American leftist activists have participated in intensive training programs hosted by Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement (MST), a group known for militant tactics including land invasions and clashes with political opponents. According to a report, delegations of activists from the U.S. and Puerto Rico attended a three-week program at the MST's Florestan Fernandes National School in Brazil this past July.
The training focused on organizational immersion and political indoctrination, covering subjects such as revolutionary solidarity, collective discipline, and building a multigenerational Marxist-Leninist movement. Participants expressed eagerness to adapt MST's methods for use within the United States.
The MST, founded in 1984, advocates for the redistribution of agriculturally productive land to the poor, viewing current ownership patterns as a legacy of colonial Brazil. The movement portrays its land reform efforts, rural schools, and cooperatives as essential for achieving racial and environmental justice. With nearly 2 million members, it is considered Latin America's largest grassroots movement.
While the MST supported the recent re-election of Brazil's leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the group views elections as only one facet of its operations. The report details that MST's activities have often courted controversy, including actions such as the destruction of orange trees, occupation of research nurseries, and clashes with political opponents. In the early 2000s, the movement occupied farmland belonging to the family of former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a move that Lula himself criticized.
Previous international delegations hosted by MST have included individuals who later joined New York City's mayoral administration, such as Ana Maria Archila and Gianpaolo Baiocchi, who hold positions in the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs, and Cea Weaver, director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants. Groups like the Los Angeles Tenants Union and Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM), whose former director now serves in the mayor's administration, were among those participating in the July delegation.
Activists reportedly found inspiration in MST's organizational structures, including rituals honoring revolutionaries, collective discipline through base nuclei known as núcleos de base, and a decentralized team model. The training also emphasized instilling socialist and humanist values in children from a young age, aiming to educate them about their history and encourage continuous social transformation.
The report notes that the Florestan Fernandes National School has received partial funding from Neville Roy Singham, a tech billionaire known for supporting left-wing causes. This model, where activists train abroad and return to implement learned strategies, is a recurring pattern within Singham's network. The Friends of the MST organization aims to support the movement domestically through fundraising and other initiatives.
The article raises questions about whether MST's methods of occupation, cadre formation, and political education will be implemented in the United States, drawing parallels to increased State Department scrutiny of other Latin American activist networks.