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Demand Zero Evictions in Brazil!
Global solidarity beat back violent evictions in March... we can and must do it again!
On June 30, a moratorium on evictions in Brazil is set to expire, threatening half a million people with homelessness. Yet the very conditions that led to that eviction moratorium are still there.
Still, the economy stagnates while prices skyrocket. Still, growing numbers of people are living on the streets as the pandemic continues.
Also at stake is the vital food production carried out in the settlements and encampments of Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement, the MST, which have provided well over 6,000 tons of emergency food during the pandemic. If the evictions happen, these essential food sources could be gone — even as the desperate need continues.
The right-wing Bolsonaro government doesn’t care. Their land speculator and industrial agriculture friends are salivating at all the land they can steal in a few short weeks. But just as we beat them in March, we can beat them again in June… and give movements more time.
The MST has been a beacon of hope for rural communities around the world and a leader in the global peasant movement La Via Campesina. Just as they have built solidarity across borders, they need our solidarity now.
Grassroots International, Friends of the MST, and other international allies have joined the MST to fight for zero evictions. Be part of the movement by taking action today.
English Translation of Letter:
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen
I’d like to congratulate the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil on the decision to maintain the suspension of all urban and rural evictions in Brazil during the pandemic.
All over the world there are millions of people who are at risk of losing their homes and their means of survival due to evictions that violate every human’s basic right to housing.
In the midst of a worldwide pandemic of this proportion, many people have lost jobs or had their incomes reduced, and there has been an exponential increase in food insecurity worldwide — in addition to all the health issues involved. This court's decision has set an example for courts around the world. However, as you ladies and gentlemen know, this still doesn’t address the heart of the problem.
On June 30, 2022, the deadline for extending the ADPF - Argument for Noncompliance with Fundamental Precept nº 828, which deals with the suspension of urban and rural evictions during the pandemic, will end.
We know that Brazil is currently facing a fourth wave of COVID-19, with a large increase in the number of transmissions. In addition, Brazil's economic conditions are worsening, leading to social immiseration among the most vulnerable.
If ADPF 828 is not extended until the end of the year, around 123,000 families in urban areas and 30,000 in rural areas in Brazil will be evicted and have many of their fundamental human rights violated — including their rights to housing and food.
In addition, many of the areas at risk of eviction are consolidated territories. In other words, the families have been living in these communities for more than 10 years. They have brick houses, schools, health centers and food production. Some even have cooperatives that sell products to Brazilian and international markets. While the world is looking for solutions to the social crises that affect all of us, how can we allow the destruction of communities like these, which present a concrete solution for thousands of families who once lived without homes?
Therefore, we ask that your Excellencies have sensitivity to this matter and extend the validity of ADPF 828, at least until the end of the year.
And we ask that you work, together with other state agencies and Brazilian society, for the only possible solution for the consolidated rural and urban occupation areas: the expropriation of land for the benefit of these families.
Finally, we thank you for your attention. We count on the fulfillment of the rights provided for in the Brazilian Constitution and we hope that this court will continue to be an example of respect for human rights around the world
Demand Zero Evictions in Brazil!
English translation of letter:
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen
I’d like to congratulate the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil on the decision to maintain the suspension of all urban and rural evictions in Brazil during the pandemic.
All over the world there are millions of people who are at risk of losing their homes and their means of survival due to evictions that violate every human’s basic right to housing.
In the midst of a worldwide pandemic of this proportion, many people have lost jobs or had their incomes reduced, and there has been an exponential increase in food insecurity worldwide — in addition to all the health issues involved. This court's decision has set an example for courts around the world. However, as you ladies and gentlemen know, this still doesn’t address the heart of the problem.
On June 30, 2022, the deadline for extending the ADPF - Argument for Noncompliance with Fundamental Precept nº 828, which deals with the suspension of urban and rural evictions during the pandemic, will end.
We know that Brazil is currently facing a fourth wave of COVID-19, with a large increase in the number of transmissions. In addition, Brazil's economic conditions are worsening, leading to social immiseration among the most vulnerable.
If ADPF 828 is not extended until the end of the year, around 123,000 families in urban areas and 30,000 in rural areas in Brazil will be evicted and have many of their fundamental human rights violated — including their rights to housing and food.
In addition, many of the areas at risk of eviction are consolidated territories. In other words, the families have been living in these communities for more than 10 years. They have brick houses, schools, health centers and food production. Some even have cooperatives that sell products to Brazilian and international markets. While the world is looking for solutions to the social crises that affect all of us, how can we allow the destruction of communities like these, which present a concrete solution for thousands of families who once lived without homes?
Therefore, we ask that your Excellencies have sensitivity to this matter and extend the validity of ADPF 828, at least until the end of the year.
And we ask that you work, together with other state agencies and Brazilian society, for the only possible solution for the consolidated rural and urban occupation areas: the expropriation of land for the benefit of these families.
Finally, we thank you for your attention. We count on the fulfillment of the rights provided for in the Brazilian Constitution and we hope that this court will continue to be an example of respect for human rights around the world.
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