Land invasions grew 213% last year

Since the beginning of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s mandate, in January 2023, there have been 95 invasions of rural properties, according to CNA data. From Incra’s historical series — which runs from 2005 to 2022 — it is noted that the number of invasions from one year and three months ago is greater than that observed between 2018 and 2022, a period of five years that comprises the last of former president Michel Temer and the entire term of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

José Henrique Pereira, technical advisor to the CNA Land Affairs Commission, says that movements like the MST have gained ground in the current government — which has contributed to the increase in invasions.

He states that it is not correct to argue that invasions are a legitimate means of pressuring authorities for agrarian reform. “There is no legitimate invasion. Invasion is a crime,” he says.

Pereira also points out that the country should take a step forward in this discussion, as the problem is not the availability of land. “According to data from Incra itself, we have more than 88 million hectares destined for agrarian reform; more than 200 thousand vacant lots. Agrarian reform is a policy that has a beginning, middle and end. We have to invest now in the development of settlements and in land titling, which is the final phase of agrarian reform”, he assesses.

Lawyer specializing in agribusiness law, Lucas Lousa says that based on the data it is possible to establish a relationship between the current government and the increase in irregular occupations of rural properties.

“The numbers show everything. With the transition of the government, this intensification of these property invasions began, something that we did not see in the previous government. Everything indicates that there is, indeed, a relationship, even on the part of the government’s ideology, of proximity to this Landless Movement.”

Investments

Data from Cepea (Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics), from Esalq/USP, in partnership with CNA, show that agribusiness was responsible for 23.8% of all wealth generated in the country last year. The sector employs more than 28.3 million people — which corresponds to around 26.8% of the country’s employed population.

For Lousa, insecurity in the countryside hinders the attraction of new investors to agriculture, a sector that has become increasingly important for the country’s foreign trade balance and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The main parameter for attracting or avoiding investments in the sector is the presence or absence of legal security. And this type of invasion, of irregular occupation of productive lands, as has been happening, without complying with legal parameters, generates this insecurity and, with insecurity, it is obvious that investments also tend to fall”, he assesses.

Reaction in the National Congress

In the midst of the so-called Red April — the month in which the MST intensified invasions across the country —, parliamentarians from the agricultural and opposition benches in the National Congress seek to approve bills that reduce the occurrences.

One of the proposals, PL 895/2023, suspends the payment of social benefits, such as Bolsa Família, to people convicted of trespassing on rural or urban properties. The text was approved by the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee (CCJ) of the Chamber of Deputies — and will now be analyzed by the plenary.

There are 17 bills in the anti-invasion package. José Henrique Pereira says that the CNA supports proposals that aim to stop invasions across the country, such as the one that suspends convicts from social programs.

“This bill is a way of trying to curb these invasions, creating several obstacles, removing social benefits from those people who invaded and making it impossible for them to access some public positions. We consider this positive”, he points out.

Bill prohibits land invaders from receiving government benefits, such as Bolsa Família