Alberes Simão | A Verdade Nov. 13, 2025 | Translated from Portuguese for the Red Phoenix | Brazil–

Thanks to the example of the Movement for Struggle in Neighborhoods, Villages and Slums, the MLB, we can see that it is truly possible to build a new world. This is my tribute to the MLB and to all the families that make up this true trench of struggle.

Amidst the growing economic and social crisis that plagues the working people, the Movement for Struggle in Neighborhoods, Villages and Slums (MLB) has consolidated itself as one of the main expressions of popular organization in the urban peripheries of Brazil. Born from the heart of the poor and exploited people, the MLB shows, in practice, that only organized struggle can achieve victories and confront the power of the rich and the governments that serve them.

Since its founding, the movement has demonstrated tireless combativeness in defending the right to decent housing, urban land, and the city for those who live and work in it. In every occupation, every assembly, and every street action, the MLB reaffirms its position of class independence, refusing to bow before the interests of the bourgeoisie or false electoral promises.

In the urban occupations that are flourishing in dozens of cities, the MLB (Movement for the Struggle for Housing) transforms the abandonment and misery imposed by capitalism into spaces of resistance and solidarity. Where there were once vacant lots and abandoned buildings, today communities full of life, hope, and political awareness sprout. There, the people learn, in practice, the true meaning of popular organization and collective power.

More than fighting for housing, the MLB builds popular power. In its ranks, men and women of the people take the destiny of their lives into their own hands, discuss politics, decide collectively, face evictions and repression, and remain steadfast in the struggle for a new society, free from the exploitation of man by man.

In a country where unemployment, hunger, and eviction are weapons of social control, the MLB stands as a symbol of resistance and hope. Its strength lies in the unity and combativeness of the poor people, who no longer accept living on crumbs.

While the rich concentrate land and profits, the organized people show that the city belongs to those who work and fight for it. The MLB (Movimento de Luta para o Bairro — Movement for the Struggle in Neighborhoods, Villages, and Slums)

An unforgettable moment for our struggle.

September 7th of this year will forever remain in my memory, and it should be in the minds of all fighters, especially those who had the honor of building it. It was a powerful and true journey of struggle; the Movement for Struggle in Neighborhoods, Villages and Slums (MLB) carried out, this month, the occupation of more than 15 abandoned buildings and plots of land in various cities across the country. The properties, without a social function for years, were transformed into spaces of housing, dignity, and popular resistance, reaffirming the maxim that “where there is no justice, the people organize and build popular power.”

The coordinated actions mobilized thousands of working families suffering from rising rents, unemployment, and a lack of housing policies. From north to south, the occupations became a symbol of the struggle for the constitutional right to housing and a vivid denunciation of state abandonment and the real estate speculation that dominates major Brazilian cities.

“While thousands sleep on the streets, entire buildings are empty and in the hands of speculators. The people no longer accept being invisible. What capitalism denies, the people conquer with organization and courage,” stated a national coordinator of the MLB.

The occupied properties, many belonging to banks, large construction companies, and even the government itself, had been neglecting their social function for years, serving only profit and speculation. Through these occupations, the MLB (Movement for the Struggle for Housing) restores social meaning to urban space, transforming abandonment into collective life, and cold concrete into hope.

“The September 7th of the people is not the September 7th of the generals or the businessmen. It is the September 7th of the mothers fighting for childcare, of the young people without opportunities, of the homeless and landless workers,” declared one of the movement’s leaders.

The MLB transformed the day, historically used by the elite to reaffirm their privileges, into an act of popular resistance. In several cities, the movement coordinated joint actions with unions, youth movements, cultural collectives, and leftist fronts.

The protesters’ speeches highlighted that there is no independence with hunger, nor freedom with inequality. The central theme was the defense of public policies for the favelas, decent housing, accessible transportation, public education, and the right to the city.

In Recife, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, and Fortaleza, the events took on the character of both celebration and struggle: local artists performed, children read poetry, and activists remembered the legacy of those who fell fighting for a truly popular Brazil.

“The Brazil we want is not one of weapons, but one of bread, books, and dignity,” said one of the participants, amid applause.

The Neighborhoods, Villages and Slums Movement, founded amidst struggles against the high cost of living and unemployment, reaffirms its position as a living expression of the urban working class, organized in the territories most forgotten by the State.

On this September 7th, the people showed that true independence is yet to come, and that it will be won in the streets, in the communities, and through collective struggles.

“A united and organized people is invincible!”

This is the flag that waves in every occupation, in every protest, in every act of solidarity of the Movement for Struggle in Neighborhoods, Villages and Slums.

And as long as injustice exists, the MLB will remain standing, combative and aware, fighting for a Brazil that truly belongs to the people.

Categories: Brazil, International, Workers Struggle