Authorities say they struggle to win prosecutions even in current cases. Meanwhile, police have shut down six land deed offices. One judge has been removed and others investigated. The government is also setting up more- stringent reporting requirements when land changes hands, and authorities are also encouraging states to ratify a 1979 law requiring land sellers to prove ownership. But entrenched interests, including politicians charged with enacting the law, have little desire to enforce change, Carvalho says.
Land is power in Brazil, where unequal land distribution has triggered rural violence.
We want to take some of that land and distribute it more equitably to people who need it. But there's a lack of will to change things. The problem here is that no one ever obeys the law. The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.