Valmir de Mota Oliviera, Land Reform and Anti-GMO Activist in Brazil - Portrait 20

Pencil on paper by Jake Willoughby, age 11

Valmir de Mota Oliviera, also known as "Keno," was an active leader in two agrarian reform organizations that organize and campaign for the rights of landless workers and peasants in Brazil. One of the groups that he worked with, Via Campesina, was protesting the presence of a GMO test site established by transnational corporation Syngenta, which the protestors felt had unlawfully encroached upon the protected area near the Iguazu River. 

In October of 2007, Oliviera, along with approximately 200 other activists, staged a peaceful protest at Syngenta's test site  in the Parana state of Brazil. During their protest, a bus full of approximately 40 armed security guards arrived and opened fire on the protestors, killing Oliviera and wounding six others. The guards were employed by a company hired by Syngenta for security. Syngenta has declared that they had no involvement in the attack and that the security personnel are not permitted to be armed. However, several members of Via Campesina had filed police reports regarding Syngenta's security company carrying arms and threatening their lives. Oliviera had also reported receiving death threats. 

Oliviera had three children.

Sources:

http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/1215

http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-and-genetic-resources-mainmenu-37/441-syngenta-murder-and-private-militias-in-brazil

http://www.christianaid.org.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/200711/partner_killed.aspx

http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=8593