In the beginning of the week, heavily armed gunmen attacked and burned several houses at Camp Osmir Venuto, located in Eldorado dos Carajás in the southern part of Brazilian’ Federal State Para. Peasants woke up to gunfire, when men armed with machine guns entered the settlement around midnight on Monday, December 14, to spread terror among its residents. Although non of the peasants was confirmed to be shot, people injured themselves in the hasty retreat to the forest, many escaping the fires with only the cloths they were wearing. Houses, farm animals and vehicles alike were consumed in the flames laid by the gunmen serving the big landlords in their attempt to drive the poor peasantry from the land.

In yesterdays note, the National Commission of the League of Poor Peasents states:

“The attack on Camp Osmir Venuto is a premeditated crime, announced and covered up by the genocidal dictatorship of the generals and Bolsonaro. […]

It is worth remembering: In Pará, and particularly in this region, the fraud [...] is so blatant that in the real estate registry offices, areas that, together, exceed 4 times the area of the State, are falsely documented. As if the State of Pará had 4 floors!

And denouncing this criminal attack is a task for all Democrats in every corner of the country. [...]

The cowards and murderers will pay for their crimes!

All support to the peasants of Camp Osmir Venuto!

Land for those who live and work on it!”

In Peru, actions were carried out by farm workers in the beginning of the month demanding better working conditions, higher wages and a repeal of Agrarian Promotion Law enacted in 2000, that favoured the big landowners and export companies of agrarian products by cutting the workers‘ rights serving the agenda of the imperialists. This has let to a situation, where about 75% of the workers in this sector are informally employed. Many of them receive wages of as little as 40 sol a day (about $11), often for up to 10 or 12 hours of work.

After fives days of blocking the Panamericana 300km south of Lima, the road blocks were first taken down when crongress approved to repeal the Agrarian Promotion Law, but then went back up again, to directly enforce a pay raise from 11 to 18 dollars a day. Furthermore, action of sabotage were carried out by workers at several installations of agro-industrial companies.