Brazil is a country of great disparities of wealth, tracing back to its Portuguese colonization, marginalizing the country's many indigenous peoples. The majority of the land is held by the wealthy minority, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without land or livelihood. The Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST, or Landless Workers Movement) has petitioned the government by squatting on land and
developing successful communities under the constant threat of violence from large land owners.