Weekly Report - 9 September 2003

The death toll associated with Brazil's land disputes (WR-03-34) rose to 45 last week, with the murder of Luciano Alves da Silva, an MST leader in the northeastern state of Alagoas who heads a local association of 300 families of landless peasants. Alves was gunned down by a hitman riding pillion on a motorcycle as he was walking home after dark. Days earlier, charges had been filed against Alves for having instigated roadblocks and hijackings on a rural road. For his part, Alves had publicly denounced threatening actions by `gunmen linked to landowners in the region.'