By Andrew Hay
Brasilia, Brazil - A radical Brazilian peasant movement said on Tuesday it will slow its "Red April" campaign of farm occupations to give President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a chance to deliver on radical reform promises.
The Landless Workers Movement, or MST, launched its biggest wave of invasions in five years this month to force speedier expropriation and redistribution of unused farmland.
"We want to see the state carry out a "Red April" against big landowners," MST leader Joao Paulo Rodrigues said. "We're confident the government will do it."
The promised lull in invasions after nearly 100 in three weeks followed an appeal by Lula, Brazil's first working-class president, for the MST not to criminalize the 20-year-old movement by invading productive ranches.
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Over the weekend the MST seized a ranch owned by Klabin, one of Brazil's biggest paper and pulp companies after occupying at least two other productive properties owned by big national or multinational firms.
On Monday members of the Roofless Movement (Sem Teto), which represents the urban poor, battled with police as they tried to invade buildings in industrial city Sao Paulo.
The moves brought an outcry from business groups and farmers who accuse Lula of letting leftist groups ride roughshod over the law, tarnishing Brazil's investment image.
"These are headless, absurd acts that cannot take place in a democratic country," said Leonardo Vilela, a dairy farmer from the central state of Goias and a lower house Congressional deputy for the right-wing Progress Party.
While trying to maintain the confidence of foreign investors in Brazil, Lula is keen not to be seen caving into powerful landowners and businesses. He and his ruling Workers Party(PT) won office on pledges to shrink social inequalities.
He has seen his popularity fall in recent months after a bruising political campaign finance scandal and slow recovery from last year's 0.2 percent economic contraction.
Political scientists Carlos Pio said Lula could pay a high political price in October municipal elections for his failure to meet social pledges.
The former metalworker has promised to settle 430,000 families during his four years in government. He has only given farmland to around 48,000 families since he entered power in January 2003, according to the nation's land reform agency.
"It looks like electoral fraud, people expected the PT to have at least a few social programs to quickly change things they promised," said the University of Brasilia's Pio.
Despite such costs, Lula wants to prevent the rural revolt sparking wider unrest at a time when workers are threatening strikes as they push for pay hikes and a big increase in the minimum wage.
The MST's promise to wind down invasions followed Lula's pledge to increase funds to purchase and redistribute unused land and more than double welfare money for settled families.
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