WORLD WORLDWIDE BRAZIL News Journal Update - (en) Brazil, FOB: Occupation Nestor Makhno: Organization Terra Liberta Occupies Abandoned Land in Massapê-CE (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 In the early hours of April 15, 2023, thirty working families occupied land that

had been abandoned for over 30 years in the rural area of Massapê (CE), close to
the Nossa Senhora de Fátima neighborhood. The occupation is organized by the
Popular Organization Terra Liberta and is the result of grassroots work with the
population that rents and lives in a risk area on the outskirts of Massapê. The
occupation claims land for these families to live and work with dignity.* ----
Land situation ---- First assembly of the Occupation Nestor Makhno. Terra Liberta
collection. April 15, 2023. ---- The land in question, in addition to the visible
abandonment, has the documental inconsistency common to illegal lands. Another
important piece of information is that the train of the now defunct Rede
Ferroviária Federal S/A (RFFSA) passed through this region and that after its
deactivation, around the 1970s, many lands were vacant and were occupied by
impoverished populations in small parts or taken over by heaps by greedy businessmen.

The people of Massape
The current situation of the population of Massapê is marked by the lack of
access to land. Many families migrated from the rural areas to the urban areas of
the municipality, making the peripheral neighborhoods swell and building houses
in risk areas such as riverbanks. There is no public housing policy, only
memories of the 80s and 90s. To make matters worse, in the recent winter, many
landlords raised the price of rents to profit from the despair of those who do
not have decent housing.

Terra Liberta collection. April 15, 2023.
 From 1996 to 2007, land concentration only worsened in the Sobral microregion,
which includes Massapê and 11 nearby municipalities. There are only 2 federal
rural settlements (Morgado and Contendas) that were created in 1991 and 1992.
That is, the rich with more and more land and the poor with less and less.

Occupation Organization

First meeting of the Núcleo de Base da Terra Liberta in Massapê. November 2022.
Since November 2022, Terra Liberta has been carrying out grassroots work in the
communities of Massapê, seeking to raise class awareness to overcome the
situation of misery and dependence on electoral politics that parasite the
people. The result of this work is the Nestor Makhno Occupation, which up to the
present moment sows new life where previously only cattle and servitude were
trampled.

Entry into the land with the construction of a Collective Shed. Terra Liberta
collection. April 15, 2023.

First camp structures signed next to the battle flag. Terra Liberta collection.
April 15, 2023.
Thus, common life is made in the construction of common spaces. The community
kitchen promotes the food sovereignty of the occupants along with future swiddens
and vegetable gardens. The shed is a space for holding assemblies where
everything is decided collectively. Instead of "those who can command, those who
have sense obey obey", we follow the principle of commanding while obeying. We
are all equally responsible for decisions. Thus, we make a fight that is not just
for a piece of land, but for a different relationship between the people and with
the land.

The choice of name

Nestor Makhno (1888-1934) in a refugee camp in Romania.
The occupation honors the revolutionary Nestor Makhno. Born in 1888 in the city
of Huliaipole in what is now the country of Ukraine and at the time was dominated
by the Russian Empire. Being the youngest in a family of 5 children, he started
working at the age of 7 herding cattle. In his youth, he courageously faced the
Russian empire in defense of the people of the countryside, a gesture that took
him to prison from 22 to 28. After leaving prison, Makhno returns to his homeland
and promotes a mass organization of all rural and urban workers conquering land
for the peasants and ensuring workers' control over industries.

During the Russian Civil War, he commanded the Black Army of Ukraine which
defended the autonomy of the Ukrainian people against the White (who defended the
old regime) and Red (Bolsheviks) armies. His army managed to control a large part
of his country and showed that an organized people can transform their reality
without bowing to anyone.

Relations between the occupation and the public authorities.

Interview with Jornal Sobral Online. Terra Liberta collection. April 15, 2023.
To date (04/20), the occupation has not been notified by any alleged owner or
state authority. What happened was, on 04/15, the visit of an employee of a
businessman who claims ownership. He just said that soon the owner would file a
lawsuit to "retake" ownership of the property. On the first and second day, two
local newspapers were visited, portraying the struggle of families for the right
to land.

On the 19th of April, a man in a suit stealthily photographs the occupation, but
runs away when he sees that he has been discovered. On 04/20, a contingent from
the Policing Command for Intensive and Ostensive Action Rounds (CPRaio), from the
Military Police of Ceará (PMCE), patrols the occupation and uses drones to shoot
aerial footage of the site.

the legitimacy
The action of the camped families is above all legitimate. It cannot be accepted
that the great popular mass lives deprived of access to land while a minority
accumulates land and so many other material goods. The reason for this
accumulation is not work, because if work gave the right to land, it would be the
working class who would have land the most, suffering from not having a piece of
land.

Class Solidarity
FOB Flag fluttering in the wind. Terra Liberta collection. April 16, 2023.
The Federation of Grassroots Organizations of Ceará (FOB-CE), as well as the
Federation of Revolutionary Union Organizations of Brazil (FOB), contribute
immensely to this struggle. Articulating popular sectors, trade unions and
students from north to south to strengthen this fair struggle for land and freedom.

As soon as it entered the land, it was possible to radiate the news through
social networks with great force. We received solidarity from all over Brazil and
even internationally! We thus affirm proletarian internationalism. Workers all
over the world are much more similar to each other than to the ruling classes of
their own country.

The fight has just begun. We know that nothing is given to the people, everything
is conquered. Thus, we ask the attention of the whole class for the following
moments. May we defend together the right to a dignified life, wherever it may be.

LIVE THE OCCUPATION NESTOR MAKHNO
VIVA TO THE POPULAR ORGANIZATION TERRA LIBERTA
FAITH IN THE FIGHT: WE WILL WIN!
If you want to get in touch with the occupation, send a message through the
instagram page or by email 'terraliberta.protonmail.com'. We can articulate
face-to-face donations of food and building materials through these channels. For
bank transfers we are accepting through pix -> pixfobce@protonmail.com .

FOB-CE, Popular Organization Terra Liberta

* Originally published on the Terra Liberta Popular Organization website on April
20, 2023

https://lutafob.org/9745
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