For the 5th edition of the National Agrarian Reform Fair, the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST, in Portuguese) is bringing 500 tons of food to Água Branca Park in the city of São Paulo, divided into 1,800 types, including fresh and processed food. The fair started on Thursday (8) and runs until Sunday (11), always from 8 am to 9 pm local time.
“If you want to find yams, you will. If you want to find scarlet eggplant, you’ll find it, pato no tucupi [a traditional Brazilian dish], free-range chicken from Alagoas state…”, said Marcio Santos, from the MST coordination in São Paulo, at the press conference held at the opening of the event, highlighting the variety of flavors presented by the 1,200 vendors from all over Brazil.
The fair began after the movement’s day of struggles in April, when the MST organized occupations of unproductive land and other activities across the country, drawing attention to the importance of agrarian reform.
“We finished the day of struggles last month, and we understand that it is directly related to our fair,” said Débora Nunes, from the MST’s national coordination. “The same landless people who are occupying this country to make agrarian reform happen are the ones who are bringing healthy food to the city of São Paulo,” she said.
Nunes points out that the fair is a consequence of the process of organizing the movement and the struggle for land. “We also want to bring up the discussion on healthy food, understanding that healthy food should be made available, it should be a right for all of society. We understand that this is one of the main roles of agrarian reform,” she says.
The fair’s organizers estimate that more than 200,000 meals will be prepared during the event. There will be one hundred plus typical dishes from 23 Brazilian states, from all five regions, bringing the taste of peasant agriculture to São Paulo.
As part of the event, the movement will donate 25 tons of food produced in the settlements to around 50 social organizations in the state of São Paulo. “The National Agrarian Reform Fair is a small sample of daily life in the settlements, and a small sample of what it means to fulfill the social function of land in our country,” says Santos.
Popular culture from the countryside and urban areas
In addition to the variety of healthy foods on sale, the National Agrarian Reform Fair is bringing a range of cultural attractions to Água Branca Park, including musical performances and popular events such as the Folia de Reis.
The event includes 30 cultural presentations and more than 253 artists involved. “We’ll have presentations of the landless culture, of artists who come from the encampments and settlements, plays… Parades at the fair and presentations on the Earth Stage, on the Arena Stage, bringing the best of Brazilian popular culture from the countryside and urban areas,” explained Nunes.
On Thursday evening, guitarist Xangai performed, followed by a concert with Almir Sater.
