Land conflicts in the rural settlements of Nova Iguaçu and the mediation of the social pastorals in the bishopric of Dom Adriano Hypólito
Agrarian Conflict; Catholic church; Military dictatorship
ABSTRACT
This research proposes to discuss the land conflicts in Nova Iguaçu, located in the Baixada Fluminense, aiming to analyze the collective organization of rural workers in the settlements of Pedra Lisa, Campo Alegre, Marapicu and Fazenda São Bernardino and the involvement the Diocese of Nova Iguaçu, through the land pastoral, the Diocesan Commission for Justice and Peace and the speeches of Diocesan Bishop, Dom Adriano Hypólito, who, in light of the interdependence between faith and politics sought to find a peaceful solution to alleviate conflicts in the region. t is detected that the emergence of the Civil-Military Coup established in 1964 in Brazil and consequently, in the authoritarian regime that continued until 1985, increased tension and conflicts in the region, as a result of land occupations. The consequences of this tension can be seen in the execution of eviction orders, repossession decrees, in court battles and in the strong repression by land grabbers and landowners against rural workers and their families, culminating in the murder of peasants and religious leaders, printing the mark of violence in disputes for land in Nova Iguaçu. It is noteworthy that the theoretical references and the legal and historical documents under analysis reinforce, on the one hand, the thesis that the occupations that took place in the region are a product of the concentration of land that has regimented the agrarian structure for long centuries in Brazil. For another, it reveals the understanding of rural workers and squatter in relations to land use rights, since start to conceive property as a social good, demanding its expropriations from the competent authorities for purposes of public utility