The Pastoral Commission of Land (CPT) issued yesterday an annual assessment paper, in which it states that the Brazilian government has “intensified” its support to agribusiness through a public program of agrofuels, focused on ethanol promotion.

Tax benefits, granting of lands and special loans through the Economic and Social Development National Bank (BNDES) are some of the incentive policies the administration implemented for the sugarcane-alcohol sector.

However, the CPT warned that the international financial crisis caused a significant reduction of private investment in this sector, which reflects once again the “famous dependence” of the business with public resources and the action of the government.

The bad decision taken by the government when setting priorities has caused serious impacts. “The agrarian reform is at a standstill, and the government continues without taking essential measures to value and multiply peasant agriculture, reverse the high land concentration in Brazil which is one of the highest of the continent”, states the CPT in their report.

The Brazilian social movements strongly conclude that 2008 was the worst year for the agrarian reform since President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva came into office. The Landless Rural Workers Movement has stated similar things, and the official information also backs this feeling.

During the last year, the number of families included in the framework of the agrarian reform has been reduced by 20% with reference to 2007, according to information from the CPT. “The main flags raised by the social movements in 2008 weren´t taken into account by the authorities”, they added. They were referring to the limitation of ownership of land, elimination of regulations that criminalize the occupation of unproductive lands and the passing of laws to combat slave work, among other demands.