Land Reform

Landless Workers’ Movement Pressures Government With Occupations

March 17, 2025 Carolina Bataier, Resumen English. Resist! Brazil, health, Land Reform, Landless Workers, Unions, Women's Activism, Worker Rights and Jobs

A series of actions on Thursday led by women from Brazil’s Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST, in Portuguese) increased the pressure on the Lula government (Workers’ Party) to push agrarian reform policies forward. The mobilization occurred in 24 Brazilian states where there are MST activities and was part of the Landless Women’s Day of Struggle,previous to the MST’s Red April, massive actions to demand agrarian reform in the country. Landless families occupied areas in the states of Bahia and Ceará that did not comply with the social function provided for in the Brazilian Constitution.

One First Nation Is Taking Back Control Of Their ‘Devastated’ Lands

February 25, 2025 Zoë Yunker, The Tyee. Create! Canada, Environment, First Nations, Land Reform, Land Restoration

Kasandra Turbide finds her footing on the dry, rocky exterior of Sinkut Mountain, one of the highest peaks in Saik’uz First Nation territory, an hour’s drive west of Prince George. The forest below looks mottled, as if it has been gouged by giant razor blades and painted in shades of yellow and green. “This is what we’ve been up against historically,” says Turbide. “And it’s what we’re trying to save.” Located in the saucer-plate indent of the Nechako Plateau, Saik’uz territory is home to one of B.C.’s few truly wide-open skies. Lumbering glaciers etched its sloping hills millions of years ago, forming fertile valleys threaded with rivers, lakes and wetlands. More recently, the territory became an easy-access buffet for the farming, mining and logging that gripped the region. And now, after a century of persistent development, many of its ecosystems risk collapse.

Kentucky Activists Bought Land Where Feds Want To Build A Prison

February 16, 2025 Jared Bennett, Louisville Public Media. Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Kentucky, Land Reform, Victory

A community building and land restoration group bought a plot of Letcher County land that’s been targeted for a new federal prison. The Appalachian Rekindling Project paid local property owners $160,000 in late December for 63 acres near the community of Roxana, according to a deed of sale obtained by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. The land makes up a portion of the 500-acre site where the Bureau of Prisons planned to build an estimated $500 million prison complex to incarcerate more than 1,300 people.

South Africa’s Long Road To Land Reform

February 11, 2025 Jonis Ghedi-Alasow, People's Dispatch. Strategize! colonization, Hunger, Inequality, Land Reform, Land Rights, South Africa, White Supremacy

On January 23, 2025, South Africa enacted an Expropriation Act, updating the methods for land expropriation for the first time in fifty years. The new Act allows for land expropriation for public purposes and interests whilst introducing the possibility of zero compensation for expropriated land. Consequently, the Act’s scope has been broadened since its 1975 version. Land can still be expropriated for public purposes, such as constructing roads, an uncontroversial and universally accepted practice. The expansion of the scope to include public interest, however, also enables the Act to address a long-standing issue of land reform.

Mapuche People On High Alert As Milei’s Government Takes Office

December 22, 2023 Claudia Korol, Resumen English. Educate! Argentina, Indigenous Rights, Javier Milei, Land Reform, Mapuche, Sacred sites

The land recovery of the Mapuche people is no living a moment of extreme vulnerability with the entry into government of Javier Milei, a president who vindicates the indigenous massacre headed by General Roca. Although an agreement was reached at the Dialogue Table in June 2023, which recognized the Rewe as a sacred place and authorized the return of Machi Betiana, the outgoing government did not implement the return of the land nor the reconstruction of the houses. In addition, the legislature of Río Negro approved reforms that favor mining companies, without respecting the right to free consultation of the native communities.

Evictions Disguised As Conservation

August 29, 2023 Soleil-Chandni Mousseau, LA Progressive. Educate! Conservation, Displacement, Eviction, Land Reform, Maasai, Tanzania

We journeyed through the dirt tracks in the middle of the savanna—the vibrant crimson of the Maasai shukas making cardinal dots in the arid landscape. Zebras grazed in polyphony with cows, and the occasional giraffe paced gracefully, stretching its freckled neck towards the sky. Wildebeest and gazelles stampeded through the lands, a cloud of dust trailing behind them. From the Serengeti to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the landscapes of northern Tanzania are mesmerizing. The Ngorongoro Crater, often referred to as the “eighth wonder of the world,” is a natural marvel—a massive volcanic caldera teeming with wildlife amidst many shades of lush golden hues.

Ley 70: Blackness, Collectivity, And Protection In Colombia

August 29, 2023 Janvieve Williams Comrie, AfroResistence. Create! Afro-Colombians, Colombia, Governance, Land Reform, Legislature

The core pillars of Ley 70 pivot around Blackness, collectivity, and protection — embodying the spirit of Afro-Colombian identity and resilience. The law centralizes Blackness, recognizing and celebrating the Afro-Colombian community’s cultural heritage, contributions, and place in the nation’s socio-political fabric. It fosters a sense of collectivity, advocating for collective land rights and the community’s right to govern these territories according to their ancestral wisdom and practices. Moreover, it underpins a strong protection mechanism, safeguarding Afro-Colombian communities from displacement, violence, and exploitation.

Influx Of Supporters Join Landfill Blockade After ‘Act Of Hate’

July 10, 2023 CBC News. Resist! Cemetery, Indigenous Rights, Land Reform, MMIWG2S

Protesters blocking the Brady Road landfill south of Winnipeg say their resolve is even stronger after a man shovelled a truckload of soil and debris onto an MMIWG mural near the blockade Sunday. The blockade went up last week after the province refused to fund a search of Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg for the remains of two Indigenous women. The city ordered those blocking the roadway to vacate by noon Monday. "Screw it. Who cares what they have to say? Who cares what they want? I'm not going to take no for an answer anymore," said Cambria Harris, whose mother's remains are believed to be at another landfill outside the city.

Rights Of Nature, Self-Owning Land, And Other Hacks On Western Law

July 2, 2023 David Bollier. Create! Land Reform, Legal System, Rights of Nature, The Commons

The idea that the Ganges River in India or the Amazon Basin in Brazil should have "legal personhood" – and thus be able to defend its interests in court – was considered zany only ten or fifteen years ago, at least in Europe and North America. Now this once-fringe legal concept is going mainstream. Legislatures or courts in twelve countries have recognized the "rights of nature" at the state, local, and/or national levels in a dozen nations. In the United States alone, some three dozen communities –from Pittsburgh and Toledo to Orange County, Florida (population 1.5 million people) – have enacted such laws, often with overwhelming public support.

For Argentina’s Small Farmers, Land Is Predictable But Markets Are Not

June 9, 2023 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. Educate! Argentina, Drought, Food and Agriculture, Land Reform

Thirty years ago, in my economics textbook in India, the section on international trade referred to Argentina. It would be better, according to the textbook, for Argentina to concentrate on the production and export of beef, while Germany should direct its resources towards the production of electronics. This example was used to illustrate Adam Smith’s ‘absolute advantage’ principle – countries should focus on what they do ‘best’, rather than diversify their economies. It seemed churlish to me, that developing countries such as Argentina should only produce raw materials, while wealthy countries such as Germany went ahead with technological development.

The Peasants Are Seizing The Commons (Again)

May 26, 2023 Charlotte Elton, In These Times. Resist! Commons, England, Land Reform, United Kingdom (UK)

Devon, England - A ghostly rider on a skeletal horse is said to roam the windswept moors of southwestern England. According to legend, “Old Crockern” guards the sprawling expanse of Dartmoor from those who would try to close it off from commoners. In January, more than 3,000 locals invoked Old Crockern’s spirit in one of the United Kingdom’s largest-ever countryside access protests. To beating drums and cheers, they hoisted a massive puppet of the ghostly rider as they marched across the estate of a wealthy landowner, protesting a court decision that would further shrink access to England’s already endangered commons.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro Warns Of Coup Plot Against Him

May 13, 2023 People's Dispatch. Educate! Colombia, Coups, Gustavo Petro, Land Reform

“For the first time there is a president, that instead of trying to take the land away from peasants to keep it or give it to his friends, he is trying to give the land back. And now some former colonel says that this deserves a coup d’état… these coups are resisted and overcome through the mobilization of citizens,” declared Colombian President Gustavo Petro during an event in Sucre, in which land was turned over to dispossessed peasants. Petro was referring to the incendiary statements made on Thursday, May 11 by retired Army Colonel John Marulanda during a debate on La W radio. Marulanda said that the mobilization of retired members of the military is a sign that Colombia is “following the steps of Peru” wherein “the reserve forces were successfully able to defenestrate a corrupt president.”

Puerto Ricans Occupy Land To Resist Displacement

May 13, 2023 Bianca Graulau and Laura Quintero, The Real News. Organize! Extreme weather, Land Reform, Mutual Aid, Puerto Rico

In front of a mural that reads “Only the people save the people,” Marisel Robles Gutiérrez stood before a group of elderly adults, to make an announcement: the non-profit organization Comedores Sociales had gained ownership of the abandoned property that they occupied in 2017 by negotiating with a real estate investment company. With a slightly cracked voice and smiling, she said: “We rescued this building… we gave it life, and thanks to all these years, to all the people who have participated,” —she interrupted and placed her hands to her chest— “finally, we can announce today that it is ours.”

The Rebirth Of Campesinado In Mexico

May 10, 2023 Victor M. Toledo, Resilience. Create! Campesino, Food Sovereignty, Land Reform, Mexico

I discovered the campesino world in the years 1970-71, while in charge of the Tropical Biology Station of the UNAM [National Autonomous University of Mexico], in Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz. At the age of 25, I organized two field courses in the surrounding ejidos. It was an act of academic transgression in which we analyzed the role played by campesino communities engaged with their jungle environment. Our first course was about traditional knowledge of jungle plants and animals. That experience was the ignition point for the development, decades later, of the new fields of rural metabolism and ethnoecology, now recognized worldwide.

What Does Indigenous Reclamation Mean?

January 24, 2023 Manola Secaira, Last Real Indians. Educate! colonization, Indigenous Rights, Land Back Movement, Land Reform

In the past year alone, the movement led by Native communities to reclaim lands and spaces — sometimes called the “Land Back” movement — saw huge gains in mainstream momentum. Some of that has come from rallies, like those led by Indigneous activists fighting to close Mount Rushmore. Other conversations about Native lands have been sparked by major court decisions, like the Supreme Court's landmark decision in the McGirt case in which it ruled that a large portion of Oklahoma is still Native land. And with U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland now the country’s first Native secretary of the interior, many Land Back advocates are finding renewed hope in their aspirations. But make no mistake: The concept of Indigenous reclamation — land and otherwise — isn’t new. The movement encapsulates everything from protecting treaty rights to reviving cultural practices that have been historically threatened to securing farmland, all of which Native nations have fought to protect since settlers first arrived.

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