People’s Assembly and Via Campesina occupied the headquarters of the Caixa Economica Federal and DNOCS in Fortaleza

About 1,500 peasants from Via Campesina occupied the national headquarters of the National Department of Works against Drought (DNOCS) and 800 workers of the People’s Assembly occupied the Federal Savings Bank in Fortaleza, onAugust 23.

The workers of Via Campesina charge from the federal government an emergency plan for agrarian reform, set amidst other agendas. According to the coordination of the Via Campesina there families camping for over five years, without estimate of settlement. In Ceará there are more than three thousand families in encampments.

The agenda is national, but there are specific points for the Northeast as the construction of schools in settlements and resettlements, infrastructure for families and irrigation projects in rural areas. The movement requires a ban on aerial spraying in the Apodi Plateau, policies for access to water and the prohibition of building dams. The struggle is also for the reduction of tariffs for energy, water and gas, which are very high in the state.

The members of the People’s Assembly demand policies for housing, reducing water, transport and energy rates, the allocation of 10% of GDP for education and to end the extermination of youth. 

The mobilization is part of the National Day of Struggle that occurs throughout the country during the month of August. The mobilization at the headquarters of the Caixa Econômica and DNOCS will remain indefinitely.