Homeless Workers' Movement
Encyclopedia
The Homeless Workers Movement is a shack
-dwellers' movement in Brazil
. It originated from the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (Landless Rural Workers' Movement) in 1997. It is the biggest organisation of its kind in the country.
Through a combination of direct confrontation and negotiation with the government, it struggles to reduce Brazil's deficit of roughly 8,000,000 housing units by staging squatters' occupations in the abandoned government buildings that litter Brazilian cities, resisting the often violent attempts by local governments to evict them and negotiating for their conversion into low-income housing. According to the MTST, there are over 5,000,000 housing units available in abandoned buildings in Brazil. The MTST originally emerged as a faction within the MST. MTST, however, focuses on urban instead of rural reform. Although fully autonomous, the organisation has a strategic alliance with the MST and also works closely with other Brazilian urban social movements such as the União Nacional de Moradaria Popular (National Low-income Housing Union) and the Centro das Movimentos Populares (Center of Popular Social Movements).
The movement is politically heterogeneous. On one side, there are branches which resemble a Leninist political party in terms of structure and hierarchy, and on the other side, branches which are clearly committed to goals such as self-management. There is even a branch (in the state of São Paulo
) which works almost as a faction of a political party.
The homeless movement is the most important social movement in Brazilian cities, since the favela
movement became weaker and weaker since the 1980s (its role was decisive in the 1960s and 1970s resistance against evictions), due to factors such as political clientelism, and the influence of drug traffickers. The homeless also try to co-operate with other emerging social movements, such as "insurgent" hip-hop groups and, in the case of MTST, with the MST, one of the most important landless organisations.
The best known land occupations conducted by the MTST are:
Shack
A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. The word may derive from the Nahuatl word xacalli or "adobe house" by way of Mexican Spanish xacal/jacal, which has the same meaning as "shack". It was a common usage among people of Mexican ancestry throughout the U.S...
-dwellers' movement in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It originated from the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (Landless Rural Workers' Movement) in 1997. It is the biggest organisation of its kind in the country.
Through a combination of direct confrontation and negotiation with the government, it struggles to reduce Brazil's deficit of roughly 8,000,000 housing units by staging squatters' occupations in the abandoned government buildings that litter Brazilian cities, resisting the often violent attempts by local governments to evict them and negotiating for their conversion into low-income housing. According to the MTST, there are over 5,000,000 housing units available in abandoned buildings in Brazil. The MTST originally emerged as a faction within the MST. MTST, however, focuses on urban instead of rural reform. Although fully autonomous, the organisation has a strategic alliance with the MST and also works closely with other Brazilian urban social movements such as the União Nacional de Moradaria Popular (National Low-income Housing Union) and the Centro das Movimentos Populares (Center of Popular Social Movements).
The movement is politically heterogeneous. On one side, there are branches which resemble a Leninist political party in terms of structure and hierarchy, and on the other side, branches which are clearly committed to goals such as self-management. There is even a branch (in the state of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
) which works almost as a faction of a political party.
The homeless movement is the most important social movement in Brazilian cities, since the favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
movement became weaker and weaker since the 1980s (its role was decisive in the 1960s and 1970s resistance against evictions), due to factors such as political clientelism, and the influence of drug traffickers. The homeless also try to co-operate with other emerging social movements, such as "insurgent" hip-hop groups and, in the case of MTST, with the MST, one of the most important landless organisations.
The best known land occupations conducted by the MTST are:
- João Cândido - Itapecerica da Serra - (2007-)
- Carlos Lamarca - Osasco - (2002-)
- Chico Mendes - Taboão da Serra - (2005 - 2006)
- Santo Dias/"Ocupação da Volks" - São Bernardo do Campo (2003)
- Rosa Luxemburgo - São Paulo /Osasco - (2004)
- Anita Garibaldi - Guarulhos - (2001-)
See Also
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