Peasant women stage demonstrations in several states

Rural workers are demonstrating in 17 Brazilian states and the Federal District as part of the National Peasant Women's Rally Day, which runs until the end of this week. The protest is led by coordinators of eight activist movements related to smallholder farming and was joined by more than 20,000 people, according to the Landless Rural Workers' Movement (MST).

In Brasília, peasant women protested in front of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Cities and succeeded in getting representatives to meet with the Minister of Social Security, Carlos Eduardo Gabas. He proposed creating a workgroup to maintain its dialogue with the peasants.

Among other things, the mobilization aims to give more visibility to smallholder in the government's agenda, and to protest against agribusiness and the use of pesticides. “As peasants, we want to grow healthy food,” said Noeli Taborda, a representative of the Peasant Women's Movement.

According to the organizers, the demonstrations are taking place in the Federal District and 17 states: Paraná, São Paulo, Paraíba, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Rio Grande do Norte, Espírito Santo, Piauí, Pará, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Paraíba, Alagoas, Sergipe, Pernambuco, and Mato Grosso do Sul. Peasants in the states of Santa Catarina are also coordinating their action.

Translated by Mayra Borges