The current administration considers the decision of its predecessors “has no legal value”, according to the state’s Secretariat of Education, based on an opinion of the Attorney General.

Rio Grande do Sul was the first Brazilian state to recognize the MST’s itinerant schools in 1996, during a previous PT’s administration. They considered the importance of recognizing these courses for children, youth and adults.

The Secretary of Education Maria Eulalia Nascimento, said that the itinerant schools are an “adequate, legitimate and possible alternative” for the communities of settlers in the southernmost state of Brazil.

According to the MST’s website, itinerant schools are located “where the landless rural communities live, in the settlements of the agrarian reform, in the marches, in the occupations and mobilizations”.

Newspaper Zero Hora of Porto Alegre reported that the decision taken by governor Genro involves nearly a thousand families linked with the MST, which are camped throughout the state, and that the government authorities will start talks with the peasant movement shortly to come up with a calendar for the reopening of the itinerant schools.

Meanwhile, but still related with education training, MST and La Via Campesina leaders are in contact with the Uruguayan government to create a new veterinary course in the university aimed at “meeting the needs of Latin American peasants”.

This initiative is being analyzed by the Univerisdad de la Republica of Uruguay. Uruguayan President Jose Mujica sent a letter to the university rector Rodrigo Arocena on April 7, asking for his “collaboration” to move forward with this idea that comes from the peasant organizations.

Photo: www.mst.org.br