The Oil and Gas Union of Paraná and Santa Catarina (Sindipetro-PR/SC by its Portuguese acronym), in the south of Brazil, alongside the Landless Workers Movement (MST by its Portuguese acronym) joined forces this Saturday (13) in a solidarity action in Curitiba, Paraná's capital, in which 520 cooking gas tanks and 15 tons of food were donated. About 700 families in four communities were benefited.
According to the MST, each family can take home a basket of almost 22 kilograms of food, including rice, beans, manioc, greens, fruits and vegetables.
"The produce came straight from the countryside and the gardens of the 370 families from the rural community Maila Sabrina, located in Ortigueira, in the northern region of Paraná. The campsite is 17 years old and struggles to implement the Agrarian Reform in the area. In addition to its abundant and diversified production, the community has a school, churches, health unit, community spaces for processing food, leisure and sports ", informed the movement.
The initiative denounces the high cost of cooking gas, essential to guarantee food security for Brazilians. On June 4, Petrobras announced that the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) would have an average increase of 5.3%.
“Why do we, the ones who produce and refine oil here in the country, have to pay so much for fuel and cooking gas?” asked Alexandro Guilherme, president of the Oil Workers Union. The donated gas cargoes had the participation of oil workers from the Getúlio Vargas Refinery (Repar), in Araucária, where the product comes from.
“[The action] strengthens the solidarity of our people to fight against the struggles ahead of us, to avoid deaths, and to ensure that no one gets sick and dies,” stated Roberto Baggio, from MST's national leadership. The movement highlights that, with the donation this Saturday, campsites and landless settlements have reached 183 tons of donated food so far.
Community Associations, the Samba school Embaixadores da Alegria, the Alicerce Collective, Batalha do Parigot members, the Solidarity Network, as well as the Grassroots Organization Movement also participated in the initiative.
Edited by: Camila Maciel