The body of Lindolfo Kosmaski, an LGBT activist who worked with the Brazilian Landless Rural Workers' Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais sem Terra, MST) was found burnt on the night of Saturday, May 1st, in São João do Triunfo, a city in the southern state of Paraná. The movement believes that the homicide was motivated by homophobia.
Kosmaski, who was 25 years old, ran as a candidate to the City Council of São João do Triunfo on the Workers' Party (PT) ticket in 2020. A very active participant of the movement, particularly in the Landless LGBT Collective and the Agroecology Days, he was frequently present at the Contestado settlement, in the city of Lapa, Paraná, where he participated in the Degree in Education in the Countryside at the Latin American School of Agroecology (ELAA).
Lately, he worked as a teacher in state schools in Paraná and studied for a Master's Degree at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), in the Science and Mathematics Education program.
In a statement, the movement mourned the death of Kosmaski: “At this painful time, the MST stands in solidarity with Lindolfo Kosmaski's family and friends, and demands that the appropriate entities move quickly to investigate and find those responsible for this heinous crime.”
In the same document, the movement states that it will demand justice and punishment for the young man’s murderers. “The MST underlines its commitment to fight for a society without LGBTphobia and to build a world in which life and all types of love are fully protected. LGBT blood is also Landless blood.”
Edited by: José Eduardo Bernardes