Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Brasilia (Agenzia Fides) - The Report "Conflicts in the countryside of Brazil 2016", drawn up by the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), at the headquarters of the Episcopal Conference (CNBB), in Brasilia was presented. 1,295 cases of conflicts over land were registered in Brazil in 2016 and 61 murders were also committed, an increase of 22% compared to the number of murders committed last year.
According to information sent to Fides by CIMI (Consiglio indigenista missionario), the estimated average is four episodes of violence per day: 74 attempted murders, 200 death threats, 571 assaults and 228 arrests.
One also needs to add the 172 conflicts over water and 69 violations of labor. Report data highlight not only the violations recorded in the country, but also their increase since the CPT began the survey in 1985.
In the presentation, which took place on April 17, the Secretary General of the CNBB, His Exc. Mgr. Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, stressed the importance of the report, and recalled those men and women whose complaints have made history: "This report is not just a book. They are life stories. These are stories of people. We cannot forget it".
"The conflicts in the countryside of Brazil 2016" provides data on violence suffered by rural workers, including indigenous, quilombo and native populations. The document is now in its 32nd edition. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 19/04/2017)
