Brazil’s MST Visits Zapatistas in Chiapas

"We have come to learn, to build solidarity, and to strengthen the brotherhood and sisterhood between our movements," said Yasira, an MST representative who is visiting Zapatista communities in the highlands of the Southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

In a presentation directed to Zapatista supporters, she expounded on the principles of the MST movement. "In Brazil, 46% of all the fallable land is owned by 1% of Brazil’s wealthiest people."

She also described the three basic tenets of the MST:

To struggle for land for those without land

To struggle for profound social transformation

To struggle against neo-liberalism and capitalism

The Zapatista movement and the MST are widely believed to be the most accomplished and inspiring movements to transform the face of popular resistance against US-backed agricultural reforms in the Americas.