ELDORADO DO CARAJÁS — 1996 · Major Tragedy
The Eldorado do Carajás Massacre
On 17 April 1996 military police in Pará state moved against about 1,500 members of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) who were marching to the state capital Belém to demand land reform and had blocked highway PA-150. Ordered by the governor to clear the road 'no matter what', 155 officers kettled the crowd with tear gas and shots in the air, then opened fire. Nineteen people were killed on the spot and 69 injured; two more died later. At a 2002 trial over a hundred police were tried, but only the operation's two commanders were convicted; the rest were acquitted after proceedings 'riddled with irregularities'. The two commanders were jailed only in 2012. 17 April is now marked as the International Day of Peasant Struggle.
- Date
- 1996
- Place
- Pará, Brazil, Eldorado do Carajás, BR
- Category
- Major Tragedy
- Case Status
- Solved
- Coordinates
- -6.1000, -49.3600 ↗
Timeline of Events
- April 1996MST members blocked the highway on a march to Belém.
- 17 April 1996Military police opened fire on the crowd; 19 were killed.
- June 2002Over a hundred police went on trial; only two commanders were convicted.
- 7 May 2012The two commanders were finally jailed, 16 years later.
Sources
- G1 — Arquivo N: os 20 anos do massacre de Eldorado dos Carajás g1.globo.com ↗
- O Globo — No Pará, Bolsonaro defende PMs por morte de 19 sem-terra oglobo.globo.com ↗
- Wikipedia — Eldorado do Carajás massacre en.wikipedia.org ↗
- G1 / GloboNews
- O Globo
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.