The Minister of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations of the Presidency of the Republic, Gleisi Hoffmann (Workers’ Party), visited the 5th National Agrarian Reform Fair, in São Paulo, where she attended a breakfast moment offered by the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST, in Portuguese) to parliamentarians and political leaders.
On arrival, the minister said that agrarian reform is fundamental to the country’s social and economic development, and reiterated her support for the movement.
“[I must] say how important it is for us to show Brazil what agricultural production means in our country, peasant production and, above all, [agriculture] free of pesticides. So this is great propaganda for us about this production and, above all, the struggle to achieve agrarian reform in the country, the effort that has to be made. We won’t have economic and social development in Brazil if we don’t carry out agrarian reform,” Hoffmann said.
She also congratulated the MST for organizing the country’s largest fair to sell organic products from agrarian reform settlements and encampments.
“It’s a joy to be at the Agrarian Reform Fair, which every year marks the city of São Paulo and brings to the city, to the population, what the MST is and what agrarian reform means for the development of the country and quality food for our people,” she said.
“We are together with MST. Count on us. Congratulations on this fair and let’s move forward. We have everything we need to make this country better, more developed and more just – and the MST is fundamental to this,” said Hoffman.
The 5th edition of the National Agrarian Reform Fair began on Thursday (8) and runs until Sunday (11), at Água Branca Park, on the west side of the city of São Paulo. Admission is free and the MST estimates that around 300,000 people are expected to attend the event over four days of activities. The closing concert will feature musical performances by renowned artists such as Marina Lima, Paulinho Moska and Arnaldo Antunes.
