Riot police invades camp and fires against Landless

Yesterday morning, riot police invaded the camp Elizabeth Teixeira, in Park Tatu, Limeira (close to Campinas), São Paulo, to evict 250 families camping in the area. The violent action of the police left three people wounded, among them was the member of the national directorship of the MST, Gilmar Mauro, who was shot by a rubber bullet.

The eviction started in the morning of the 29th. A large police contingent arrived at the camp destroying the huts. The policeman violently refused to negotiate with the Landless. During the chock the police fired against the families, including a disabled man on a wheel chair, who had to be carried.

Gilmar Mauro, who is recovering, lost a piece of his ear, which has already being surgically stitched back. “The violence used had no precedent; they came after us like mad. After the first tear gas, we retreated but we had no idea that they would attack us. First, First they fired a rubber bullet and it reached my stomach, but did not enter, then I was running and I felt my ear was hot, when I touched it, I noticed that it was bleeding”, he says.

Gilmar reports that, even though he was wounded, he was arrested in the camp and taken to the police car under insults and mocking by the police. “They made me run to the police car and after a phone call, they gave up taking me to the police station.”

According to Cláudia Praxedes, state member of the directorship for the Movement who was also present, besides the fact that the policemen did not dialogue with the landless, they also ignored, priests, representatives of local councils and the Child pastoral. “After the violence, they denied medical assistance to the people who were wounded by their bullets”, reports Claudia. Gilmar reports that the policeman did not stop shooting even when there were numerous children crying.

The City of Limeira received a court order for recovering the area, even though the city has not claim on the area – the land belongs to the Union. The National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) promised to the families that it would negotiate to avoid the eviction. The landless hold INCRA, the City of Limeira and the governor José Serra (PSDB) accountable for the situation.

The Secretariat for Public Security from São Paulo state informed that the action was coordinated by the military in the region of Limeira, and not the riot police. According to the MST though, the riot police was in charge of the eviction.

History

The camp Elizabeth Teixeira was established on April 21st this year. The Park Tatu, which formerly belonged to the Federal Railway System, has been incorporated into the Union. The court order for the reintegration of the site, given to the city of Limeira by the judge Flávio Dassi Viana is illegal, since the park belongs to the Union.

The city of Limeira, never had the title of the area, and uses some of the spaces of the Park to perform activities that degrade the environment. Inside of the park there is a “rubbish dump”, that is operating in inadequate conditions and further damaging the already polluted river Tatu, which runs through the city of Limeira and meets Piracicaba River.
Due to the situation, the families organized yesterday afternoon, November 28th, a rally in the camp to state their determination to resist and remain in the area. The rally also demanded for the area to be immediately used for the Agrarian Reform. The families there are in the camp were already farming vegetables and greens in the area.

Landless lock motorway in support to the evicted families in Limeira

Yesterday afternoon, November 29th, approximately 200 Landless rural workers from Ribeirão Preto region organized a protest, closing km 315 in Anhanguera motorway. The mobilization intended to repudiate the violence used by the riot police in Limeira during the eviction, of the families living in Camp Elizabeth Teixeira

The eviction happened yesterday morning. Around 10:30AM, soldiers entered the camp firing rubber bullets against the landless workers who in the place. Among those who were wounded is the member of the national directorship of the MST, Gilmar Mauro. Five people were sent to the hospital, three were wounded and two people who felt sick including a woman who had a heart attack during the operation. The landless workers were not allowed to leave the area and to remove those who were wounded.

The Police remained in the camp, destroying what was left of the huts while waiting for the families to leave. The person in charge of the operation gave a deadline for the landless workers to leave the area. The workers are now waiting for the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform ( INCRA) to find a new site to relocate the evicted families. The MST holds the city house in Limeira, the São Paulo State government and the Federal government accountable for the episode. This incident occurs less than two months after the murder of the MST leader Vamir Mota Oliveira, Keno, in Paraná, during another violent action threatening the life of Landless Rural workers.

The camp Elizabeth Teixeira was established on April 21st this year. The Park Tatu, which formerly belonged to the Federal Railway System, has been incorporated into the Union. The court order for the reintegration of the site, given to the city of Limeira by the judge Flávio Dassi Viana is illegal, since the park belongs to the Union.

The city of Limeira, never had the title of the area, and uses some of the spaces of the Park to perform activities that degrade the environment. Inside of the park there is a “rubbish dump” that is operating in inadequate conditions, further damaging the already polluted river Tatu, which runs through the city of Limeira and meets Piracicaba River.

Elizabeth Teixeira camp is in km 136-A Anhanguera motorway.