Recruitment and disengagement: two sides of the same coin or different phenomena?

We investigate the disengagement of four former activists of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra—MST) in Brazil. The MST is the largest Brazilian social movement and has mobilized activists for over 30 years. The trajectories of recruitment, participation and disengagement of its activists serve as emblematic cases for the study of disengagement in social movements in general. This research contributes to the understanding of the activists’ disengagement from a social movement, a phenomenon that has been little studied. It sheds new light on the study of disengagement in two ways. First, some characteristics of the MST, in particular that many activists live in tight-knit communities, children participation and the activists’ long-lasting participation, open up new possibilities for the analysis of factors that influence disengagement pointed out in previous studies. In addition, the analysis of former activists’ whole trajectories of recruitment-participation-disengagement allows us show that considering disengagement as the analogous process as recruitment cannot explain all of its aspects. Given that the reasons that make someone leave a movement are, not always, the same that made someone join it. A multiple-case study design was used. The semi-structured interviews encompassing the engagement trajectories of the former activists served very well to the purpose of evidencing the multi-level character of the disengagement decision-making. Our analysis reveals how the social context, the movement and the activists’ personal characteristics in conjunction play a pivotal role.

MOVIMENTO DOS TRABALHADORES RURAIS SEM TERRA (MST): NARRATIVAS, MEMÓRIAS E HISTÓRIAS NA LUTA PELA TERRA / The Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST): narratives, memories and stories in the struggle for land / El Movimiento de Trabajadores Rurales Sin Tierra (MST): narrativas, memorias e historias en la lucha por la tierra

O presente artigo é resultado de uma pesquisa realizada durante a conclusão da graduação em Psicologia a qual objetivou investigar a trajetória de vida de famílias assentadas do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) e a constituição das identidades e das representações sociais dos sujeitos sem-terra. Para tanto, adotou-se o uso do procedimento metodológico da História Oral para resgatar memórias e narrativas que possam evidenciar as histórias de vida e de suas construções, em consonância com o processo de luta pela terra vivenciado por esses. O pressuposto de análise é trilhado por um trajeto teórico situado pela história da questão agrária no Brasil, além da conceituação da metodologia e da história oral, assim como as representações sociais e o compromisso ético-político da Psicologia, enquanto ciência e profissão na escuta das histórias de vida no campo.Como citar este artigo: CHIABOTTO, Cristian Da Cruz; MONTAGNER, Rosangela. Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra (MST): narrativas, memórias e histórias na luta pela terra. Revista NERA, v. 24, n. 57, p. 210-231, Dossiê I ELAMSS, 2021.

Universidade, desenvolvimento territorial e educação do campo no Vale do Jaguaribe

Resumo O objetivo do trabalho é analisar as reverberações, no território do Vale do Jaguaribe, repercutidas desde projetos de educação do campo, desenvolvidos por docentes e estudantes da Universidade Estadual do Ceará (UECE), nas dimensões do ensino, pesquisa e extensão. Tendo-se por base as dissertações, monografias e teses de doutorado sobre a região, a partir de 2008, cujos objetos de investigação abordam tanto a educação do campo, quanto o desenvolvimento territorial, e se constituíram a referência de análise do trabalho, constatou-se que as ações de educação do campo em parceria com o Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) nesta região, fortaleceram a luta pela terra, a organização política e produtiva. Dessa forma, influenciam no redesenho do território, tanto no que concerne ao fortalecimento da agricultura familiar, da transição agroecológica, do acesso à educação, reverberando no projeto de formação docente e na ampliação da própria Universidade. Palavras chaves: Educação do campo. desenvolvimento territorial. Vale do Jaguaribe. MST. UECE. Abstract This paper aims at analyzing the reverberations, in terms of teaching, research and extracurricular activities, of rural education projects developed in the Vale do Jaguaribe region by teachers and students of the State University of Ceará (UECE). As reference for analysis of the present work served dissertations, monographs and doctoral theses on the region since 2008, with research objects addressing both rural education and territorial development. As a result it was found that rural education actions in partnership with the local Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) strengthened the struggle for land, as well as the political and productive organization. In this way, they influence the redesign of the territory with regard to boosting family farming, the agroecological transition and access to education, and even reflect on the project of teacher training and the expansion of University itself Keywords: Rural education. territorial development. Jaguaribe Valley. MST. UECE. Resumen El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar las reverberaciones, en el territorio de Vale do Jaguaribe, reflejadas a partir de proyectos de educación rural, desarrollados por docentes y estudiantes de la Universidad Estadual de Ceará (UECE), en las dimensiones de docencia, investigación y extensión. Disertaciones, monografías y tesis doctorales sobre la región desde 2008, cuyos objetos de investigación abordan tanto la educación rural como el desarrollo territorial, se convirtieron en referencia de análisis para este artigo. Encontró-se que las acciones de educación rural en alianza con el Movimiento de Trabajadores Rurales Sin Tierra (MST) de la región fortalecieron la lucha por la tierra, así como la organización política y productiva. De esta manera, inciden en el rediseño del territorio en lo que se refiere al estímulo de la agricultura familiar, la transición agroecológica y el acceso a la educación; además, tienen sus repercusiones también en el proyecto de formación docente, y en la expansión de la propia Universidad. Palabras clave: Educación rural; desarrollo territorial; Valle de Jaguaribe; MST; UECE.

FROM THE DREAM OF GOLD TO ACCESS TO LAND: Signs of Violence in Serra Pelada and Life Stories in Palmares II

The purpose of this article is to show that Serra Pelada (1980-1992), the largest open gold-digging in the world, has a close relationship with the establishment or rural settlements in southeastern Pará. To demonstrate that the epic of the prospectors and the historic struggle of workers for a piece of land have been linked for more than three decades, two resources are used: a photography taken by Sebastião Salgado in Serra Pelada, in 1986, and testimonies from ex- garimpeiros who now lives in Palmares II, a settlement created in Parauabepas, in 1996. The discussion is based on the social-political-economic context of the military dictatorship and the first actions of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in Pará.

Challenges Facing Latin American Peasant Movements under Progressive Governments and New Right-Wing Parties: The Case of Brazil

This article analyzes the dilemmas faced by peasant movements in Brazil during the “progressive governments” and the return of the right to power. To this end, it analyzes the case of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in two scenarios of recent political history. The first is that of the progressive governments, characterized by a simultaneous opening of public space and public policies to popular movements, although at the same time and contradictorily, also to the private sector linked to financial and transnational capital. The second scenario is that of the rise of the far right to power, first through a parliamentary coup d’état, and then by an electoral process. O artigo analisa os dilemas enfrentados pelos movimentos camponeses no Brasil durante os “governos progressistas” e no retorno das direitas ao poder. Para tanto, se analisa o caso do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) em dois cenários da história política recente: o primeiro, no marco dos governos progressistas, caracterizado por uma abertura do espaço público, no campo das políticas públicas, aos movimentos populares, ainda que ao mesmo tempo e de maneira contraditória, também ao setor privado vinculado ao capital financeiro e transnacional. O segundo cenário é o da ascensão, mediante um golpe de Estado parlamentário, seguido de processo eleitoral, da direita ao poder.

Rural Social Movements in Brazil in the Second Half of the 20th Century: From the Peasant Leagues to the Landless Workers’ Movement

The struggle for land pervades Brazilian history, but it was not until the 1950s that various groups coalesced, thus forging the basis of a national peasant movement. Prior to the military dictatorship, small farmers associations and Peasant Leagues, irrespective of their strategies, had placed agrarian reform in the public spotlight. Since then, the issue has become the driving force for rural social movements. The 1964 coup violently suppressed these organizations, persecuting peasant and rural labor union activists. At the same time, it created legal mechanisms to make land expropriation viable while giving incentives for massive technological modernization in rural areas. It also encouraged the occupation of frontier zones by corporations. Such initiatives aggravated the land issue in the country in areas of recent and historical occupation rather than alleviating it. By the late 1970s, new actors emerged, putting land disputes back onto the political arena: landless workers, rubber tappers, small farmers, squatters, and the indigenous peoples. New organizations emerged, sometimes in opposition to rural workers’ unions, which performed a relevant role during the dictatorship while at other times working from within them. One of these emerging actors was the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais sem Terra, MST), which stood out nationally and internationally due to its innovative approach in terms of strategies such as land occupations and encampments, and in the late 1990s by building networks with other organizations worldwide, as is the case with the Via Campesina. In parallel to that, family farmers also became politicized as they demanded public policies through union organizations to survive in a rural environment controlled by large entrepreneurs.

Educação de Jovens e Adultos do/no campo e as políticas educacionais: conquistas a partir dos movimentos sociais

This paper discusses Rural Education and its relation with the field social movements, from the education reality in a settlement of the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement. Its starting point is the school processes related to the Youth and Adult Education in the countryside, considering the education policies registered in the documents that guide the teaching practices carried out in the routine of the field school. It is based on the conception of education and school for Rural Education and the MST pedagogical practices, that is, pedagogical and philosophical principles that support the fight for land and for the right to education within this field social movement. The study problematizes the documents produced by the Education Secretariat of the State of Paraná, the materials produced by the MST and the academic production on Rural Education and Youth and Adult Education. Finally, the results point out the government’s disregard with the Rural Education and evidences that with the advent of social movements a strong pro-education movement appeared in Brazil, one which fights for the guarantee of the rights of the peasants, the waters and the forests.

Educação no/do Campo como resistência e enfrentamento das desigualdades

The understanding that the achievement of education is as important as the occupation of a latifundio is part of a continuous construction within the social movements of the countryside, particularly, in the MST (Landless Rural Workers Movement). Thus, this paper aims to analyze Education in/of Country as a public policy in coping with the inequalities historically fierce by the city-countryside division, while resisting the educational model imposed by the agrarian bourgeoisie. The results indicate that educational policies only have meaning when thought with the subjects, and not for the subjects – especially those in the countryside, who have historically been excluded from the right to an education that was not merely presential. In this sense, Countryside Education takes an important role in the dispute of hegemony of country design, society, and human formation.