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President Fernando Henrique Cardoso Sr. Raul Jungmann, Minister of Agrarian Development <p> Dear President Cardoso and Minister Jungmann, <p> I have been greatly concerned by reports from Brazil that indicate that the Brazilian government is conducting a high profile campaign against the MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra) for its custom of routinely deducting voluntary contributions from its members. This is a long-established practice, adopted not just by the MST but also by numerous other organisations, including political parties, lawyer associations and trade unions, in Brazil and elsewhere. As the MST depends heavily on these contributions, we are worried about the long-term impact of this measure on the movement. We share the concern of many members of the Catholic Church in Brazil that the government is using this incident in an attempt to 'criminalize' the MST. At the same time, we are disturbed by the continued violation of the human rights of MST activists, with the assassination so far this year of ten members. <p> We believe that the MST, through its remarkable capacity to mobilize the poor, is leading the world in developing exciting new solutions for the global problems of social exclusion and social inequality. At the same time, the MST is devising new forms of small-scale production, particularly in the field of agro-ecology, which are permitting its settlers to survive in an increasingly hostile environment. We believe that, if the Brazilian government is sincere in its much-stated objective of decreasing the notorious social inequalities in Brazil, it should be proud of the MST's achievements and be encouraging it to spread its message to the rural poor in Brazil, who, despite the government's successful program of agrarian reform, are still being driven off the land in huge numbers. <p> Sincerely,