In the late 1980s, Brazilian landowners delayed expropriation by filing interminable law suits and lobbying friendly politicians. When frustrated peasants invaded estates earmarked for expropriation, the landlords hired armed gangs to defend them. In 1986 they killed at least 260 people. Legislation passed in 1993 to spur reform along instead has helped the landholders. According to the law, landholders must be notified of expropriations.
Landowners stop the processes in court by claiming to have never received the notification.
The law also excludes medium-size estates, which benefits landholders who simply divide up their land into smaller portions making them no longer subject to expropriation. This increase has placed tremendous pressure on the President and Congress to push ahead with land reform that will distribute uncultivated land to those in need. The absence of significant improvement in dealing with the issue has led to greater number of land invasions and loss of life. Over the past 10 years 961 peasants and supporters have been killed in land disputes. In the first six months of 1996 alone violence in the countryside has produced 30 deaths.