News

2007-10-23 |

Two killed in Brazil landless peasants‘ protest

Two people were killed during weekend clashes after landless peasants in Brazil occupied the farm of a multinational agrochemical company in the latest of several such protests over the past week. Police said on Monday a peasant leader and a guard were killed at the Swiss-owned Syngenta Seeds farm in the southern state of Parana after it was occupied by 200 landless militants on Sunday. [...] The MST and similar groups frequently occupy farms, block highways, torch crops, and stage rallies to pressure the government to give more land to the poor. Landowners often hire armed guards and hit squads to repel invasions.