shs.anthro-se shs shs.socio shs.scipo shs.hist
em terras pernambucanas aglomerações de bar

constituídas de estruturas de madeira cobertas com lonas, quase sempre pretas, e dispostas

Pedimos que falassem de suas vidas e de como haviam chegado até lá . Sempre que possível , procuramos observar o seu cotidiano. Conversamos ainda com muitos dos que haviam estado em acampamentos já desmontados e reconstituímos suas histórias. Ouvimos sindicalistas e militantes do MST, donos de engenhos e gerentes de usinas, funcionários do Incra e prefeitos. Coletamos documentos, consultamos coleções de jornais, fizemos buscas na internet. Foram sucessivas idas a Pernambuco.

Durante todo esse tempo buscávamos relacionar os fatos para explicá-los e entender o ponto de vista das pessoas.

Lonas e bandeiras em terras pemambucanas foi concebida para divulgar resultados dessa pesquisa . Nosso fio condutor são os homens e as mulheres que encontramos ao longo do percurso. ta partir deles que vamos apresentar os acampamentos, sua origem, composição e seus símbolos.

Mostraremos também o que levou esses homens e mulheres a se reunirem em acampamentos, as estratégias de sobrevivência de que lançam mão, os despejos e ataques que sofreram e, finalmente, qual o destino dessas pessoas. Dos 168 imóveis desapropriados pelo Incra em Pernambuco, entre janeiro de 1979 e julho de 2002, quinze encontram-se em Rio Formoso e Tamandaré . Dentre estes, treze foram precedidos por acampamentos, oito dos quais foram objeto de nossa pesquisa. Assim , muitos dos personagens da história aqui contada foram assentados pelo Incra e possuem hoje uma casa e um pedaço de terra . Para que isso ocorresse, os acampamentos, com suas lonas e bandeiras, foram um elemento decisivo.

LYGIA SIGAUD

Sobre a ocupação do espaço

Lonas e bandeiras coloca à mostra a pesquisa antropológica sobre as ocupações pernambucanas.

Transposição para o espaço do museu : uma nova contextual ização.

Como se dará esta ocupação?

Trazer o lugar distante, a realidade diversa , a riqueza de cada personagem a ser compartilhada com o público. Aproximações .

As lonas e as bandeiras definem as ocupações. Galhardetes e grandes reproduções fotográficas exibem rostos e pa isagens. Objetos suspensos. Paredes pretas. Labirintos.

O público vai tecendo uma complexa rede de trajetórias. Acompanhando processos de ocupação do campo. Conectando fragmentos de uma nova história . Depoimentos: vozes nos magnetizam . O processo descrito em suas ambigüidades. Acontecimentos narrados por seus personagens.

Uma barraca dentro do museu. A casa do imperador.

A transformação do espaço como uma forma de emancipação. "Aí, eu fui demitido. Fiquei ruando. Sem emprego . Sem morada."

Motivações

A maioria dos homens e mulheres que encontramos invocou a falta de trabalho para justificar a presença nos acampamentos. Em 1997, os sindicalistas estimavam haver 3.000 desempregados em

Rio Formoso e Tamandaré . Os patrões estavam demitindo para reduzir os custos (caso da Usina

Trapiche) ou por não ter como pagar os trabalhadores (caso da Usina Santo André) . Em vários engenhos e usinas, a produção de cana tinha caído significativamente.

O corte dos subsídios e a privatização das exportações do açúcar decretados pelo Governo Federal no início dos anos 90 e uma seca prolongada tinham desencadeado uma crise na agroindústria canavieira .

Muitos foram para os acampamentos porque viram neles uma saída para a situação difícil em que se encontravam : uma saída não apenas para a falta de trabalho, como também para um casamento desfeito, para a perda da casa na grande enchente que houve em Rio Formoso em 1997. Outros eram movidos pelo desejo de ter uma vida melhor. O acampamento foi uma aposta que fizeram .

. . •opunw ou sowqJed a !qWO ).i ewnu soweJwa s9u J'v'"

Ocupação

Ocupar engenhos e neles montar acampamentos sempre foi uma decisão de organizações como o MST ou os sindicatos filiados à Fetape. Os engenhos escolhidos foram aqueles que produziam pouco, pois era maior a chance de serem considerados improdutivos pelo Incra, que só desapropria terras assim classificadas. Em quase todos, residiam trabalhadores que prestavam serviços ao dono.

As ocupações ocorreram após um trabalho de mobilização feito em bairros populares das pequenas cidades da mata pernambucana . Os sindicalistas arregimentaram sindicalizados e pessoas conhecidas do municfpio. Já os militantes do MST reuniram pessoas de municfpios diferentes.

Militantes e sindicalistas contaram que, antes das ocupações, fizeram pequenas reuniões para convidar as pessoas e motivá-las a "pegar terra" . Depois, marcavam um dia para virem apanhá-las.

A Kombi era citada como o meio de transporte mais utilizado. Reunido o grupo, seguiam para o engenho, entravam e montavam o acampamento. O número de participantes do ato da ocupação variou bastante: 9 no engenho Brejo; 36 ern Mato Grosso; 80 em Cipó; e mais de 100 em São João.

Estudamos casos nos quais não houve ocupação, isto é, em que os acampamentos foram montados pelos próprios moradores dos engenhos para conseguir a desapropriação, como ocorreu em Sauezinho, Saué Grande e Coqueiro (da Usina Santo André) e Tentúgal (da Usina Central Barreiros) .

Os três primeiros foram patrocinados pelo Sindicato de Tamandaré, e o quarto, em um primeiro momento, pelo Sindicato de São José da Coroa Grande e, depois, pelo MST. 

Ocupação do engenho Baetés

MA NUEL

Lonas e bandeiras

Quando as pessoas iam para os acampamentos, levaW3m objetos que possuíam , como foice, enxada , ca ndeeiro, colchonete e panelas. A lona para cobrir o telhado das barracas era coisa à parte. Ou os organizadores (sindicatos, Fetape ou MST) a forneciam, no dia da ocupação do engenho, ou era providenciada pela própria pessoa quando da entrada posterior. Prefeitos, vereadores, padres e o Incra ajudavam na obtenção da lona.

Nas primeiras ocupações havia apenas as bandeiras vermelhas do MST. Depois os sindicatos começa ram a fazer as suas próprias e, mais recentemente, a Fetape também fez a sua bandeira.

Elas indica vam quem havia organizado o acampamento.

Já em 1997, a lona e a bandeira chamaram a nossa atenção: nós as vimos em todos os acampamentos e havia referência a elas em quase todos os relatos. A medida que a pesquisa avançou, percebemos que eram indispensáveis para fazer da aglomeração de barracas um acampamento: as lonas e as bandeiras lhes confer iam uma marca.

"A gente sempre procura um lugar mais alto para fazer o acampamento. De preferência que nenhuma estrada chegue até nós."

Acampamento Serra d'Agua, setembro de 1999.

Localização

Todos os acampamentos se assemelhavam na forma . Eram constituídos com os mesmos materiais, situados em localizações semelhantes, com suas barracas alinhadas de modo a formar ruas. Havia uma divisão do trabalho organizada por meio de comissões, que cuidavam da segurança, da saúde, .

da alimentação etc. Todos dispunham de lavouras logo após a ocupação.

"Os acampamentos estão sempre localizados em elevações, próximas da mata e perto de algum curso d'água . (. .. ) A vegetação fornece a madeira para a construção das barracas e lenha . Além disso, a mata constitui-se numa rota de fuga perante possíveis ataques e serve, também ,_de banheiro. O lugar do acampamento deve ser alto, de forma a propiciar boa visibilidade e dispor de caminhos de acesso desimpedidos(. .. )."

SERGIO A. CHAMORRO SMIRCIC, Com a cara e a coragem. Uma etnografia de uma ocupação de terras.

D isse rta ç~o de mestrado. UFRJ/MN/PPGAS, 2000, pp. 4 2-44.

Distribuição de cesta básica em Mascatinho, 1999 (vídeo)

Sobrevivência

A entrada em um acampamento não implicava interrupção de atividades destinadas à sobrevivência da família . Muitos continuavam a trabalhar nos canaviais, a fazer biscates na construção civil, a ser vigias, a atuar como vendedores ambulantes, a catar caranguejos nos mangues etc. Uma vez acampados, podiam ter acesso a outros recursos : aos alimentos da cesta básica enviada pelo Governo Federal; às doações de comerciantes, prefeitos e padres; ao dinheiro arrecadado em pedágios cobrados nas estradas. Com alguns deles tivemos um cantata mais estreito na realização da pesquisa. Vamos aqui apresentá-los e reproduzir trechos de depoimentos nos quais dão sua interpretação dos fatos e contam pedaços de sua história.

Deusdete Maria de Vasconcelos, Lica

Trabalhou no Smd1cato de R10 Formoso. partiCipou da saga de ocupações e tornou -se parcele1ra. pnmetro em C1pó e depo1s em LaranJeiras .

"Compan heiro, é a hora. "

A gente va1 para a periferia. E. (engenhos) and sugar processing factories (usinas). ln that region, known as zona cana vieira (sugar cane region), lhe owners of the engenhos h ave a strict contrai over their territories, and only those who have their permission may enter.

We then saw, for lhe first time in that region, the acampamentos. How could it be that those c:amps, with their black tarp tents and their flags, were established inside lhe engenhos, within lhe territories controlled by lhe owners?

To understand this new fac!, we went to lhe camps and there we mel not only individual men and women, but also whole families. The adults had personal histories of life and work in the sugar cane plantations. Some of them had other job experiences, as masons, construction workers in general, truck and tractor drivers, private guards, street peddlers and housemaids. We asked them to tell us about their lives and how they had found their way to those camps. Whenever we had lhe opportunity, we observed their daily life. We also

CANVASANDFLAGS INTHE LANDSOFPERNAMBUCO

talked with many of those who had been to camps that had already been ended, and we recovered their histories. We listened to union leaders and MST militants, owners of plantations and managers of sugar factories, Incra officials and mayors. We gathered documents, looked at newspaper collections, and searched lhe Internet. We went to Pernambuco severa i times. We tried ali along to bring out lhe relationships between lhe facts soas to be able to explain them, and to understand lhe persons' viewpoints.

Canvas andf lags in the /ands of Pernambuco has lhe aim of bringing to the public the results of this research. The main thread of lhe exhibition is woven by lhe men and women that we mel during ou r research. Based on their views, we are going to present lhe acampamentos, their origins, who takes part in them, their symbols. We will show what led these men and women to gather in these camps, their survival strategies, lhe evictions and aggressions they have suffered, and finally, what has become of them.

Out of lhe 168 farms that have been expropriated by lhe Incra in lhe state of Pernambuco between January 1979 and July 2002, fifteen are in Rio Formoso and Tamandaré. Among these, thirteen were preceded by acampamentos, of which eight were lhe object of our research. Thus, many of those that are part of the history that is presented here have been settled by lhe Incra . Today they have a house and a pareei of land. The acampamentos, with their canvas and flags, were decisive in this outcome.

LYGIA SIGAUD

On the occupation of spaces

Canvas and flags presents to the public anthropological research regarding the land occupations in Pernambuco. lt transposes a new context for this phenomenon to the Museum's space.

How is this occupation undertaken? By bringing distant, complex realities closer. By conveying the multifaceted personalities involved in the occupations to the public's eye. By building ways to approach these realities.

The canvas and the flags define the occupations with broadsides and poster-sized photographs exhibit faces and landscapes. Suspended objects ... Black walls ... Labyrinths ... The public weaves a complex web of trajectories, accompanying the occupation process, connecting fragments of a new story.

Testimonies: voices attract us. The occupation process is described in ali its ambiguities. Events are narrated by their participants .

A lean-to inside the Museum, the Emperor's palace.

Transformation of space as a form of emancipation.

ANDRt WELLER

Patio by the stairway: Most of the men and women that we met evoked the lack of jobs as the reason for their presence in the encampments. ln 1997 the union leaders estimated that there were 3.000 persons unemployed in Rio Formoso and Tamandaré. The bosses were dismissing the people either to reduce their costs (as in the Trapiche sugar factory), or because they did not have the money to pay the workers (as in the Santo André sugar factory). ln many engenhos and usinas*, sugar cane production had fallen considerably. The reduction of the subsidies and the privatization of the sugar export procedures that the government established in the early 1990s, together with a long drought in the region, had triggered a crisis in the sugar cane sector.

Many people went to the encampments because they saw them as a way out of their straits: a solution not only for the lack of jobs but also for things such as the end of a marriage, or the loss of a house dueto the big flood in Rio Formoso in 1997. Others still were motivated by the desire of achieving a better life in the future. The encampments were a bet they made.

• Engenho, literally a sugar m111. IS the name g1ven in lhe BraZihan Northeast to the sugar-producing estales. Usina are lhe large-scale sugar factories, mosl of which own vanous estales that supply them w1th part of their sugar cane needs [translator"s note] DALVINO So then I came here, /ooking for a job again. I stayed here, I searched and searched and searched, but I didn't find any job in the companies, in the sugar factories, so I went back again to the sertão*. But 

Occupation "So we got into a Kombi van and off we went to the world"

To occupy the sugar cane plantations (engenhos) and to establish encampments within them was always a decision of organizations such as the Movimento Sem Terra (MST) or the unions affiliated to the Fetape*. They chose the engenhos that were producing little, so there would be a better chance that the Incra considered them unproductive -Incra can only expropriate lands that are classified that way. There were peasant-workers (moradores) **living within almost ali of them, working for the landowners.

The occupations took place after a work of mobilization made in the poor neighborhoods in the small towns in the Zona da Mata of Pernambuco. The union leaders gathered the union members and other people they knew in each municipality. The militants of the MST, on the other hand, gathered people from different municipalities.

Militants and union leaders told us that, before the occupations, they made small meetings to invite the people and to motivate them to "pursue land". Then they arranged a day to come and to take them to the estates. The Kombi vans were always mentioned as the most common means of transportation. After the group had been gathered, they went to the engenho, entered it, and set up the camp. The number of participants in each act of occupation varied widely: 9 in the engenho Brejo, 36 in the engenho Mato Grosso; 80 in the engenho Cipó; and more than 100 in São João.

We have also studied cases where there was no occupation proper, that is, where the encampments were made by the workers that lived within the engenho itself, who demanded the appropriation of its lands. That is what happened in Sauezinho, Saué Grande, and Coqueiro (plantations that belonged to Santo André sugar factories) and Tentúgal (which belonged to Central Barreiro sugar factory). The Rural Workers' Union of Tamandaré promoted the first three encampments and the fourth was organized first by the Union of São José da Coroa Grande and later by the MST.

• Fetape is the state federation of rural workers' unions [translator's note] .. Many of the workers of the plantation estales used to live within them, in houses or small pareeis of land provided by the landowner. These workers were called moradores (literatly, dwellers or residents) [translator's note] TRAIRA I was in Tamandaré, then a man said: " Traíra, didn 't you want to have some land, weren't you crazy about getting some land for yourself?" Sure, why not, where is it? He said: "well, there is a man making a list of names togo to a engenho. I don 't know where it is, but I know that they are going to pursue land". I said, well, I would go on right now. So I went, when I got there the guy was about togo away-the people cal/ed him Paulista -then I didn 't talk to him right away He came and said: "but you ... you should come back on Wednesday, we are going to have another meeting". So I went there on Wednesday I didn't know what sem-terra was, I had never seen them over CANVASANDFLAGS\N THELANDSOFPERNAMBUCO there. Then he said: "we wi/1 go there and occupy the engenho. Then the engenho wi/1 be divided up among the people who occupied it". Yes, I said, it's ok. So when the day carne, I went. We jumped onto a truck at about 4 in the morning, and off we went. When we got to the engenho São Manuel, the people were brought down from the truck. The truck went away and we stayed on. I stood in the middle of the scrub, like that, and I said to myse!f: my God, what am I doing here? Someone said: "Shouldn 't there be a canvas?" And I said: and do you think I have any canvas7f didn't know My family stayed in Tamadaré. So I got there, they gave me canvas, I made a little tent and stayed inside it. Sure, I was afraid to bring my family to the midd/e of the scrub -to a little p/astic tent, anyone can open a hole in it with a finger, what about a bullet? There was an encampment e/ase by where they shot at the peop/e, /ike that, with ali the people inside.

interviewed by Alessandra Barbosa da Silva e Marie Gaille in September 1999. He participated of the enca mpments of Silo Manuel and Cipó, where he became a parceleiro.

GERÔNCIO

I was in town. That was before I went to the union, and the people said: "Gerôncio, they are going to set upa camp there. Aren't you going to invade land?" I said: hey, man, this matter of invading land, I have never invaded any land, but I am going anyway. !t was the union. I was part of the union. I worked in the fields, I was part of the union, because I used to pay the union.

So he said this: "Aren't you out of work, Gerôncio? What are you going to do now? You have no land, you have no p!ace to tive. And there is this area over there that is going to be for the government, it is going to be for the Incra, only for the Incra. Why don 't you goto this thing? lt is going to be good game, it concerns a debt of the sugar factory with the bank". So I said: you know what? l'm going. "lf you are real!y going, then come back here !ater on, because the caris /eaving from here, today". That was a Saturday afternoon. I said: but wait a minute, how are we going to stay there? ln the middle of the scrub7 "We [leaders of the union] wi/1 give you the canvas, the food. I have to 

Occupation of the engenho Baetés

Sequence of the occupation of the engenho Baetés, in the municipa lity of Barreiros, south of Tamandaré. The occupation, organized by the MST, happened in August 1999. Notes by Sergio A. Chamorro Smircic.

"( ... ) The first thing the people did was a initial clearing, taking out the plants (fallow scrub and old sugar cane plants) from the space where the huts would be built; next, many people went to the forest in search of wood and vegetal fiber to set up the hut structures. After clearing the soil deeply to flatten it out and leave it completely horizontal, they started to build a structure, fixing two peles (2 to 2.5 meters high) into the earth with a distance of two or three meters between them. Over these peles, they puta beam , forming the basic supporting structure. Next, they tied peles to the beam letting them drop to its sides. Over these, they fixed other ones, parallel to the beam, forming the structure of a two-sided roof. ( .. . )Ali peles were tied with vegetable fiber.

To cover the roof, they use canvas. Between the wooden structure and the canvas, or over the canvas, palm leaves or cane and grass blades are used as isolating material, intertwined and tied to the wooden peles. ln the lower part of the sides, when the huts are made of sticks and mud (pau-apique), they usually leave open spaces covered by palm leaves, to favor ventilation. ( ... ) lnside the tents, many people made tarimbas with sticks (at about 50cm from the floor) . Some people also made a similar structure, to be used as a table to keep food and other objects away from the floor (. .. ) they left a wide space at the center of the arealike a "square" -for the meetings. ln this space, they raised the flagpole with the flag." MANUEL ln the day they got here, they got here at nighttime. No one saw, no morador here saw them arriving. When morning carne, as we woke up, they were ali setting up their huts, and arranging themselves inside them. And they had good manners, they called us there, talked with us, and said, "well, boy, this ... you know that your boss, you have no boss now, and besides, your boss has no condition to give you work any more. You are ali going to starve, and it would be better if we got together, unite ourse/ves, so that the Incra comes here and expropriates this p/ace here. That is better than starving -if we plant, we will get enough to eat, so we won't starve". So they got here with nice phrases, and we joined them. The union also carne with them, also saying the sarne things.

morador o! the engenho Silo João, interviewed in September 1999 by Hernán Gómez and Frédéric Viguier.

lncursions

"Look, you go ove r there, the encampment is right o ver there ... "

And he pointed, "there are those people from the sem-terra, you wi/1 see a red flag right away, so you go talk to them and then stay there."

Many people joined the encampments after the occupation. They heard about them on the radio or the television , or still from their acquaintances. They told us how it was that they went to the camp, asked if there was a place for them and if they were permitted to stay, and set up their tents.

Most of the times, it was the men who went in at first. Their families came later. We also came across other situations: single individuais, such as Palmares, who entered Mamucaba after having lost contact with the group he was traveling with in search of work in constructions; and whole groups of people, such as the group of 37 relatives led by Severino that settled in Brejo.

We collected many stories of those that participated of the act of occupation, or that went into the encampment later on . Here, we are going to present parts of one of these stories, the story of José Menezes, who told us about his trajectory and about the moment when he decided to participate in an occupation.

JOSÉ MENEZES

What was my objective? To move forward to the /and. Because the /and is where I wi/1 find, where I will obtain, my subsistence to feed my family and myself. With money or without it, I will work one day here and one day there, and I will work the rest of the time on the /and. One day I will go there: this /and will give me something, will give me something to eat. I hope someday I will have something, before I die, something taken from the land, with the sweat of my face, my efforts, there in the /and. And I will not leave that land. I will be buried in the /and. I am part of the Movimento Sem Terra and I will not /eave, no way. And the engenho is the engenho Brejo. My pareei of /and is in Brejo. That was the result of my life.

Canvas and flags

When the persons went to the encampments, they took with them objects that they had, such as sickle, hoe, lamp, mattress and pans. The canvas to cover the roof of the huts was another issue. Either the organizers (the unions, Fetape or the MST) provided it during the occupation of the farm, or it was the person's own. Mayors, local councilmen (vereadores), Catholic priests and the Incra also helped to obtain the canvas. ln the early occupations MST's red flags were the only ones. Later, the unions began making their own flags, and more recently Fetape also made its flag. They indicate who has organized the encampment. ln 1997, the canvas and the flags called our attention: we saw them in ali encampments and references to them were made in almost ali reports. As the research advanced, we noticed that they were indispensable to turn an agglomerate of huts into an encampment: the canvas and the flags conferred them a mark.

"My home was that black canvas over there."

DANIEL PEDRO

I do not have a house. I have a/ready said that I am homeless. There was no house, no food. A place to tive is a house, isn't it? No food, no land. So then I ended up in here. My home was that black canvas over there.

interviewed by Lyg1a S1gaud 1n September 1997, in the Brero camp.

"This red flag, wherever it is placed, that place is won. I sti/1 haven't seen it be p/aced without winning." TADEU [Who makes the flag) is lhe union itself, lhe boys from there. Or we make it

106

CANVASANDFLAGS INTHE LANDSOFPERNAMBUCO ourse/ves. The numbers come from there, we buy lhe cloth and we send for lhe numbers. That is ou r way here: the flag is made of cloth, one only has to sew the c Ioth. We buy lhe cloth and lhe boy paints it and puts on the emblem, the numbers. Now, this time, in the last congress, the one that has just happened, we bought the flag at Fetape. We bought the whole flag. For the encampments. lt can be found in Fetape. When we had a meeting, we discussed that. AI/ of the unions were interested in making encampments, so they would buy the flags .. .

( .. . )

[the flagpole) is made of imbaúba.

-they climbed up the tree and tied it.

-lt was very high, one could see it [the flagpole and the flag in the Mato Grosso encampmentl from far away.

financia l d~rector from the R1o Formoso umon, and workers from the engenho Pedra de Amolar mterviewed by Lygia Sigaud and Serg1o A. Chamorro Smircic in September 1999.

UNDER THE BLACK CANVAS

Location "We a/ways look for a higher place to set up the camp. lt is better if no road reaches us. "

Ali the camps were similar in their form. They were made with the same materiais, placed in similar locations, with the huts aligned so as to form streets. There was a labor division organized by means of committees, which cared for safety, health, food , etc. Everyone planted crops as soon as the occupation was made.

"The encampments are always located on elevations, near the woods and close to some creek ( ... ) lhe vegetation provides the wood needed to build the tents and to be used as firewood. Besides, the forest is an alternative escape route in the case of a possible attack, and also serves as bathroom. The camp must be placed up high, so as to favor a good visibility, and free routes for access (. .. )."

SERGIO A. CHAMORRO SMIRCIC, Com a cara e a coragem. Uma etnografia de uma ocupaç3o de terras.

MS thesis, UFRJ/MN/PPGAS, 2000, pp. 42-44.

Survival

Becoming part of an encampment did not result in any interruption of lhe activities that ensure the family's survival. Many people kept on working in the sugar cane fields, with occasional jobs in constructions, as private guards, street peddlers, crab catchers in lhe mangroves, etc . Once they are camped, they also have access to other resources: foodstuff from the food aid sent by the Federa l Government; donations by store owners, mayors and priests; and money collected in tolls that they set up on the roads.

ANANIAS

What I used to do? I went out, worked over here for three days, and then I wou/d goto Tamandaré. From there I went to the mangrove [to catch crabs], arranged some money for the family to buy a few things at the street market. Then I wou/d come back again, start working here again, and when the weekend carne, I would go back there, catch some crabs. I used to go from here to there. I used to get some manivas there, here I couldn 't get any, some little manivas of manioc, planted it on the land, because here I couldn 't get any, you see? At that time there wasn 't any. .. lt was so difficu/t for us to p/ant. I used to bring some bunches of manivas * from there to p/ant here, but if it wasn't for that, we wouldn 't have any.

1 nterviewed 1 n September 1999 by Hernán GOmez and Frédénc V1gu1er. He part1c1pated 1n the camp at the engenho Sáo Jo.'lo and there he became parcele1ro.

• Maniva is the na me for a cutt1ng of the stalk of the manooc plant that IS used as "seed" to reproduce the plants [translator's note)

MARIA

But during the milling season, there were some people, lots of people used to go out [from lhe Minguito camp) to work. But that had been permitted by the union itself Those peop/e, you see, the food aid was supposed to nourish those who were there: but for people who had 10 or 12 children at home, it wouldn't be enough (. .. ) So those people ... There were some people from the Cucaú sugar factory, they sti/1 lived in the company's houses, and they had the right to work during the milling season so as not to tose the house. lf they lost their house, where would they tive? (. .. ) So these people were permitted to work. Now, when Saturday and Sunday carne, then they carne over to the camp, spent their day in here. Some of them went back to their jobs yet on Sunday, others wou/d only go back Monday. lt was something the union itself permitted.

interviewed by Benoít de L:Estoile in Seplember 1999. He participated in the ca mp at the engenho Minguito and became parceleira at this same engenho.

FOOD AIO

"The Government supported us with the food aid [cesta básica] ."

Whenever there was a meeting, I went there, I spent the day around there, inside, around Minguito. I used to get food aid from the Incra, it gave a little food aid for us (. .. )I got two food aid packages each month (. . .) The food aid, we kept receiving it for one year and six months, we sti/1 received it from the Government, without interruption. The Government supported us with the food aid. There were beans, five kilos of beans, five kilos of com fiou r, five kilos of pasta, ten kilos of rice, one ki/o of sa/t. And that was ali.

GERONCIO, interviewed by Benoít de L'Estolle in September 1999. He part1c1pated 1n the ca mp at engenho M1nguito and there he became a parcelelfo.

ROAD TOLLS

"We got together to do what they called road toll , to ask for money along the roads."

We gathered to, let's say, to do what they called to//, to ask for money along the roads, to stretch out those strips of cloth, to stay there and ask for money Some people give one real, some don 't give anything ( ... )some even like it, they get there, instead of giving one real, they give five. 

ASKING FOR MONEY lN THE STORES

"We are grateful to those who collaborate."

At first, right in the beginning, the union gave us [help], but then the union wasn 't able to help any more. Then ( ... ) we used to get a paper and togo around (. .. ) lt was a paper with a text tel!ing about the conditions of ou r life in the camp, to be shown at the supermarkets and stores, so the people would read it and help us. We, rural workers, camped in the engenho São João, in the municipality of Tamandaré, ask ali those who may help us to give any kind of contribution, for we have so many families in a situation of severe misery, without the /east conditions for survival, whi/e waiting for the legal possession of the /and so we can finally ensure ou r liberation and tive with dignity with that aim. We are grateful to those who col/aborate. JOSÉ COSTA, interv1ewed in September 1999 by Hern~n Gómez and Frédéric Viguier. He participated in the camp of the engenho ~o Jooo and became a parceleiro in this same engenho.

CANVASANDFLAGS INTHELANDSOFPERNAMBUCO

HELP BY THE MAYOR "Sometimes they gave us up to three hundred and twenty reais. "

[We got help from the municipal administrationl of Rio Formoso. The one in Tamandaré did not help at ali, we used togo there, but they wouldn't give anything. Now, in other municipalities, they helped, they sti/1 help, sometimes one goes there and they sti/1 give (. .. ) They [from Rio Formoso] gave a ticket and told us to buy at the barracão * right by the gas station. Sometimes they gave us up to three hundred and twenty reais.

JOSÉ COSTA, interviewed in September 1999 by Hern~n Gómez and Frédéric Viguier. He participated in the camp at the engenho ~o Jooo and there he became a parce/eiro.

• A general store

Leavings

"Because not everyone is resistant. Not everyone. Some people desist from it. And then they say: 'I wi/1 not go again because I was evicted, I am not going to get land any more'."

The workers frequently left the encampments. Sometimes they did it because they had obtained a job. as with Palhaço, from Mamucaba. Misunderstandings with neighbors. fear of an attack, lack of enthusiasm, and loss of hope were other reasons evoked for the leavings. lt was also common to leave an encampment at a certain moment. and then come back to it after some time.

ZINHO

Here in 

Eviction

"He gave orders to bum the flag, but I didn't permit it. He ordered the police to bum down the huts, but I did not permit it. "

Mos! of the encampments that we studied have been subjected to judicial eviction processes. After lhe occupation, lhe owners of lhe farms went to court claiming their property rights. The judges accepted lhe claims and ordered lhe eviction, which was accomplished by court summons servers together with lhe police. The workers left their huts and crops and went away with their personal belongings and lhe canvas.

MARIO

We were subjected to many evictions [in Cipó], we were evicted six times. So, we went to one place, then to another. Used to get ou r stuff, put it over ou r heads, and down we went through the woods. "Let's get out of here, /et's go somewhere e/se, come on " (. .. ) Police would come, make us run, we used togo to another spot ... [we thought] "no way they wi/1 come to this p/ace". Then they would come again (. .. ) those people ali with guns.

interviewed in September 1999 by Alexandra Barbosa da Silva and Mane Gaille. He part iCipaled 1n the C1pó camp and there he became a parce/elfo.

BEZERRA

Yes, when we got here [to lhe Cipó campl, after two days here, the police put us out. They did not beat anyone, you see? There were six po/icemen. ln the first time, there were six of them. On the next time, there were ten. They carne with the owner, the owner was mad, we put the children in front, the women, and we sat down to talk with them. Then they made the eviction.

But on this day when they carne, the people were ali out at the Incra, negotiating, and the on/y one home was me, her [his wife], and a few old fellows that had stayed home. And I was the one who faced it a/1, I went there to negotiate with the judge. But the judge didn't want no negotiation. He gave orders to bum the flag, but I did not permit it. He ordered the police to bum down the huts, but I did not permit it. So we took ali the peop/e's things into their trucks, because we don 't like to ride in the trucks the police brings to the evictions, we have to ride in our own trucks. We ask for them, we rent them, we try to arrange them with the mayors, but we don 't like to deal with the police to get a truck.

interviewed by Sergio A. Chamorro Smircic and Richard Braga in September 1999. He has a pareei of land in the engenho Brejo. and participa ted in more than one encampment, Frescondinho among them.

Attacks

"Working toais were our only weapons."

Not in every case did the owners of the estates go to court to claim back their lands. Some preferred to use their private militias. They sent strongly armed henchmen to the encampments, to expel the workers and tear down the camp's structures. ln the attacks against the engenhos Mascatinho (1997) and Mato Grosso (1999), some people were hurt. ln the engenho Mamucaba (1999), the huts were set on fire. The police intervened during an attack against the engenho Brejo (1997) and arrested the henchmen , who presented themselves as employees of the Central Barreiros sugar factory responsible for safeguarding the company's properties. On that same night, the judge ordered these company men to be released. ln the following transcripts, the workers report facts that they have witnessed or that they have been told about.

Attack against Mato Grosso encampment

-But when moming carne, Tuesday moming, during the nice day when that fact happened, the manager and the owner of the engenho carne ...

CANVASANDFLAGS INTHE LANDSOFPERNAMBUCO

-The overseer, wasn 't it? -... The overseer of the engenho. So they both got here and asked what was the arder. I said, we are here waiting for the orders of the Fetape, of the Incra, which are the people's organizations that a/ways take care of us. Then when it was between 3:30 and 4 p.m. , we heard the noise of a motor, of a truck, and here it comes, in the direction of ou r camp, ali of us over there. Then they stopped, they kept a good distance, and they didn 't get too near. Then they started. When they stopped, there were many men, not just 30 or 40, there were more than 60 men, ali heavi/y armed. AI/ with weapons. So they started to use the fireworks, they started the fireworks. And ali of us there, we didn't want to /eave, nane of us had any bad intention. So they kept on sending out the fireworks, and in the midd/e of the fireworks, they started shooting. I realized that they were firing bullets, when I saw two bullet holes in a Macaíba tree inside the camp. So I bent down and started crawling away. I went away, I left, but when I had walked for about 35 yards, I carne upon a poo/ of blood on the road: a comrade had already been shot. He had been shot, and I was stepping over the comrade's blood. There were sti/1 some people behind us. At that moment, I felt somewhat quite a bit heavy because I had been stepping on blood. Then, when I thought that I could relax a bit, as I was going in the direction of my place, each one was going towards h is home, his house, they pushed us off, destroyed the camp with the tractors, you see? We were thinking that everything was over, that peace was back. Then a group of horsemen appeared, following us -we were coming a/ong the road, each one with h is bundle of things on top of the head, in bags, on our backs, and we were running. Running towards home. Then they persecuted us by horse for more than three kilometers along the roads, shooting as they could. The greed to shoot was so strong, they really wanted to ki/1. The greed was such that if someone fel! down on the scrub, he would have to run from there, he would have to run for fite. So that is what I saw over there, it was something sad, horrible, something that I think should never have happened. I stayed there, I gota trauma from what happened, ali that I saw there.

-Then when it was about 3:30 to 4 o'clock, as he said, we heard the noise of a motor, and then it was rea l shit for us. When they started with the fireworks, as he said, it was the fireworks together with the shots of a 12" rifle, something that sends out very strong shots. When they got e/ase, we were sti/1 there and they really started shooting at us, as he said, and the woods got really fui/ of people. Just at that moment, we ran for the road, and we saw the boy with blood, he had been really shot. Then there were about five ofthem coming, or maybe six, on horses, wasn 't it? So it was. I even said: Look, Paulo, let's go. He was carrying a bag, he had to /eave it and run away. lf you did not h ide, you would die. So everyone had to run into the woods, I myself fel/ down, hurt myse/f, I got ali cut. I am sure they thought they had shot me. We ran for the woods, and that was ou r /uck, because if there were no woods around, I am sure someone wou/d have been kil/ed.

WORKERS FROM THE ENGENHO PEDRA DE AMOLAR THAT HAD BEEN AT THE MATO GROSSO CAMP

interviewed by Lygia Sigaud and Sergio A. Chamorro Smircic in September 1999.

The fate of the camp dwellers

"Then we carne back and raised the flag. We raised the flag and we never left that place. " What happens with encampments that have been attacked or evicted? There is no single answer.

After the attack against Jundiá (1997) the workers dispersed. Those who were attacked in Mamucaba (1999), by their turn, regrouped and made their huts again in the lands of the engenho Brejo, which had been expropriated . Those that were in the Mato Grosso camp (1999) went to the Minguito camp, which also had been expropriated . ln Brejo and Mascatinho (1997) there was no dispersa i of the workers.

After being judicially evicted, many encampments were rebuilt in another place. The one in São João was rebuilt in a area of land belonging to the rural workers union in the town of Rio Formoso; the Cipó camp was installed in the neighboring village of Vermelho; Mascatinho and Baetés were improvised along a road; Minguito was transferred to the Serra d'Água camp. After some time, the camps were rebuilt in the lands where expropriation was intended .

What is the fate of the encampments? Some were dissolved when it became clear that the lands would not be expropriated. That is what happened with São Manuel. There were also those that were ended after the expropriation had been assured (Amaragi, Sauezinho, Saué Grande and Coqueiro). The other ones were maintained until the expropriation and the legal possession of the land by the Incra were dane.

Of ali the encampments that have been studied, Mamucaba is the one that is lasting longer. After having been established in 1998, it faced successive attacks and evictions. The more recent attack against it happened in May 2002 in the engenho Bombarda, to which the workers had moved to in April.

MIGUEL

We occupied São Manuel. People said that the land was not productive, so we were going to receive the land (. .. ) So I also carne, I wanted to have a field with crops. A who/e bunch of peop/e carne, thinking they wou/d soon be working. But it was the opposite. Each one built his little hut and we kept waiting for the orders of the men. We waited and waited, and that was when Mr. Manuel Antonio appeared and said: "This is ali mine ". We didn't say a thing. lnterviewed by Alexandra Barbosa da Silva and Marie Gaille in September 1999. He participated of lhe encampments at 5ao Manuel, Cipó, sao Joao and Brejo, where he became a parceleiro.

SEBASTIANA

We stayed in the São Manuel encampment for about two, a/most three years. The encampment did not go ahead, and we went back to Tamandaré. The people who were there went to the engenho Cipó. The Incra had made an assessment of São Manuel, but the owner of the engenho, he had already so/d it and the Incra couldn't do anything about it. So then a group went to Cipó. But we didn't want togo to Cipó, we came back home, [Cipó] was too far away, it was vety far out for us, vety far out. So after six months some people came to talk with me about invading another engenho, and I said: no way.

interviewed in September 1999 by Hernán GOmez and Frédéric Viguier. She participated of lhe ~o Manuel ca mp, did not wan t to go to the Cipó camp, but ended up going to lhe ~o Joao cam p where she became a parceleira.

JOSÉ VITOR

After that it was finished. Then we went out because Incra came to do an assessment of the engenho, you see? The experts came. So when the experts came, the man said: "You are there in the camp just because you want to, because you have your own houses (. .. ) You are old time resident workers [moradores]. You tive on the engenho. No point in moving to the middle of the woods. You should tive in your own houses. That is no problem. This business of encampments happens when the Movimento Sem Terra comes (. .. ) it has no house for you to tive in. You set up the camp and then stay under those she/ters. But there is no need for you to do that (. .. )" So that was it. Since then, we have been waiting for the result: for the man to come and make the listings, and after the listings comes the division of the /and, we acquire possession of the land allotments.

worker of Sauezinho interviewed by Lygia Sigaud in September 1997.

RONALDO

After 22 days we went out [from São João]. We were evicted. The judge told us to leave after 22 days (. .. ) Then we went to Rio Formoso, to an area of land belonging to the union, and we spent 9 months there.(. .. ) then we came back and raise up the flag. We raised the flag and we never left that place. Produced from images collected in September 1999 in lhe Mamucaba encampment organized by lhe Movimento dos Sem Terra in Tamandaré municipality, the video seeks to reproduce a moment of doubt and uncertainty with regard to the occupation of the land . Should the participants continue or desist? The film is an anthropological approach, presenting individuais' testimony and lhe debates that rocked the encampment, without resorting to voice-over explanations. The rural workers portrayed explain in their own words, with their own priorities and individual contractions, politics within a shaky, uncertain citadel.

DAVID FAJDLLES

Acquiring legal possession

"From this moment on, the land is yours." ln almost ali of the cases of occupation that have been studied, Incra accepted the requests for expropriation put forth by Fetape or MST. lt made lhe assessment of the estale; after the lack of productivity of the land (which the law defines as a condition for expropriation) was established, it took the necessary legal steps; then it sent lhe expropriation decree for the President of the Republic to sign. Afterwards, it acquired legal possession by the legal procedure known as imissão de posse (which is the procedure by means of which Incra becomes the owner of the land).

Many of the legal processes were long and dotted by conflicts. The claim for the expropriation of Sauezinho, an engenho belonging to lhe Santo André sugar factory, for instance, was made in May 1997. But it was only expropriated in July 1999. The owners tried to avoid the expropriation of Sauezinho and four other engenhos that they also owned (Coqueiro, Cocai, Cocalzinho, and Saué Grande) which had been claimed by Fetape, so they became involved in a conflict with the workers and the union leaders. Zé Pequeno, the local union delegate at the estate, was expelled from it and his house was destroyed. The sarne happened with Tôca, another union activist. Both them and Jaíso de Lima, president of the union of Tamandaré, were judicially forbidden , at the owner's request, to enter the engenho. About 100 workers from Sauezinho and of the other engenhos remained camped for 45 days in the sidewalk in front of the Incra headquarters in Recife, starting in March 1999, to demand that the expropriation process be sent to Brasília .

LICA

Incra gets here, and there is an official that comes from the Incra itself So it gets here and gathers the workers, and he reads the paper aloud: "From this moment on, this land is yours. You are the ones who decide. lf one wants to take away a single coconut, he can only doso with your permission. A stalk of cane, or whatever there is inside the engenho, one can only take away if you permit it". Then he reads out what belongs to the boss. The boss may take out his belongings: bed, plates, the things from inside the house, he may take away. Tractor, truck, ali of that he may take away. But if there are any crops, the crops he may not take. There may be a vegetab/e garden, a sugar cane field, or coconuts. That is what happened in Cipó, he went there and gota bunch of coconuts, we went over to him and took it back: "No way, you are not drinking any more coconut water from here no more ".

interviewed by Lygia Sigaud in September 1999. She participated in va rious enca mpments, became a parce/eira in Cipó and in 2002 rnoved to Laranjeiras settlement, also 1n Tamandaré.

APOLÕNIO

A group of peop/e from the Incra came here, some doctors, both men and women doctors, and they cal/ed us for a meeting there in the row of houses, together with the resident workers [moradores] , and that was when they told us about many important things that we didn't know. They said that from that date on, the engenho was owned by the peop/e. Because before that, no one knew that it belonged to the peop/e, it was known that it be/onged to the owner. So at that time, the women doctors came, they talked a /ot with us, and they said that the engenho now belonged to the people, because Incra was the owner, the owner was not the owner of the engenho any more (. .. ) So then we were sure. lt was safe, we would not have to /eave any more, because Incra was going to divide the /and into pareeis, and give each one his pareei, as it in fact happened.

interviewed in September 1999 by Hernán Gómez and Frédéric Viguier. He participated in the São Joao camp and there he became a parcelelfo.

Settlements (Assentamentos)

With the acquisition of legal possession of the land, the landowners leave the stage and Incra begins exercising its power. For each estate that had been expropriated it established a settlement project; selected those who could stay; established the size of the pareeis (determining the location of individual and collective areas, the areas for agriculture and those for cattle raising) , and the soil conditions. lt also determined that the workers must create an association to represent them , and that only through such an association could they receive loans. lt demanded that they present their requests as plans and projects, introducing another intermediary: the technical consultant. Finally, Incra gave them new names: beneficiários (beneficiaries), assentados (settlement dwellers) , parceleiros (land pareei owners) .

THE CHOSEN ONES

"I have faith in God that I wi/1 be approved in the selection. Iam the father of a family, fui/ of children, and Iam a working man."

The law determines that the first beneficiaries of expropriated lands be those that already work on them. After the resident workers [moradores] of the estates received their share, Incra considered as legitimate candidates those that were in the encampments, as long as they had some previously defined qualifications (being a rural worker with a family).

The listings of chosen candidates were established by means of negotiations involving Incra officials, camp organizers (union leaders and/or MST militants) , and workers of the engenhos and camp dwellers. When not ali of the camp dwellers that were seen as apt candidates could be provided with land , Incra committed itself to assisting them in future expropriations, as happened in Cipó: eight persons were afterwards transferred to Serra d'Água and Amaragi . The location of the land pareeis and their distribution among the beneficiaries were negotiated between workers, union leaders, militants and Incra officials . ln São João, lots were cast to decide it, while in Amaragi choices were made.

So, we have to /ook at the map. Here are the woods.. . This block over here on area 101 is forested /and. The area 113 is a community area. Area 97 is the agro-vil/age. Area 114 is collective. Down here are the /ast pareeis. This block from here down, 109, 116, 112, 107, ali of these blocks down here are reservations, which join this area of woods here. That amounts to 216 hectares that are under permanent preservation, corresponding to 20 % of the estate. Then there is the remainder, here, where the pareeis start, in here.

CHIQUINHO President of the Association of the Amaragi settlement, explaining the spatial distribution of the land pareeis to Benoa de ~Estoile, in an interview made in September 1999.

114

CANVASANDFLAGS INTHE LANDSOFPERNAMBUCO

CREDIT

"The bank never forgives."

Once they have been settled , the workers acquired the right to be supported by the Federal Government, something that they had never imagined : the right to receive resources to install themselves in the settlement, to build a house and start producing crops. But it was not always easy to obtain that money. Many times, to be heard , they had to set up new encampments, now in front of the Incra headquarters in Recife . But the greatest problem seems to be the one they face now: to pay the banks.

The crop production loan amounts to R$ 1.300,00. lt is justa little, it is not enough for anything, it is justa little help for the parce/eiro, just an aid for the sma/1 ones. 

ENVIRONMENT

"lf they catch someone cutting down a tree, /bama gets that man and throws him in )ai/. "

Most of the settlements that have been studied are within the Area for Environmental Protection (Area de Proteção Ambiental, APA) of Guadalupe .

Created in 1997 by the Companhia Pernambucana de Recursos Hídricos, an agency of state government, this APA includes part of the territory of five municipalities in the southern coast of Pernambuco. lts objective is the legal protection of that area soas to conserve water resources , mangroves, and the remainders of the Atlantic Forest. From the viewpoint of the directors of the environmenta l agencies, the settlements are a "risk factor" for the preservation of the ecosystems and thus should be kept under surveil lance. The rounds of the Environmental Police within the expropriated areas are frequent, and there are special directives for the use and occupation of the soil in these areas, only to be accomplished according to the standards set by the environmental legislation.

" ... We should add that constant inspection is essential in those areas (land reform settlements), as well as the presentation of the basic environmental directives, so as to ensure the preservation of these natural resources as well as the sustainability of the agricultura I and cattle raising activities. The occupation of the sectors in some of the estates is already consolidated and in many cases it is precarious and includes areas that are little suited." I sti/1 can get an ax, I can cut down some wood, sti/1. But if they cate h someone cutting down a tree, lbama gets that man and throws him in }ai/. We don 't have the right to do that any more, and that's ok. One cannot destroy the forests any more, finish them up. That is a crime, but at that time we sti/1 did it.

JOSÉ MENEZES, interviewed by Sergio A. Chamorro Smircic and Richa rd Braga in September 1999. He participated in the Brejo enca mpment and became a parceleiro in th is sarne place.

HOUSE, CROP FIELDS ANO DOMESTIC ANIMALS

"/ am happy with my pareei. I am we/1 satisfied and I wi/1 fight for it. lt is ali just beginning."

During the research, we met different evaluations concerning the life in the settlements: some missed the protection that used to be guaranteed by the forme r boss, as well as the safety of having a weekly payment, but this was mixed with the feeling that they had obtained important gains. For many that used to live in a house provided by the boss, or in precarious housing in the suburbs of the small towns of the Zona da Mata of Pernambuco, to have one's own house was a very important change. As Quitéria , a former resident worker (moradora) of the engenho Amaragi , told us: " I could never have dreamed of this!" To be able to plant crops and raise animais freely "is a lot better, ten thousand times better than working for the boss" , as Manuel , a former morador of the engenho São João, emphasized . Finally, many men and women with whom we talked in the settlements highlighted the feeling of freedom , of not being subjected to a boss. As Traíra , a worker that had been settled in the engenho Cipó, solemnly said: "Here we are the owners of the land. lt is ours, we don't have to follow someone else's will , we follow our own will".

MATERIAL CULTURE

"We stayed here because the bigger our 'numberity', the greater is our confidence to stay in p/ace. "

Every time we visited the camps, we observed that the number of persons was much smaller than the number of huts. Many men went out to work in the engenhos or to look for odd jobs. The women, children and retired elderly remained in the camps. Some of the participants would only sleep there a few days a week. Others senta relative to represent them. What made them part of the encampment, their actual presence notwithstanding, was the fact they had made the hut. lt was the symbol and the proof of their commitment. 

ON THE BORDER OF THE INTENDED LAND

The encampments proliferated in the lands of Pernambuco in a moment when the sugar cane and sugar production was being reduced, some companies were being restructured, many were bankrupt, and unemployment was massive. Ali these facts were related to changes in the government policies concerning the sugar cane agro-industry in the Northeast. After guaranteeing for many years the prices of sugar and sugar cane in domestic and foreign markets, by means of subsidies, the government interrupted those guarantees soas to adjust itself to its neoliberal outlook. ln this context, MST militants coming from the south of Brazil arrived in the sugar cane zone of Pernambuco. They allied themselves with the union leaders and began organizing joint occupations of lands that could be considered unproductive. Then they invited the unemployed, those who lived by doing temporary jobs, those who believed they might soon lose their jobs, the poor people of the suburbs. They made incursions into the engenhos, made their huts and raised their flags. Many bosses, weakened, could not preserve the inviolability of the territories of their estates. Some landowners would rather have them expropriated and benefit from the indemnities, while others resisted.

Since 1995, Incra expropriated many of the lands upon which encampments had been established. Lacking a systematic policy for the expropriation of unproductive lands, this agency became the beneficiary of the work made by the MST and the union leaders, which indicated, by means of the encampments, the areas that shou ld be expropriated. From 1996 on, the Fetape and the unions, on the one hand, and the MST, on the other hand, began promoting separately their respective land occupations. These were multiplied and Pernambuco became the Brazilian State with the most encampments.

During this period, occupations followed by encampments became established as the proper form of presenting demands. The occupations of the engenhos became the best way to request the expropriation of land. As for the occupations in front of government buildings, their objective was both to accelerate the expropriation procedures and to request the release of resources by the Incra. This happened because people realized that, to be heard by those that had the power to help them, they had to suffer life under the black canvas or to keep vigil in front of government buildings. ln September 2000, the president of the Republic signed a provisional act prohibiting the expropriation of lands that had been occupied and punishing those that participated in occupations of government buildings (excluding them from the benefits of the land reform program). This provisional act, which has been maintained since, has inhibited the establishment of camps within the engenhos. They started to be made besides the estates, on the border of the intended lands.

Carnaça ri

"The history of this encampment [Cipó] is a /ong history ( ... ), this struggle here started in Camaçari."

Camaçari was the first encampment made in Rio Formoso and also the first joint action of union leaders and MST militants. An estate with 2.800 hectares, it was believed that Camaçari was the property of the National Railway Company (Rede Ferroviária Nacional), and was being used by the Cucaú sugar factory. lt was occupied in April 1992, just as the sugar cane harvest was coming to an end. About 1.200 persons entered this engenho-men, women, and children . MST militants in Rio Formoso and in surrounding municipalities (Vitória de Santo Antão, Escada and Barreiros) had gathered most of them. Once inside, they set upa camp and began to demand the division of the lands to the state government, and also the distribution of seeds, foodstuff and canvas to cover the huts. The news reports presented them as workers that had lost their jobs with the end of the sugar cane harvest. At that time the journalists still didn't use the vocabulary that we have grown accustomed to ever since : "invasion", "sem-terra" (landless), "land reform". The camp was soon evicted by the Military Police. The sugar factory was able to prove that those lands were its property. Many went back home, but 800 workers went on to Vermelho, an old settlement that Incra had made. There they set up another encampment, giving rise to trajectories that included passing through various encampments. We collected many narratives about these trajectories. The facts were narrated to us as if they constituted a real saga. 

SAGAS

UNIONISTS ANO MILITANTS

The occupations and expropriations that we have studied would have been unthinkable without the participation of the union leaders and the MST militants. They chose the engenhos, invited the people to occupy them, organized the camps, presented demands to the Incra, followed up the judicial processes and led demonstrations to press for the expropriations.

During research we established a closer contact with some of them. Here, we will present them and transcribe some parts of their statements, in which they give their account of the facts and narrate part of their life histories.

Jaíso de Lima

He was the financial director of the union of Rio Formoso when the occupations began. He participated in Camaçari and various encampments that followed. ln 1995, the district of Tamandaré ceased to be part of the municipality of Rio Formoso and became a municipality itself. Then a Rural Workers' Unton was founded and Jafso was elected president. During his mandate many occupations and expropriations happened, including sao Joao, where now he is a parceleiro, besides the ones at the tive engenhos belonging to Santo André sugar factory, Sauezinho, Saué Grande, Cocai, Cocalzinho and Coqueiro.

CANVASANDFLAGS INTHELANDSOFPERNAMBUCO

"Land reform is the only way, because who loses his job does not cease to exist, he will have to find something to work on anda way to make a living."

When I passed by the engenho [Sauezinhol, I used to say that the workers knew best. But the on/y way out for them was land reform, because since the sugar factory had a debt with them, which it wasn't paying, and the debt was getting larger, the only way was to strugg/e for /and... To claim their rights in court and to demand the expropriation of the /and. When time comes for the engenho to be expropriated, the sugar factory wi/1 ... Incra wi/1 pay the sugar factory, you see? So when it gets paid, the sugar factory wi/1 have the money to pay for their labor debts. We invite them [the workers from the engenhos belonging to Santo Antonio sugar factory] for a meeting. Then we talk to them about the present situation. The situation some time ago, ten years ago, the facts at that time were one thing, you see? Many people with jobs, the bosses were looking for sti/1 more workers to employ Today, the facts are what anyone can see, the workers are losing their jobs. The on/y way is really land reform, because he who toses h is job does not cease to exist, he wi/1 have to find something to work on anda way to make a living.

interviewed by Lygia Sigaud in September 1997.

José Augusto da Silva, Cabeludo

He was in Camaçari and in the following occupations, and became a MST militant, organizing various encampments. He is the grandson of Amaro Pedro, an activist that helped organize the strikes that happened before the 1964 mil1tary coup and member of the first generation of union delegates of the sugar cane region of Pernambuco.

"So that's it, now I goto the end of the line."

Then, sti/1 in 1992, I came to know the Movimento dos Sem Terra. I had already /eft the [Cucaúl sugar factory. I had no job (. . .) that was in 1992. I participated in the last meeting [to prepare the occupation of Camaçari] (. . .) Then I dedicated myself to life in the camp, and then it came. Some of the peop/e used to study outside, so they invited me, I went to study a little in some courses that appeared, then that was it, from there on I started following what is known as militancy, I went into the movement's militancy. I came back home with my head raised. I said: so that's it, now I go to the end of the fine.

parts of interviews made in September 1999 by Lygia Sigaud, Sergio A. Chamorro Smircic, Alexandra Barbosa da Silva and David Fajolles.

Deusdete Maria de Vasconcelos, Lica

She worked at the union in Rio Formoso, and participa ted in the saga of the occupations, becoming a parceleira first in Cipó and !ater in Laranjeiras.

"Comrade, time has come."

We go over to the suburbs. Yes, we make visits in the suburbs. Does a rural worker tive here? How many are unemp/oyed7 You see, that is how it starts [the recruitment for the occupations]. Where did you come from? I came from engenho Primavera, from engenho so-and-so. The factory tore down my house, it put me out. This one is a worker, this one we wi/1 win over to our side. Look, we are going to cal/ a litt/e meeting, can it be here in your house? We begin to work the comrade's mind. That means not only one ar two meetings. First of ali we meet many times. With a comrade who lives at the end of a suburb street, then he takes charge of calling in the others. You see, in the community of that street, he knows who is who better than we do. So, we may go there because we know someone, but who knows how this fel/ow behaves in his street? ln his neighborhood? We don 't know. But if !tive besides someone, I know who he is. So I can be sure if that fellow is ok for it or if he isn 't. Then, after we work outone ar two comrades for each street, then we ask them to invite a few more comrades. We ask them if we can meet in their house's backyard. You see? Can we 7 No you can't, but there is so-and-so's house. There is a p/ace there where we play domino, you see, so then we hold a meeting. Not with too many people, no, just four ar five persons. (. .. ) Then, after that, we come by to arrange the day. Get your bomb ready' The bomb is c/othes, a sma/1 sheet, together with a sma/1 package of com fiou r, a /ittle piece of meat, whatever you have to eat. Get it together, and at any moment we wi/1 come to te// you the day we are going. We are going today. When night comes, we are at the fel/ow's doors. Comrade, time has come [claps her handsl.

interviewed by Lygia Sigaud in September 1999.

Pedro Assunção

Parcefe1ro in Serra d'Água, he participated in the saga of the encampments and has also been a union d~rector and director of Fetape.

"So we started the struggle and the encampments had their beginning." (. .. ) the workers began to suffer, because there were massive dismissals, changes in the form of payment, today the sugar factories, they are paying the wages in goods, they are handing out a piece of paper, a ticket to buy things at the store, so we are back to the store system [barracão], back to the mess of the engenhos, the engenhos are coming to an end, workers losing their jobs, so we have the favelas [shantytowns]. (. .. ) But the union shou/d give an answer to the worker, and it did. 8oth of them appeared, the Movimento Sem Terra, the MST, which is not connected to the union movement, as we/1 as the union movement, both of them assumed the motto of land reform. So we started the struggle and the encampments had their beginning. Here in Pernambuco, the first camp, I can't remember the date, but it was in Pitanga, (. .. ) there in /garassu. interviewed by Benoíl de L'Estoile in September 1999.

CANVASANDFLAGS INTHELANDSOFPERNAMBUCO

Nanã

He worked in the union of Rio Formoso as a mason and as a driver and participated in the saga of the land occupations.

"I fought a lot. I can't say that I didn't work a lot for this too, together with the other comrades."

I used to do ali kinds of work there with the boys [union leadersl also, but I was not fichado [didn't h ave a work contract] . I have never been fichado(. .. ) I used to work for ali the strikes, driving for the union. (. .. ) Then a boy of the MST carne here in Rio Formoso and started [to prepare the first occupation in Rio Formoso]. Every Wednesday we had a meeting by the manioc mil/ that belongs to the municipal administration, every Wednesday: that business of land reform. So I kept coming [to these meetings]. At that time, I was not working. I mean, I was not working because I didn 't have a job, you see? I worked for the union. What I know is that they were looking for one [engenho]. We occupied the engenho interviewed by Lygia Sigaud in September 1999.

José Antonio de Lima, Teixeira

Financial director of the Rural Workers' Union of Rio Formoso and parson of the Assembly of God evangelical church. He was the president of the union when Minguito, Serra d'Água and Mato Grosso were occupied.

"God has his own ways. And he put me here."

I am one of the founders of the union here. Notas a director, justas a member. Participating in the meetings. I was part of the slate elected for the directory many times, but as vice-director, you see, back there. I did not want 120

CANVASANDFLAGS INTHE LANDSOFPERNAMBUCO

to come forward. I would rather stay back. For one thing, I did not want to leave the work of evangelization. But, after ali, God has his own ways. And he put me here. And I am also waiting for the day when he wi/1 take me out, so I can go and take care of the gospel more than I have been doing. Being here, there is no time left for the work. No time for that. And there is no exact time to work there. There are many meetings here to which I can't come because of the evangelizing work. And there are many meetings of the evangelization work to which I can 't go because of the work here.

parts of interviews made by Beno11 de ~Estoi l e and Charlotte Caste l na u -~Estoi le in September 1999 and by Benoit de t:Estoile and Lygia Sigaud 1n September 1997.

José Paulo de Assis

Director of agrarian policies of the Rura l Workers Union of Rio Formoso and parceleiro at Amaragi. H e was the mayor of the mumcipality when the occupations at Serra d'Água, Minguito and Mato Grosso happened. He provided food for those who were camped and, alter the expropriation, acquired products from the settlements to supply the municipal schools. He was president of the union for successive mandates and held an office at the directing board of the Fetape. He received the MST mihta nts in 1992 and, together, they organized the occupa tion of Camaçari.

"La nd reform is everyone's concern."

I am convinced that land reform is everyone's concern. Not only of the rural workers. lf we ali need to eat early in the morning, at noon and at night, and at ali the times one can if there is enough food, so we have to understand this process we/1, it is everyone's responsibility That is why I said to you earlier, that I would like to be able to go have the experience of such a process, of land reform. Anyway; even if it isn 't a real land reform, something more massive, I would like to try; while I am sti/1 the mayor, to support some settlements, you see? Because usually the workers are taken to the settlements, but there is no follow up. This sme/Is like someone is interested in making the things go wrong.

interviewed by Afranio Garcia and Lygia Sigaud in September 1997.

José Tadeu da Silva

Former financial director and now president of lhe Rural Workers' Union of Rio Formoso. He organized lhe occupation at Mato Grosso.

"lf they had a job, Iam sure they wouldn't be invading land ." 

Zé Pequeno

Morador of lhe engenho Sauezinho (Santo André sugar factory), he was lhe local union delegate and organized lhe camp in lhe engenho. Alter the expropriation he became a parcefeiro and assumed lhe presidency of lhe settlement's association. By Apri l 2002, he was not holding any office.

"I soon began to understand that my boss wanted to keep a whole lot for himself, so I began to understand that it was no good for me, so I went to the union. "

From when I was 15 years o/d on, I started togo to the union (. .. ) They wanted to cheat me. I ran for the union (. .. ) Then came the time for the wage bargaining campaign. Just before it was time for it to begin, in September, there were assemblies in the unions. Everything we heard at the assemblies, we took to the workers at the engenhos. When October came, it [the ca mpaign] was almost, was just about to stop the workers, to c/aim their rights. Then we, ali of us together, we stopped the workers: "We are on strike ". (. .. ) Now we have another struggle. Yes, we are organizing the workers to accomplish the land reform. 

José Francisco

Parcefeiro in Amaragi and vice-president of this settlement's association. He was lhe local union delegate until Incra expropriated the estale. He is lhe brother of Zé Chico, who was an activist during lhe strikes that happened in lhe period before lhe 1964 military coup, and was part of the fi rst generation of union delegates in lhe sugar cane region of Pernambuco.

"Production was zero, almost zero. Then they decreed it as unproductive."

That was during the time when Amaragi was producing a lot, in that period, let 's say, 78, 79,80, it processed 35.000 

"

  ( ... ) as pessoas começaram fazendo uma primerra limpeza. que consistiu na retirada das plantas (capoeira e cana velha) do espaço no qual proceclenam a construção das barracas: em segurcJa. varias pessoas se dirigiram até a mala à procura de madeiras e frbras vegetais para a montagem das armações. Depois de lrmpar o solo em [lrofundrdade para retirar desnivers e deixá -lo completamente horizontal. começaram a construir uma armação. fincando dois paus (ele 2 a 2.5rn de altura) na terra a uma cJrstância que variava entre dois e três metros: sobre estes colocaram um travessão. formando assim a estrutura básica ele sustentação. A seguir. amarraram uns paus no travessão, fazendo-os carr para ambos os lados deste . Sohre os [lau s colocaram outros paralelos ao travessão, formando a trama de uma cobertura a 'duas águas' (duplo decl rve). ( ... ) Todos os paus são amarrados com frbras vegetars. Para cobrir o teta. são usadas as lonas. Enlre a armação de paus e a lona. 011 por cima da lona. são colocadas como isolantes folhas de palmeira. [Jalha de cana ou caprm trançadas en tre sr e amarradas ás maderras. Na [larte Inferior das laterars, no caso das barracas ele 'pau a prque•, são deixados, com freqi'rência. es[Jaços cobertos com folhas de palmerra, de modo a permrtrr a ventilação.( ... ) No interior da s barracas. diversils pessoas construíram tarimbas com varas (a uns 50cm do solo): algumas frzeram também uma estrutura simrlar, para ser utrlizacla como mesa e fléHa manter comestíveis e outros obretos afastados do cháo. ( ... ) Deixaram unr espaço amplo no centro do terreno co mo uma praça para a realr • zação ele assemhléras. Nesse es[Jaço for colocado o mastro com a bandeira." SERGIO A. CHAMORRO SM IRCIC. Com à cara e a coragem. Umrl etnografia df> uma OCIIfh1Çiw dP. terras. D1sserlilçiío de meslrado. UFRJ /MN/PPGAS, 2000. pr. 44 46.

  SERGIO A. CHAMORRO SMIRCIC, Com a cara e a coragem. Uma etnografia de uma ocupaçao de terras. MS thesis, UFRJ/MN/PPGAS, 2000, pp. 44-46. 

  interviewed in September 1999 by Hernán GOmez and Frédéric Viguier. He participated of lhe encampment at the engenho ~o Joao and there he became a parcele1ro. 112 CANVASANDFLAGS INTHE LANDSOFPERNAMBUCO Mamucaba, the wait [1 8 minute tong videol

CPRH 1998 .

 1998 Technical and Environmental Standards for Rural Settlements within the APA of Guadalupe.

  [Camaçari]. (. .. ) Then we left and carne to Vermelho. [After passing by various encampmentsl we carne to this place. [. . .] So that is what I have to te// about the settlements. I fought a lot. I can't say that I didn 't work a lot for this too, together with the other comrades.

  parts of interviews made by Lygia Sigaud during lhe month of September in 1997 and 1999.

você vá para ali, o acampamento é bem ali assim .. . " E mostrou, "tem um pessoal dos sem-terra, vê logo uma bandeira vermelha, e você conversa lá e você fica." José Menezes Entradas Muitas

  

No dia em que eles chegaram. chegaram de nmle. Niio viu, tnoradm nPnill/111 viu eles chegarem. E quando amanheceu o cita. quP. a gente acordou. eles Fi estavam lodos fa?endo a !Janaca e se colm:anrlo dP.n/111. [eles atnôa tiveram uma /Joa educaçélo. chamaram a gen/P /ii. conversaram com ii gente e disseram• "bem. memno, isso aqw ... vocês sahem quP. o pa/r,'Jo de vocês. vocês ndo tônr mais palrão. e /amhem o palrão de vocês thio !em CO!I(hÇóPs de dar serviços a vocês. Vocês vào morrer de fome. e sena melhor a gente se JU!I!at. se um r. pata que o Incra venha desapropnill tsso aqut. Melhor elo que morrer ele fome. porque a gente plantando. armmanclo u filie comer. llé!O rnorre r/e fome ... I\ r. chegou com umas IJOas frases e nos unimos com eles. O sinrltcato tam!Jem veio com eles. lambem con/anrlo as mesmas lus/orias. morador do engenho São João, entrevtslarlo por Hernán Góme1 e Frédértc Vtglller. em setembro de 1999.

LONAS I BANDEIRAS ! MTERRAS I'I I<N/\MHI lf:/\N/\S "Olha, pessoas entraram no acampamento após a ocupação. Souberam dele pelo rádio ou pela televisão ou ainda por conhecidos . Conforme nos contaram, foram até o acampamento, perguntaram se havia vaga, pediram permissão para ficar e montaram a barraca. Quase sempre foram os homens que entraram; as famílias vieram depois. Encontramos também outras situações: indívíduos sós, como é o caso de Palmares, que entrou em Mamucaba após se perder do grupo com o qual havia viajado para trabalhar na construção civil; e grupos, como aquele de 37 parentes liderados por Severino e que se instalou no Brejo.

Coletamos muitas histórias daqueles que participaram do ato de ocupação ou entraram mais tarde nos acampamentos. Vamos reproduzir aqui excertos de uma delas, a de José Menezes, que nos contou sua trajetória e o momento em que decidiu participar de uma ocupação.

"Porque não é todo mundo que é resistente. Não é todo mundo. Tem gente que desiste. E aí diz: 'Não vou mais não porque ganhei um despejo, não vou ganhar mais terra'." Saídas Com

  

freqüência, os trabalhadores deixavam os acampamentos. As vezes o faziam por terem obtido um trabalho, como foi o caso de Palhaço, de Mamucaba. Desentendimentos com vizinhos, medo de um ataque, desânimo e perda da esperança eram outras razões apontadas para as saídas. Eram também recorrentes os casos de saída de um acampamento em um determinado momento e uma nova entrada algum tempo depois.

"Mandou

queimar a bandeira, mas eu não deixei. Mandou a polícia tocar fogo nos barracos, eu não deixei." Despejo Quase

  

todos os acampamentos que estudamos sofreram ações de despejo. Após a ocupação, os donos dos engenhos entraram na Justiça com uma ação de reintegração de posse. Os juízes os atenderam e deram ordem de despejo executada por oficiais de justiça acompanhados por policiais. Os trabalhadores, então, deixaram para trás suas barracas e lavouras e saíram com os. objetos de uso pessoal e a lona. "A arma nossa era só ferramenta." Ataques Nem sempre os donos de terras recorreram à Justiça para recuperá-las. Alguns preferiram se valer de suas milícias privadas. Mandavam seus capangas fortemente armados aos acampamentos para desalojar trabalhadores e desmontar instalações. Nos ataques aos engenhos Mascatinho (1997) e Mato Grosso (1999), houve feridos. No engenho Mamucaba (1999), as barracas foram incendiadas. A polícia interveio durante o ataque ao acampamento do Brejo (1997) e prendeu os capangas, que se identificaram como empregados da Usina Central Barreiros incumbidos da defesa do patrimônio da empresa. Na noite do mesmo dia, o juiz ordenou a soltura dos homens da usina. Nos trechos dos depoimentos aqui transcritos, trabalhadores relatam os fatos que presenciaram ou que lhes foram narrados.

"Aí

nós voltamos e levantamos a bandeira. Levantamos a bandeira e não saímos mais, não." O acampamento de Baetés à beira da estrada, setembro de 1999. Destino dos acampamentos

  

	Qua l o destino dos acampamentos?
	Houve os que se desfizeram quando houve certeza de que as terras não seriam desapropriadas. Foi
	o que ocorreu com o de São Manuel. Houve também os desmontados depois da certeza da desapro-
	priação (Amaragi , Sauezinho, Saué Grande e Coqueiro). Os demais foram mantidos até a desapro-
	priação e posse pelo Incra .

O que ocorre com os acampamentos atacados ou despejados? Não há uma única resposta.

Após o ataque a Jundiá (1997), os trabalhadores se dispersaram . Por sua vez, os atacados em

Mamucaba (1999) 

se reagruparam e remontaram as barracas em terras do Brejo, que havia sido desapropriado. Já os do acampamento

de Mato Grosso (1999) 

foram se instalar no engenho Minguito, também desapropriado. No Brejo e em Mascatinho (1997) , não ocorreu dispersão dos trabalhadores. Quando despejados, muitos acampamentos foram remontados em outro local: o de São João foi refeito em terreno do sindicato na cidade de Rio Formoso; o de Cipó, instalado na vila vizinha de Vermelho; os de Mascatinho e Baetés, improvisados na beira da estrada ; o de Minguito, transferido para o acampamento de Serra d'Água . Passado algum tempo , os acampamentos foram remontados nas terras cuja desapropriação era pretendida . De todos os acampamentos estudados, Mamucaba tem sido o de maior duração. Montado em 1998, sofreu sucessivos ataques e despejos. O ataque mais recente ocorreu em ma io de 2002 no engenho Bombarda, para onde os trabalhadores haviam se deslocado em abril.

54 LONAS EBANDEIRAS EMTERRAS

PERNAMB UCANAS Dona Curta no acampamento de Mamucaba antes da partida para Bombarda, abril de 2002 MIGUEL

  

	Nos ocupamos S,io Manuel. O pessoal dl?la c7ue c1 terra estava improdutiVa. entào
	a gente 1a ganhar a terra! .. ) a1 eu vim tamllem. eu queria um roçado. A1 ve10 um
	lJOc:ado de gente. pensando que 1a traiJathar logo. Mas fo1 ao contrario. Cacla um
	consluliu sua lJarraqwnha e f1camos esperando as ordens dos homens. Espe -

ramos. esperamos. fo1 quando chegou seu Manuel Antômo dizendo: "Isso a1 e meu". A gente não d1sse nada. enlreVI';,

tado por Alexandra Barbosa da Silva e Mane Gallle. ern setembro de 1999. PartiCIPOU dos acam parnentos de Sáo Mnnuel. C1pó. São Jo.1o e do BreJo. onde tornou se parceleno.

  

	qws 1r para Clpo não. a gente
	voltou para casa. ICipó l era nnnto longe. era uma contramão mwto grande para
	gente. uma contramão muilo grande. e a1 com se1s meses chegou um povo la tam-
	bém chamando para 1nvad1r outro engenho. ai eu disse: vou ma1s nada.

SEBASTIANA No acampamento rle Sào Manuel. f1Ca1nos la uns rlo1s anos. quase três anos. E r/e la o acampamento não foi em frente e a gente voltou para Tamandare. O povo que estava fo1 para o engenho Cipo. O !nua tmha fe1/o a visiona em Sào Manuel. mas o rlono do engenho. quando viu. tinl1a venrl1do o engenho e o Incra nào pôde fazer narla. E ai foi uma turma para Cipó. Mas a gente não

entrev1stadô por Hernãn Górne1 e Frédénc V1gtt1er. em setc~mbro de 1999. Par! ICipOtJ dn nc.amparnento de São Manuel. náo qu1s 1r para C1pó, mas acahou mdo para o ncampamento de São João, onde tornou •se tVHCelelra JOSÉ VITOR

  

	Depois acabou-se aí. Que a1 a gente sa1u por causa do tnoa que vem fazer o
	levantamento no engenho. não é 7 Veio a pencia. AI. no C)ue ve1o a períc1~1 o rapaz
	falou: "vocês eslclo aí I no acampamen to I porque querem. porque vocês têm a
	casa de vocês ! .) Vocês são lliOradores velhos. Aí vocês v1vem no engenho. Não
	adianta vocês estarem morando dentro dos matos. Mora na casa de vocês. Não
	tem problema não. Negócio de acampamento assim e quando vem o Movnnento
	dos Sem Terra ( ... ) não tem casa para morar. A1 faz o acampamento e f1ca nos
	ranchos. Mas vocês não têm precisão não. ( ... )Ai pronto. de la para ca. ai esta-
	mos agora esperando o resultado: do homem v1r fazer o cadastro e depois do
	cadastro vem a divisão das terras. A gente tomar posse das parcelas.

morador de Sauez1nho entrevistado por Lyg1a S•gaud. em setembro de 1997. RONALDO

  

	Com 22 d1as a gente saiu Ide São Joàol. Levou despeJO. O jwz mandou a gente
	sa1r com 22 dias ( ... ). Ai nos fomos para Rio Formoso. para um terreno do sindi-
	cato e ta nós passamos nove meses ( ... ). A1nos voltamos e levantamos a ban-
	deira. Levantamos a bandeira e não salmos ma1s. não.

entrevistado por Hernán Gómez e Frédénc V•gu•er. em setembro de 1999. Part•c•pou do acampamento no engenho São João e lá tornou -se rarcele1ro. LONAS E BANOEIRAS EMTERRAS rr RNAMBUCAN/\S LONAS EBANDEIRAS EMTERRAS PERNAMBUCANAS Mamucaba, a espera [vídeo de 1s minutosl

  

	Produzido a partir de imagens captadas em setembro de 1999 no acampamento de Mamucaba,
	organizado pelo Movimento dos Sem Terra no município de Tamandaré, o vídeo procura reproduzir
	um momento de incerteza e de dúvida em relação à ocupação da terra. Continuar ou desistir?
	O filme apóia-se no princípio da abordagem antropológica: apresenta depoimentos dos indivíduos
	e debates que travaram , sem fazer apelo à voz explicativa "em off". Os trabalhadores rurais expli-
	citam em seus próprios termos , segundo suas prioridades e contradições individuais, a política de
	uma cidadela efêmera.

DAVID FAJOLLES Pãginas seguintes: trabalhadores presentes às cerimônias de imissão de posse nos engenhos Saué Grande, Cocalzinho, Coqueiro e Cocai, dezembro de 1999. "A partir deste momento essa terra é de vocês." !missão de posse

  

		Em quase todos os casos de ocupação estudados, o Incra acatou os pedidos de desapropriação
		encaminhados pela Fetape ou pelo MST. Procedeu à vistoria do engenho; deu andamento ao proces-
		so quando constatada a improdutividade da terra (caso previsto por lei para a desapropriação);
		encaminhou o decreto de desapropriação para assinatura ao presidente da República . lmitiu em
		seguida na posse dos engenhos. (A imissão de posse é o ato por meio do qual o Incra se torna o
		dono das terras .)
		Muitos dos processos foram longos e pontilhados por conflitos. O pedido de desapropriação de
		Sauezinho, engenho da Usina Santo André, por exemplo, foi feito em maio de 1997. O engenho, no Assentamentos
		entanto, só foi desapropriado em julho de 1999. Os donos buscaram impedir a desapropriação de
	-1tt I<IIH\11\1\It I IIII IHI\11 lt.IIIIUI lo(wt •ttlll.tU~<ttOio "fMI 110 tiO •	Sauezinho e de outros quatro engenhos seus (Coqueiro, Cocai , Cocalzinho e Saué Grande) pedida pela Fetape e entraram em conflito com trabalhadores e sindicalistas. Zé Pequeno, o delegado sindica l, foi expulso do engenho e teve a casa destruída . O mesmo ocorreu com Tôca , outro ativista sindical. Os dois Com a imissão de posse , os proprietários deixaram a cena e o Incra passou a exercer o seu poder. Em cada engenho desapropriado criou um projeto de assentamento; selecionou os que lá deveriam ficar; definiu o tamanho das parcelas (as áreas individuais e coletivas, as de exploração agrícola e
		e também Jaíso de Lima , presidente do sindicato de Tamandaré, ficaram judicialmente impedidos, por pecuária) e as condições de uso do solo. Determinou ainda que os trabalhadores constituíssem uma
		solicitação dos donos, de entrarem no engenho. Cerca de 100 trabalhadores de Sauezinho e dos demais associação para representá-los, pois só assim poderiam ter acesso a crédito. Exigiu que apresen-
		engenhos permaneceram acampados na calçada defronte à sede do Incra, no Recife, durante 45 dias, tassem suas demandas sob a forma de planos e projetas, interpondo assim mais um intermediário:

a partir de março de 1999, para reivindicar o envio do processo de desapropriação para Brasília. o assessor técnico. O Incra deu-lhes enfim novos nomes: beneficiários, assentados, parceleiros. "

Nós ficamos aqui porque quanto mais for a numeridade da gente, mais confiança a gente tem de ficar no I ugar."

  

		A partir de 1995, o Incra desapropriou muitas das terras onde havia acampamentos. Na ausência
		!
		de uma política de desapropriação sistemática de terras improdutivas, esse órgão beneficiou-se do
	trabalho feito pelo MST e sindicalistas que lhe indicaram, por meio dos acampamentos, áreas a
		desapropriar. De 1996 em diante, a Fetape e os sindicatos, de um lado, e o MST, de outro,
		começaram a promover, separadamente, suas respectivas ocupações. Estas multiplicaram-se e
		Pernambuco tornou-se o estado brasileiro com o maior número de acampamentos.
	Os acampamentos proliferaram em terras pernambucanas em um momento de queda da pro-Durante esse período as ocupações com montagem de acampamentos consolidaram-se como a
	dução da cana e do açúcar, reestruturação de algumas empresas , falência de muitas outras e forma apropriada de fazer reivindicações. As ocupações nos engenhos tornaram-se a melhor
	desemprego em massa . Todos esses fatos estiveram relacionados a mudanças na política gover-maneira de reivindicar a desapropriação de terras. Naquelas feitas defronte aos prédios públicos,
	namental para a agroindústria canavieira do Nordeste. Depois de anos a assegurar os preços da objetivou-se tanto pedir a aceleração dos processos de desapropriação quanto reclamar a liberação
	cana e do açúcar no mercado interno e externo, por meio de subsídios , o governo suspendeu tais de recursos do Incra . Isso ocorreu porque as pessoas perceberam que, para serem ouvidas pelos
	garantias para ajustar-se ao receituário neoliberal.	que tinham o poder de atendê-las, tinham de passar pelo sacrifício de viver sob a lona preta ou de
	Neste contexto , militantes do MST procedentes do sul do país chegaram à zona canavieira. fazer vigília em prédios públicos.
	Sempre que visitamos acampamentos, observamos que o número de pessoas era inferior ao número Aliaram-se a sindicalistas e trataram de organizar juntos ocupações em terras que poderiam ser Em setembro de 2000, o presidente da República editou uma medida provisória para proibir a
	de barracas. Muitos homens saíam para trabalhar nos engenhos ou para fazer biscates. Nos acam-consideradas improdutivas. Chamaram então os desempregados, os biscateiros , os que se sen-desapropriação de terras ocupadas e para penalizar os que ocupassem prédios públicos (exclusão
	pamentos, permaneciam mulheres, crianças e aposentados. Alguns dos participantes dormiam ali tiam ameaçados no emprego , os pobres das periferias . Entraram nos engenhos, montaram barra-de benefícios relativos aos programas da reforma agrária). Desde então renovada , a medida provi-
	apenas alguns dias por semana . Outros se faziam representar por um parente. O que os tornava cas e ergueram a bandeira. Enfraquecidos, muitos patrões não tiveram como preservar a inviola-sória inibiu os acampamentos dentro dos engenhos, que passaram a ser montados ao lado destes,
	membros do acampamento, independentemente da presença efetiva , era o fato de terem montado bi lidade do território de seus engenhos. Houve os que preferiram tê-los desapropriados para se na margem da terra pretendida.
	a barraca. Ela era símbolo e prova do seu compromisso . beneficiar das indenizações e houve os que resistiram.

"A

história deste acampamento [Cipó] é uma história longa (. .. ), essa luta aqui partiu de Camaçari." 84 LONAS EBANDEIRAS EMTERRAS PERNAMBUCANAS Carnaça ri

  

	Camaçari foi o primeiro acampamento feito em Rio Formoso e também a primeira ação conjunta de
	sindica listas com militantes do MST. Engenho de 2.800ha, Camaçari era tido como propriedade da
	Rede Ferroviária Nacional , e era utilizado pela Usina Cucaú. Foi ocupado em abril de 1992, no iní-
	cio da entressafra da cana . Entraram nesse engenho cerca de 1.200 pessoas-homens, mulheres
	e crianças -, em sua maioria reunidas por militantes do MST em Rio Formoso e municípios adja-
	centes (Vitória de Santo Antão, Escada e Barreiros) . Lá , montaram um acampamento e passaram a
	reivindicar do Governo do Estado a repartição das terras, a distribuição de sementes, alimentos e
	lona para cobrir as barracas. O noticiário de imprensa os apresentava como trabalhadores desem-
	pregados com o fim da safra da cana. Os jornalistas não empregavam ainda o vocabulário que hoje
	conhecemos: "i nvasão" , "sem-terra ", "reforma agrária". O acampamento foi logo despejado por
	soldados da Polícia Militar. A usina conseguiu provar que as terras lhe pertenciam. Muitos voltaram
	para casa, mas 800 pessoas seguiram para Vermelho, um antigo assentamento feito pelo Incra, e lá
	montaram um acampamento, iniciando então trajetórias de passagens por sucessivos acampa-
	mentos. Sobre essas trajetórias, coletamos diversos relatos. Os fatos nos foram narrados como se
	constituíssem uma verdadeira saga.

Nesta página: painéis retratando Jaíso, Cabeludo e Lica. Página 90: Pedro Assunção, Nanã, Teixeira e José Paulo. Página 91: Tadeu, Zé Pequeno e Zé Francisco

  

As ocupações e as desapropriações que estudamos teriam sido impensáveis sem a participação dos sindicalistas e dos militantes do MST. Eles escolheram os engenhos, convidaram as pessoas para fazerem as ocupações, organizaram os acampamentos, encaminharam as reivindicações ao Incra , acompanharam o andamento dos processos e lideraram manifestações para obter as desapropriações.

Pedro Assunção Parcele1ro em Serra d'Âgua. prtri1CIJ10U da saga de acampamentos. Fo1 cl1ngcnlf' smd1cal em lgarassu (na Mata Norte) e d•retor da Fetape .

  Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária (National lnstitute for Settlement and Agrarian Reform), to expropriate lhe area where lhe camps were established, and to redistribute lhe land among those that were camped. Organizations such as lhe MST, Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (Landless Rural Workers' Movement), and trade unions connected to lhe Fetape, Federação dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura do Estado de Pernambuco (Federation of Agricultura i Workers of the State of Pernambuco), were at the head of those initiatives. ln September 1997, a team of professors and students from lhe Graduate Program inSocial Anthropology of lhe Museu Nacional, and of lhe Department of Social Sciences of lhe Ecole Normale Supérieure and lhe Ecole des Hautes Eludes en Sciences Sociales (in Paris) conducted a research field trip to lhe neighboring municipalities of Rio Formoso and Tamandaré, in lhe southern coas! of Pernambuco state, in an area of sugar cane plantations

visita na periferia. Mas o trabalhador rural mora aqw? Quantos estão desempregados? Não é. ai começa lo traba lho de recrutamento para a ocupação[. Veio de onde 7 Não. eu vim do engenho Pmnavera. vim de tal engenho. A usma derrubou minha casa. IJotou para fora. Esse é um trabalhador. esse a gente ganha. Olha. a gente vai fazer uma reuniãozmha. pode ser aqw dentro da tua casa? Começa a trabalhar a cabeça do companheiro. N,]o é uma reunião nem duas não. Primeiro a gente se encontra varias vezes. Com um companheiro de uma ponta de rua. e ele se encarrega de chamar os outros. Porque ele. na comunidade de poi1ta de rua. ele sabe quem é melhor do que a gente. Então se a gente for lá so porque conhece fulano. mas o quê que fulano apron ta lá na rua dele? No bairro em que ele mora? A gente não sabe. Mas eu que moro junto de fulano. eu sei quem ele é. Ai eu posso saber se fulano serve ou não. Ai. depois que a gente trabalha um. dois companheiros ass1m por rua. a1 a gente pede para eles convidarem mais uns companheiros. A gente pergunta se pode ser no qwntal da casa dele. (. .. )ai a gente faz a reunião assim. Não é com muda gente não. quatro. cinco pessoas. ( ... )Ai. depois daquilo. a gente passa aqui para marcar o d1a. (. .. )a qualquer hora a gente vem dizer o d1a que a gente vai. A gente va1 how Quando é de no1te a gente está nas portas dos cabras. Companheiro, é a hora I bate palmas I. en treviStada por Lyg1a S1gaud. em se tembro de 1999. "Então partiu para a luta e co meça ram os acampamentos." Os trabalhadores começaram a sofre~: porque vieram as demissões em massa. ve10 o pagamento de forma diferente. hoje as usmas. se elas estào pagando wn salário em espécie. estão dando um papel, um vale para comprar no barrac,io, volta o barracão. volta o desmantelamento dos engenhos, os engenl1os se aca-lJam, os trabalhadores perdem o emprego. e fica a favela. (. .. ) Mas o sindicato devena dar uma resposta ao trabalhacfor. como deu. Então ai apareceu tanto o Movimento dos Sem Terra. que não é ligacfo ao mownento sindical. o MST. como o movimento sincf1cal. asswmu também a bandeira da reforma agrária. Então par(lu para a luta e começaram os acampamentos.

entrevistado por Benoit de L'Estolle em setembro de 1999 lONAS E BANDEIRAS E MTERRAS PC R NAM BUCANAS 9 3 ENGLISH VERSION During the 1990s, clusters of tents made of wooden structures covered with canvas, almost always black, surrounding a flagpole, started dotting lhe countryside in lhe state of Pernambuco in Northeastern Brazil. These camps (known as acampamentos) had lhe aim of pressing a federal agency called Incra,

  you if you are going -whoever is going, has to come back here. Now, you must take work toais, your hoe, a pot to cook in, a sauce pan, an old kettle, and off you go, and bring a sickle too. You can ali come, the caris here". So it was, we gota sickle, a gas /amp with gas, we bought gas, and we went into the car without even knowing where this Minguito p/ace was. The car was fui! of peop/e and we went there. When we got there, we started to gather wood, it was almost nighttime. We made a big tent with canvas, like this, everyone got under it, then carne a truckload of food that the mayor sent us, the food was divided among the workers, each person received a little bit of food.interviewed by Benoíl de t:Estoile 1 n September 1999. He participated of the Minguito ca mp, where he became a parce/eiro.

	104	CANVASANDFLAGS INTHELANDSOFPERNAMBUCO

ask

  [Mamucabal it is different. because here if someone says: "Iam going away!", if that person wants to come back again /ater on, if one regrets it and wants to come back, we accept him, you see? But there [in other camps] it is more difficult! lt is more complicated. lf one says: "Look, we are going away", There were more than 150 persons [in the Minguitocamp]. They were afraid and gave up. Because we used to hear it on the radio ali the time: "There was shooting against the sem-terra, two or three were killed". So the people became afraid. I was suspicious too, you see, I said: "Man ... " I slept very little, thinking that the po/ice could come, there could be shooting and we cou/d be killed. And someone in this situation, what would one imagine?

then he counse/s us not to /eave. lf we want togo, he says: "lf you want togo, you go, but there is no coming back ... " That means, I don't want togo back, you see? I don 't want togo back there, no I don 't. But if I do go back, they wi/1 probably say: "You left, so now stay away .. . " Here it is different, it seems that the persons here are even more humble towards one another, you see 7 interviewed by Dav1d Fajolles in September 1999 in the Mamucaba encampment.

GERÔNCIO

Yes, there was a lot more! interviewed by Benoil de L'Estoile in September 1999. He pa rt1c1pated of lhe enca mpment 1n the engenho Minguito and there he became a parcelelfo.

  The biggest loan for the settlements here in Pernambuco is the credit program called Procera: it gives R$ 7.500,00. The little one [crop production loanl is hard to come by, so you can imagine how it wi/1 be with the big one. For the money to come along. .. , that one you had to sign in, and no interest is charged. This one we wi/1 pay in five years time, it seems that you wait for five years before you start paying it, and you pay it without any interest. Then it is good, this one is good. Without interest, one is able to pay MANUEL lnterviewed by Hernán Gómez and Frédéric Viguier in September 1999 in the engenho sao Joao.

	it wi/1 come, but on/y with much
	fighting, much struggle (. .. ) lt wou/d be better if it didn't have any interest,
	because the sma/1 farmer, as the name says, is sma/1, he is short. But the
	bank never does anything to tose money, on/y to make money. [The interest
	rate] is not so bad, it is 6 %. But anyhow, many people are going to be
	squeezed to be able to pay, because of the sma/1 area of the pareei, because
	of the cost of the chemica/ products for the land. You see, sometimes we
	make a survey for a project to p/ant a certain kind of crop that we believe wi/1
	grow we/1, and then we plant and it doesn 't go. That means the worker, the
	parce/eiro, is dane with, he is finished because the bank never forgives. The
	agricultura/ experts themselves said that the bank never forgives . lf you plant
	a crop and the land does not permit that crop to produce, the bank makes
	an agreement with the parceleiro and he has to pay, that means that the
	parce/eiro is squeezed even further. lf the land permits the crop to produce,
	he wi/1 be ab/e to pay, with the 6 % interest. Now, there is a/so that loan for

housing

  GERÔNCIO"Bring working toais, bring hoes, bring a pot to cook, a sauce pan, an old kettle, anda sick/e. You may come, the caris here". So we went, we gota sick/e, a gas lamp with gas, we bought gas and went into the car without even knowing where this Minguito place was.interviewed by Benoíl de ~Estoile in September 1999. He participated of the camp in engenho Minguito and became parceleiro '" this sarne place. by Lygia Sigaud in September 1997 in the camp at the engenho Brejo.

	DANIEL PEDRO
	This isn't good, not good at ali. To sleep wrapped up in black canvas, with the
	rain faliing down on you, in the middle of the scrub, lying on the mud, is that
	any good? lt isn't good at ali. This life of ours isn't good at ali. But we are
	going to risk it and we expect that it wili become good !ater. Do you get it?

interviewed 116 CANVASAN O FLAGS I NTHELAN DSOFPER NAMB UCO

  LicaCamaçari > Vermelho > São Manoel > Vila Vermelho (Santo André sugar factory) > Cipó (becomes parceleira)

	Amaro
	Camaçari > Vermelho > Frescondinho > Barreiros > São Manoel > Cipó >
	interrupts the saga to work > Mascatinho > Brejo (becomes parceleiro)
	Severina
	Camaçari > Vermelho> Frescondinho > Serrinha > Goes back to the city of
	Rio Formoso> Minguito (becomes parceleira)
	Cabeludo
	Camaçari >Vermelho> Frescondinho >Barreiros (club) >São Manuel>
	Barreiros> Bom Futuro> Game/eira (city) >Monte das Cabras>
	Rio Formoso> (interrupts the saga, goes to formation courses) > Cipó>
	Vila Vermelho (Santo André sugar factory) > Cipó (becomes parceleiroJ
	Jaíso
	Camaçari > São Manuel> Cipó> São João (becomes parceleiroJ
	Nanã
	Camaçari > Vermelho> Frescondinho > Rio Formoso (union) > Cipó> Vila
	Vermelho (Santo André sugar factory) >Cipó> Serra d'Agua > (becomes
	parceleiroJ
	Zé Menezes
	Camaçari > Vermelho> Frescondinho > Rio Formoso (union) Monte das
	Cabras > Mearim > São Manoel > Cipó > Vila Vermelho (Santo André sugar
	factory) > interrupts the saga to work > Brejo (becomes parceleiroJ

  Nowadays, the only reason for land invasions to be happening is because the one who is guilty of ali of this is the president. lf the president would provide, you know what? Jobs, a company for the municipality, a factory, he would provide jobs for the peop/e. But he lets the peop/e go hungry. (. .. ) They don 't really want to invade /and, no they don 't. They do it because that is the only way, they are forced into it. What would you do in the streets, if there were no jobs? (. .. ) lf they had jobs, I am sure they wou/d not be invading /and.

interviewed by Sergio A. Chamorro Smircic in September 1999.

  to 36.000 tons! lt reached that levei of about 36.000. At another time, last year, in this last harvest, which Incra took, we took, it was no more than 5.000. So you see, it came down, you see? So in this !ater one, which the Incra got hold of, maybe it will reach tive, you see? This /ast one, from 1998, 99, from /ast year, the harvest that ended now in March, it produced four, at most. Production was zero, almost zero. Then they decreed it as unproductive, you see? interviewed by Benoit de t.:Estoile, Lygia Sigaud and Richard Braga in September 1999.

CANVASANDFLAGS INTHE LANDSOFPERNAMBUCO

lnterv1ewed by Sergio A. Chamorro Sm ~rcic and Richard Braga in September 1999. He participated in the ca mp in the engenho Brejo and became a parcefelfo in this same engenho.

nterviewed in September 1999 by Alexandra Barbosa da Silva and Marie Ga1 lle. He partiCipaled of the camp at C1pó and there he became parcelelfo.

PALHAÇO

The eviction [at Mamucaba]: we got there, they ordered the man to sign a paper. He signed it. After he signed it, they tore down the huts and burned them. lt was about ten o'clock, something between ten and ten thirty a.m. There were 63 policemen in that day of the eviction. There was a bus, and also some smaller cars fui/ of policemen, opening the road. They carne up, they carne here, ali with guns. They ordered us to take out ali of ou r things. We took away the children, took out ou r things ... 1nterviewed by Dav1d Fajolles 1 n September 1999 in the Mamucaba camp.

JOSÉ MENEZES

[ln the encampmentl of Frescondinho, after six days there was an eviction. With gunmen from the sugar factory and the police. Three squads. There were three battalion of the police, they set up three squads of the police on the road, p/us a truckload of gunmen from the Estreliana sugar factory, there was this truck fui/ of po/icemen from the Estreliana sugar factory, how do you cal/ them? Gunmen. 4 , 7 , 12, 24 , 26, 36, 52, 60, 6 1, 63, 77, 78, 79) Fotos da exposição Exhibition •s photos Belo Fellcio (págin as pages 1, 4 , 6, 7, 13, 16, 20,38,42, 44, 5 1, 58, 64 , 74 , 76, 88, 90, 91 ) Imagens de video cedidas pelo MST. Vídeo images provided byt lhe MST.

LONASEBANDEIRAS EMTERRASPERNAMBUCANAS

www.lonasebandeiras.com.br Este livro foi diagramado em Quark Xpress 4.0 utilizando a famllia tipografica Trade Gothic. O miolo foi impresso em papel couché matt 120 gim' e offset 90 gim' . A capa foi impressa em cartao Supremo 300 gim' . Fotolitos gerados pela Rainer. A Ultraset imprimiu e encadernou a tiragem de 1000 exemplares no verao de 200212003, na cidade do Rio de Janeiro.

This book was designed in Quark Xpress 4.0 using the Trade Gothic typace family. lnside pages were printed on couché matt paper 120 g/ni and offset paper 90 g/ni. Cover printed on Supremo card 300 g!ni. Colar separation by Raine< Ultraset printed and bound a set of 1000 copies during the summer of 200212003, in Rio de Janeiro.