Peasant leagues (Brazil)
Encyclopedia
Peasant leagues were social organizations composed of sharecroppers, subsistence farmers, and other small agriculturalists. They originated in the agreste
region of Northeastern Brazil in the 1950s. Originally organized by the Brazilian Communist Party
(PCB), they were later picked up by Francisco Julião, a member of the Democratic Labor Party
(PDT) and other socialists. Originally founded to improve the standart of living for rural workers, their later objective became to oppose the power of latifundia
in the region.
and were conspiring to oppress the working class by forcing rural workers to produce cash crops instead of food for native consumption. Their goal was to raise the rural workers' standard of living sufficiently that a classic Marxist capitalist-to-socialist transition could occur.
When the PCB began struggling with political pressure in the late 1950s Francisco Julião began taking on the business of establishing and organizing leagues. Communists objected to his growing role in the movement. His attempts to unify the leagues and resistance to registering them as unions conflicted with their own goal of attaining legitimacy, and his use of violent revolutionary rhetoric made them worry about retaliation from the military and police.
Agreste
In Brazil, the agreste is a narrow zone in the states of Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe and Bahia between the coastal forest zona da mata and the semiarid sertão...
region of Northeastern Brazil in the 1950s. Originally organized by the Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party
Brazilian Communist Party is the oldest political party still active in Brazil, founded in 1922, and one of the only Brazilian parties with a Stalinist orientation...
(PCB), they were later picked up by Francisco Julião, a member of the Democratic Labor Party
Democratic Labour Party (Brazil)
The Democratic Labour Party is a populist, democratic socialist political party of Brazil. It was founded in 1979 by left-wing leader Leonel Brizola as an attempt to reorganize the Brazilian leftist forces during the end of the Brazilian military dictatorship...
(PDT) and other socialists. Originally founded to improve the standart of living for rural workers, their later objective became to oppose the power of latifundia
Latifundia
Latifundia are pieces of property covering very large land areas. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates, specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, olive oil, or wine...
in the region.
History
The leagues were founded by Brazilian communists, who believed that the latifundia, which had always dominated the Brazilian economy, were in a semicolonial relationship with the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and were conspiring to oppress the working class by forcing rural workers to produce cash crops instead of food for native consumption. Their goal was to raise the rural workers' standard of living sufficiently that a classic Marxist capitalist-to-socialist transition could occur.
When the PCB began struggling with political pressure in the late 1950s Francisco Julião began taking on the business of establishing and organizing leagues. Communists objected to his growing role in the movement. His attempts to unify the leagues and resistance to registering them as unions conflicted with their own goal of attaining legitimacy, and his use of violent revolutionary rhetoric made them worry about retaliation from the military and police.