A glance into the Landless Rural Staff Motion’s autonomous, worldwide political formation faculty.
By Maria Gorete Sousa*
ENFF (Escola Nacional Florestan Fernandes/Florestan Fernandes College), was born out of a choice made by the Brazilian Landless Staff Motion (Movimento de Trabalhadores Sem Terra/MST) to create a political training system for activists from the cities and the countryside. It allows employees who’re denied their fundamental rights, from everywhere in the World, to satisfy, discuss and share data and experiences inside a Latin American perspective. From the day it was proposed, it was all the time envisioned as an internationalist venture.
The varsity was inaugurated on January 23, 2005, within the countryside exterior of Guararema, Sao Paulo, after the bodily buildings have been collectively and voluntarily constructed by comrades from the MST. It was our social motion’s base who raised the partitions and reworked them into lecture rooms, auditoriums, cafeterias and a library. We then began an grownup literacy program and created an environment for fraternization and solidarity amongst activists from everywhere in the World. Schooling is constructed into each brick that was laid by the voluntary employees from the MST who constructed the varsity.
The partitions of the ENFF include the power of hundreds and the utopian dream of a world with no exploitation or oppression. We strove for autonomy from the very begin and have been supported by Chico Buarque, José Saramago and Sebastião Salgado, who donated their CDs, books and pictures to help the venture. Folks from all over the world helped any approach they may to contribute to this dream building by a global solidarity marketing campaign. As we speak the ENFF continues to function by activism and thru voluntary professors with partnerships with public universities like UNESP, UFJF, UFRJ, the Oswaldo Cruz Public Well being Institute and thru worldwide solidarity from the Affiliation of the Buddies of Florestan Fernandes College.
The varsity is known as in honor of the late Brazilian sociologist and politician Florestan Fernades due to his working class origin, his tireless struggle in opposition to social exclusion, the data he generated on the struggles of his time and his dedication to socialism. The ENFF was constructed with mysticism and in reminiscence of different warriors like Frida Khalo, Patativa do Assaré, Antônio Cândido, Marielle Franco, Patrícia Galvão, Vito Gianotti, Rosa Luxemburg, Paulo Freire and [Brazilian socialist football legend] Dr. Sócrates, who all have rooms on the faculty named after them.
The varsity’s political training technique makes use of socialization and data manufacturing to interrupt from the logic of the mercantilization of information. It builds abilities for varied totally different areas and dimensions of life by widespread training and scientific self-discipline. It has created new areas of information by a mix of political formation and technical coaching. On account of our partnerships with the general public universities and professors, ENFF provides graduate and postgraduate programs.
Our participatory methodology makes use of collective and particular person examine, collective labor, organicity, mysticism, tradition and artwork in ways in which acknowledge the humanist and socialist values which can be a part of our communal residing philosophy of day after day life within the faculty. Our instructional venture is linked to the struggle for and building of human emancipation. Themes which can be taught embrace agrarian reform, agro-ecology, Marxism, feminism, Latin America, variety, racism and widespread social actions, all the time striving to hyperlink concept with follow.
The objective is to amplify the appropriation of information, prioritizing widespread, class primarily based training from pre-school to college. Data is an instrument of transformation for the MST. The group of programs encompasses a variety of information for constructing a brand new customary of life that promotes a re-connection between human beings and nature.
ENFF’s inner group is predicated on the values of training and work and the division of duties. All college students are accountable for the upkeep of the varsity’s bodily area by collective working teams. Between faculty durations the upkeep of the ENFF is coordinated by the Brazilian internationalist Apolônio de Carvalho Brigade which is made up of a rotating group of militants who take turns contributing to the consolidation of this academic venture.
We all know that transformation doesn’t occur magically. It needs to be made by aware individuals. On this approach, activists study political readability, the capability to interpret occasions, analyze and create tactical and strategic plans, and to create options for points that come up within the day after day class battle. These abilities are crucial for anybody who desires to destroy the system of exploitation and construct a brand new society.
Schooling just isn’t envisioned as an finish in itself however as a second of sophistication consciousness that’s vital for understanding the contradictions and determinations of society and constructing historic autonomy. This strategy of academic and political formation can’t be seen as a recipe or a formulation that’s prepared and full, however as a strategy of everlasting creation. That is why our studying venture goals to deepen data on problems with regional, ethnic, racial and gender variety with out dropping sight of the full actuality of the processes, enabling a studying of the issues, challenges and potentialities of the worldwide, regional and native class battle. We take into account this relationship basic within the studying course of, which all the time maintains its revolutionary vigor, strengthening and giving continuity to the battle, in addition to getting ready for the long run by making a generalized feeling of transgression in opposition to the order of capital.
The ENFF was born out of a need to criticize the way in which society produces data, and people whose pursuits this course of serves. It was created to type natural intellectuals who’re anchored of their actuality and perceive the contradictions of the category battle, with the abilities to repeatedly extract parts from this to make qualitative jumps of their class consciousness.
Florestan Fernandes College works for topics to turn into protagonists in their very own tales and start demanding social adjustments. It is a process that requires quite a lot of braveness and dedication to our beliefs and desires for a simply, solidarity society. This transformation can take the type of new methods of participating in politics, restoring the historic battle of the exploited and oppressed and constructing options for our instances. Our faculty goes past partitions, geography and symbolic borders. It’s a faculty that goals to decolonize data and consciousness.
*Maria Gorete Sousa is an natural farmer and MST management member who was the founding educational coordinator of Florestan Fernandes College. She at present lives within the Território Cristina Alves agrarian reform settlement in Itapecuru-Mirim, Maranhão, Brazil.
This text was initially commissioned and translated by Brian Mier for Lumpen Magazine’s International Issue, and has been reprinted her with its consent.
