members took over vacant land. The now-governing Workers’ Party was born in Sao Bernardo in the 1980s, out of struggles by Luis Ignacio da Silva (Lula), now Brazil’s president. Over the summer, 1,500 families occupied land owned by Volkswagen in Sao Bernardo, before being evicted by court order. “The media accuse us of endangering democracy by our actions. The opposite is true. It is precisely this that the social movements want to re-establish by giving the poor the full status of citizens. Lula should hold to his election promises” to aid the homeless and landless, stated Flavio Francisco, an 18-year-old MTST leader. |
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