Saulo Araujo, Author at Grassroots International

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Saulo Araujo, Author at Grassroots International

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Major Land Rights Victory for Maya Q’eqchi and Mopan of Southern Belize

By: Saulo Araujo | April 22, 2015

The Caribbean Court of Justice, Belize’s highest appellant court, ruled that the Maya Indigenous People of southern Belize have rights to lands they have customarily used and occupied. The Court affirmed that these traditional land rights constitute property within the meaning of the provisions of the Belize Constitution that generally protect property free from discrimination.
After almost a decade of legal struggle, the April 20^th judgement finally upholds the rights of the indigenous Maya to their ancestral lands.
Grassroots International has supported he Maya Leaders Alliance, a lead plaintiff in the case and community voice for indigenous rights and cultural.
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Blog

General Strike in Brazil: Social Movements Lead the Way Toward Constitutional Rights

By: Saulo Araujo | July 11, 2013

Millions of Brazilians are marching today (July 11) in another demonstration of the vitality of national social movements. The demonstrations taking place in different major cities across the country follow last month’s historic marches.
Building on the political momentum created by the massive mostly youth-led demonstrations, today’s show of force will include both organized labor and social movements, marching side-by-side to demand political reform and expanded constitutional rights.
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In the News

Agroecology Grows Food and Self-Sufficiency

By: Saulo Araujo | June 28, 2013

The embattled northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhão is experiencing its worst drought in 50 years. Yet in the midst of this brutal dry spell, one farmer settlement is brimming with abundant vegetables, fruits and crops.
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Blog

Debunking the Myths of GMOs, GRAIN Report

By: Saulo Araujo | May 22, 2013

The stories of industrial agriculture as the only solution to end hunger re-emerge here and then, like weeds. At least, as biological indicators of soil quality and fertility, weeds are telling us the truth. The myth that we need to have petroleum-based agriculture and monocrops to feed the world is a lie that agribusinesses like Monsanto want to feed us.
But, as stewards of the Earth, we will need to continue uprooting those myths. GRAIN has published another great report (GMOs: Fooling – er “feeding”- the world for 20 years) that debunks the myths of GMOs and industrial agriculture.
It is a great educational material. Kudos to our colleagues at GRAIN.
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Blog

After a Two-decade Occupation, MST Families Win Land Rights

By: Saulo Araujo | May 13, 2013

Although Grassroots International does not support the Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Bahia state, through our support to the MST at the national level and also our partner Rede Social (the Network for Social Justice & Human Rights) we are able to have an impact on thousands of landless families in Brazil. Those families and the nearly 300 in Bahia who, after 20 years, recently won their rights to land and a dignified livelihood, needed political support at the national level, lawyers to oversee their cases and defend them, training to document cases of violence and threats against their struggle, support for the movement as a whole. Resources they would not have had without Grassroots. This is solidarity not charity.
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Blog

Haiti needs solidarity, not soldiers: First-hand account from a Brazilian peasant leader

By: Saulo Araujo | April 2, 2013

João Pedro Stedile visited Haiti last month during the 40th anniversary of Haiti’s Peasant Movement of Papaye (MPP). He is a member of the National Coordination of the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) and the Via Campesina International (both Grassroots’...
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Peasant Families Nourishing the Next Generation, One School at a Time

By: Saulo Araujo | March 20, 2013

Peasant farmers from Brazil’s central plateau delivered more than three tons of fresh vegetables and homemade cakes, cookies and cheese to local schools last week. This was the first delivery as part of the National Program of School Meals (PNAE) and marks a significant step toward food sovereignty in a region threatened by the expansion of agro-fuels plantations and GMO seeds.
Spearheaded by Grassroots International partner, the Popular Peasant Movement (MCP), 40 families delivered the locally grown, organic food to local schools in Goiás state. And MCP families are already working in the next batch.
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Blog

Mayan and Garifuna Indigenous in Belize Demand Respect for Their Ancestral Land

By: Saulo Araujo | March 19, 2013

Roughly the size of New Jersey, Belize is one of the smallest countries in Central America. The country is also in the epicenter of the Mayan territory. More than half of Belize’s population of 300,000 are Mayan indigenous and Afro-descendants, known as Garifunas.
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Blog

Honduran Peasants Resist Land Grabbing, Occupy Farms

By: Saulo Araujo | February 27, 2013

Last month, Honduras passed legislation to allow the construction of charter cities in the ancestral land of Afro-descendant Garifunas and peasant communities.
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Blog

Investing in Haiti’s Rural Community

By: Saulo Araujo | January 29, 2013
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Blog

Brazilian government recognizes Kaiowá’s territory

By: Saulo Araujo | January 29, 2013

After national and international pressure, the National Indigenous Affairs Agency (FUNAI) of Brazil acknowledged that 41.571 hectares of disputed territory belong to the Kaiowá-Guarani. The Indigenous Kaiowá-Guarani are the single largest indigenous group in Brazil. When faced with the invasion...
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Blog

Nut Harvesters Are Changing the Local Economy

By: Saulo Araujo | January 29, 2013

Maranhão is one of the poorest Brazilian states. Despite its wealth of natural resources, 62.3 percent of the population lives below the poverty index defined by the World Health Organization, with the poorest families living in rural areas. Landlessness is...
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Blog

Seeds Help Communities Raise Hope, Independence

By: Saulo Araujo | January 29, 2013

The state of Goiás, located in the Central Region of Brazil, is facing immense environmental and social challenges due to the expansion of agribusinesses there, especially export-oriented agro-fuels plantations. The monoculture cultivation of sugar cane for ethanol is displacing indigenous...
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Brazil: stories of a paradise

By: Saulo Araujo | January 28, 2013

In 2010, CBS’s 60 Minutes news program interviewed Eike Baptista, the wealthiest man in Brazil, to shed some light on the situation of the country. The producers of 60 Minutes could have interviewed scholars, politicians and activists from their considerable...
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Hunger Strike Aims to Stop GMO Corn in Mexico

By: Saulo Araujo | January 23, 2013

By Claire Gilbert and Saulo Araujo
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Blog

Build Back Better Mantra Unfulfilled in Haiti

By: Saulo Araujo | January 11, 2013

In the third anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti, the “build back better” mantra has vanished from the news, along with promises of funding and support for a new Haiti.
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Protests erupted in Haiti

By: Saulo Araujo | January 11, 2013

On Wednesday, a few days, before the third anniversary of the 2010 earthquake, a legal case involving former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide generated turmoil in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Hundreds of Aristide supporters marched towards the place where he is being...
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Pain and Hunger in California’s Blueberries Fields

By: Saulo Araujo | January 10, 2013

Recently David Bacon, whose work amplifies the voices of those who otherwise might be unheard, shared the story of Lorena Hernandez. Lorena is a single mother and farmworker laboring in California’s agricultural fields. Like so many other women whose stories need to be heard, Lorena describes the physical violence caused by economic exploitation, and hunger.
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Agroecology, Food Sovereignty and the New Green Revolution

By: Saulo Araujo | December 21, 2012

Eric Holt-Giménez, from Food First, and Prof. Miguel Altieri, UC-Davis, published another powerful article that certainly will serve as food for thought and action by those working to change the current [corporate] food regime. According to the article, the Green...
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Blog

Thousands of Zapatistas march in five cities of Chiapas

By: Saulo Araujo | December 21, 2012

Today, 15 years to the day after the 1997 massacre at Acteal, the Zapatistas filled the streets of five Mexican towns in the state of Chiapas. According to La Jornada, around 6a.m. this morning, a large march of indigenous Zapatistas...
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