Article: Base communities and rural mobilization in northern Brazil. (Religion and Democracy in Latin America)

Land is a key issue in Brazil. Conflict over land resulted in the murder of Chico Mendes and in massacres of indigenous peoples. The driving of thousands of peasant farmers from the countryside in the name of modernization has produced an artificial urbanization characterized by soaring rates of unemployment, hunger, homelessness, and crime. There is a growing movement to defend the rights of peasants against the land claims of large ranchers and national and foreign companies. A strong force within this movement has come from base communities (comunidades eclesiais de base, or CEBs) -- grassroots Catholic groups that study the Bible and discuss its application to people's ...

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