MST and Via Campesina work to expel Syngenta after murder of campesino activist

Dow Jones Newswire ran a story on November 13th on the effort by the MST and Via Campesina to expel the Syngenta corporation from Brazil after the murder of MST/Via Campesina member Valmir Mota de Oliveira at its experimental farm in western Paraná state on October 21st. Mota was shot with two bullets in the chest at point blank range by one of Syngenta's hired security guards.

The organizations Friends of the Earth and Amnesty International have joined the effort, along with the state government of Paraná. "We want these guys out of Parana. They are a thorn in our side," said Benedito Pires, the governor's spokesman. "We'd like them out of Brazil, but we don't have the power to do that," Pires said.

Syngenta denies any allegation by the MST that the company ordered the security company to open fire, but is considering the relocation of its operations. According to Medard Schoenmaeckers, head of media relations for Syngenta in Europe, the company "is currently assessing the future of that facility." He also indicated that the company won’t readily leave Brazil, which generated the bulk of its $973 million in Latin America sales for the first nine months of 2007. "We have an 80-year history in Brazil and we are committed to supporting agriculture in the country," he said.

The social movements vow to continue their effort until the site is expropriated from Syngenta and the company leaves Brazil. "We want justice because Syngenta hired the guys who killed (Oliveira)," said Celso Barbosa, a coordinator for the MST in Paraná. According to Barbosa, that fight will involve more pressure in Brazil and at Syngenta's headquarters in Switzerland. "We will continue to fight," Barbosa said. "In the courts and by occupation for one, two, or three years until they get out of here."

More than 100 MST activists still occupy the site.