Abstract
I’m at the annual state meeting of the largest social movement in Latin America.1 A lot of people have come from all over Santa Catarina, Brazil, seeking to be re-energised, to plan movement strategy with the leadership, or just to catch up with old comrades. A lot of people, a lot of conversations; the chimarrão,2 the images of the movement posted up on the walls of the hall, the ribbons, flags, a sea of people dressed in the revolutionary red of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) sit expectantly in front of the stage. We’re seated in rows of chairs facing a raised platform which has been constructed at the end of the hall. On this platform is a long table with five chairs, a public address system, a mixing desk, and a couple of microphone stands. Suspended on the wall behind the stage is an enormous MST flag, and beside it, an even larger Brazilian flag, at least four metres by three. On the front of the platform are suspended smaller flags; the flags of other movements with which the MST are in solidarity, such as the Homeless Workers’ Movement (MTST). In front of this platform, before the first row of chairs, is a space left clear. As the hall is entirely full of seating, it is evident that this space has been left empty for a purpose.
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Flynn, A. (2015). Re-imagining Political Subjectivities: Relationality, Reflexivity, and Performance in Rural Brazil. In: Flynn, A., Tinius, J. (eds) Anthropology, Theatre, and Development. Anthropology, Change and Development. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137350602_2
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