“Occupy the Farm”

Published in Folha
(Brazil) on 21 May 2012
by Verena Fornetti (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Gabriele O'Connor. Edited by Casey J. Skeens.
Since September 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement has been protesting against corruption, social inequality and corporate greed. The message has spread quickly and the movement continues unabated, even after the majority of activists were evicted from the public and private spaces they were occupying.

One of the offshoots of Occupy Wall Street is the Occupy Homes movement, which targets the houses of soon-to-be-evicted families. The activists join forces to prevent foreclosure proceedings and also organize protests against the banks, sometimes blocking the buildings’ entrances.

More recently, the Occupy the Farm movement, in Albany, Calif., organized the occupation of a six-acre plot of land, known as the Gill Tract, belonging to the Berkeley campus of the University of California.

Activists say that the university is about to sell the land, to be paved for the construction of stores and parking lots, and argue that it should be used for the sustainable production of food for the local community. However, the university states that this land is currently used for agricultural research, and that the planned urban construction will take place on another tract, further south, which has not been cultivated since World War II.

After three weeks of protests, the occupiers were evicted this month and nine people were arrested.


Desde setembro de 2011, o movimento “Ocupe Wall Street” protesta contra a corrupção, a desigualdade social e os lucros corporativos. O discurso se espalhou rapidamente e o movimento persiste mesmo depois que a maioria dos ativistas já foi despejada dos espaços públicos e privados que ocupavam.

Um dos filhos do “Ocupe Wall Street” é o movimento “Ocupe Casas”, que promove acampamentos nas casas de famílias que estão prestes a serem despejadas. Os ativistas se juntam para impedir que a hipoteca seja executada. Também organiza protestos contra os bancos, às vezes bloqueando a entrada nos prédios das empresas.

Outro filho, mais recente, é o “Ocupe a Fazenda”, movimento que em Albany (Califórnia) promoveu a ocupação de um pedaço de seis hectares de terra, conhecido como Gill Tract, que pertence à Universidade da Califórnia, campus de Berkeley.

Os ativistas dizem que a universidade está prestes a vender a área, que seria pavimentada para a construção de lojas e estacionamentos. O “Ocupe” defende que a terra seja usada para a produção sustentável de alimentos para comunidades locais. A universidade diz que a área ocupada é usada para pesquisas na área de agricultura e que o território que é alvo do projeto urbano é outro, mais ao sul, onde não há cultivo desde a Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Depois de cerca de três semanas de ocupação, os manifestantes foram despejados neste mês. Cerca de nove pessoas foram presas.

Veja aqui vídeo feito no primeiro de ocupação:
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