Originally published at The Crux
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SÃO PAULO – The number of killings linked to land disputes doubled in Brazil in 2025 compared to the previous year.
A report released by the Bishops’ Conference’s Land Pastoral Commission (known by the Portuguese acronym CPT) shows 26 people were murdered last year as a result of agrarian conflicts. In 2024, the CPT had reported 13 deaths.
The victims are landless workers, Indigenous activists, and members of other traditional communities.
The annual review, which reached its 40th edition in 2026, showed an overall decline in land disputes and violent incidents in 2025, but the number of murders doubled.
Land disputes fell from 2,207 cases in 2024 to 1,593 in 2025 and the number of violent incidents dropped from 1,548 incidents in 2024 to 978 in 2025.
The number of victims also fell from 1,181 people in 2024 to 581 last year.
The apparent contradiction, in the opinion of the CPT’s coordinators, is the result of different policies adopted by the federal government and state administrations.
“While President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration has taken a few relevant measures, such as the creation of a national committee to combat rural violence, states with a long history of agrarian
