Quilombola movement demands justice and land rights on anniversary of leader's assassination; Conaq study reveals increase in executions of quilombolas

In the Quilombo de Pitanga dos Palmares (BA), the first anniversary of the murder of Mãe Bernadete Pacífico was marked by longing and emotion, but above all by the collective cry for justice and the guarantee of the right to title to quilombola territories.
In the sacred land that gave rise to the leadership, in the municipality of Simões Filho, his memory became the root of the ancestral quilombola struggle, which guides and accompanies the seeds of resistance to remain firm in the defense of their rights.
“We will not associate Dona Bernadete’s murder with drug trafficking, because Dona Bernadete’s death was groundless in this country!”
In a speech at the 7th Quilombola Art and Culture Festival – Faith, Culture and Resistance, which organized a series of tributes for the anniversary of the death of the quilombola leader, the political coordinator of the National Coordination of Black Rural Quilombola Communities (Conaq), Selma Dealdina, said that the family, friends, children of the saint and the national quilombola movement will not accept the version of the Civil Police of the State of Bahia, which points to drug trafficking as the reason behind Mother Bernadete's death.

On the night of August 17, 2023, Maria Bernadete Pacífico Moreira was murdered in her home, in Quilombo Pitanga dos Palmares, at the age of 72. Despite being in the Human Rights Defenders Protection Program (PPDDH), she was shot 22 times, in a case that shocked the country and highlighted the vulnerability of quilombola leaders in Brazil.
After Mother Bernadete, 12 quilombola people were murdered in the country in the period of one year. One unprecedented survey carried out by Conaq showed an exponential increase in crimes in the last five years.
There were 46 executions recorded from January 2019 to July 2024, an annual average of 8 murders. Every month and a half, a quilombola life was violently eliminated. 2021 and 2023 stand out as years with a number of murders higher than the annual average.
For decades, the Quilombo de Pitanga dos Palmares has faced serious land conflicts, aggravated by rampant real estate speculation and the installation of public and private enterprises that put its survival at risk.
“Trafficking cannot take credit for a fight that Dona Bernadete fought while denouncing deforestation, while denouncing the lack of land titling and while demanding the death of Binho [her son, also murdered]. The blood spilled in the fight for land in this country must be respected! Dona Bernadete’s blood will not be dishonored,” said Selma Dealdina.
“Mother Bernadete was a mother, the mother of the quilombo, the griot who was in charge of the state within the quilombo,” recalls Mother Jaciara, a friend and resident of Pitanga dos Palmares. “But she was not an ialorixá,” despite being initiated into Candomblé, she explains. Therefore, the accusation of religious racism for the crime cannot be considered. “When [the media] says ‘the ialorixá was murdered in the terreiro,’ that also leaves us from Candomblé vulnerable. So can someone just go to any terreiro and kill?” she asked.

Legacy continues
O 7th Quilombola Art and Culture Festival was held between August 16 and 18 by Quilombo Pitanga dos Palmares and the Muzanzu Ethnodevelopment Association. Seven quilombola communities from the region and leaders from all over the country came together to celebrate the legacy of Mother Bernadete with guided tours, musical performances, traditional dances, cultural workshops and a fair of artisanal and gastronomic products.
“This festival portrays the story of struggle, resistance and ancestry of Mother Bernadete. That was all she did when she was here among us and I am continuing this courageous and wonderful legacy,” said Jurandir Pacífico, the matriarch’s son.
Active on several fronts, Mother Bernadete defended female empowerment, the creation and implementation of public policies and quality education – one of her dreams was to establish universities within the quilombos.


In addition, she was part of the coordination and women's collective of Conaq, served as Secretary for the Promotion of Racial Equality in Simões Filho (BA), was a teacher of popular culture, artisan and also a reference as a samba dancer, being part of the first coordination of the Association of Sambadores and Sambadeiras of the State of Bahia (Asseba).
“This is my mother’s wish, to see the quilombola brothers together. This exchange of knowledge and practices of seven quilombola communities involved in this Festival is of utmost importance,” added Jurandir Pacífico.
During the festival, the Mãe Bernadete Rustic Museum was inaugurated. Created to honor the leader and her son Flávio Gabriel Pacífico dos Santos, better known as Binho do Quilombo, murdered in 2017. The space is a traditional wattle and daub house and was built in a week, with clay, bamboo, slats, brazilwood and many hands.



To the sound of drums, Jurandir Pacífico announced the opening of the museum, but he allowed himself to remain outside. “I am not in a position to go in today. I will open it, but I will not go in. I am not prepared to go in now,” he said.
“The museum preserves the memory and history of the people who fought. There is the memory of Binho, the memory of Mother Bernadete and the prospect that we will not lose these stories,” said the Minister of Women, Aparecida Gonçalves.


Faith and ancestry
“In Candomblé, when a Candomblé woman dies, she becomes an ancestor. So Mother Bernadete here is a force that is with us,” recalled Mother Jaciara.
The Quilombo Pitanga dos Palmares is the only one in Brazil that has a street of terreiros, and it is in this setting that Mother Bernadete worshipped her faith. Despite not having the title of ialorixá, she was a woman of the terreiro, daughter of Oxumarê, initiated in the 1970s in the terreiro Ilê Axé Kalé Bokum, in Salvador.
“Spirituality ends up being the technology that protects us the most,” commented Wellington Pacífico, grandson of Mother Bernadete and who was with her when she was murdered.
“It is the cowrie shell that will guide us, it is Exú, it is Caboclo who will guide us on which paths to follow and which people to trust. It ends up being important for us, because when we listen, we end up getting results. Ultimately, there is progress in the struggles in relation to the defense of the territory and also our protection as people, our physical integrity,” he explained.
Quilombola womanhood
O II National Meeting of Quilombola Women It was one of the last public agendas of Conaq that Mãe Bernadete attended, in June 2023. The theme was “When a quilombola woman falls, the quilombo rises with her”.
“Mother Bernadete is a founder, a member, because she does not cease to exist because she is no longer here on the physical plane. She continues among us. She is one of the founders of the Conaq women’s collective,” recalled Selma Dealdina, who, together with other women from the institution and the collective, promoted a workshop for quilombola women at the festival to also honor this part of Mother Bernadete’s struggle.
“The pain that hurt here hurt all of us. So this is a unique moment, in which we can experience at least a little justice. It is a reaffirmation of rights, of struggle, of resistance and of saying that her legacy has not died. On the contrary: her legacy lives on. She did not fight only for her territory, she fought for all territories”, reinforced the executive coordinator of Conaq and member of the Women's Collective, Laura Silva.
The collective joined forces with women from Quilombo Pitanga dos Palmares and Salvador for a workshop on political reflections, which addressed topics such as racism, land regularization, abandonment, feminicide and psychological illness. The women also wrote about Mother Bernadete. "A legacy of struggle, faith and resistance. An ancestral and visceral revolution. Eternally present!" read one of the messages.




Laura highlighted that the women's collective works together in the fight for public policies that are appropriate to the quilombola reality, debating issues at a national level and mainly making impacts in ministries, “so that we can have a public policy that meets our reality”, she commented.
“If you look at the data, the largest number of women who suffer femicide are [black] women. Today, a large number of quilombo leaders are women. They are the ones on the front line and therefore they are more vulnerable,” explained Minister Cida Gonçalves.
Data from the latest survey “Racism and Violence against Quilombos in Brazil”, carried out by Terra de Direitos and Conaq, reveal that, in the period from 2018 to 2022, of the 32 murders recorded, nine were women.
“There is an ingrained hatred in the country, which exacerbates violence against women. Mother Bernadete was already dead after the first three shots. Even so, they fired 19 more. This is not a crime that characterizes trafficking, as they are trying to say. No. This is a hate crime,” the minister emphasized.
According to her, the government is implementing a national protocol to protect quilombola women, with public policies aimed at their safety, autonomy and combating violence. Within the scope of the ministry, the Permanent Forum of Quilombola Women – a demand from the last National Meeting of Quilombola Women –, where bimonthly debates are held to define the lines of these policies to be invested in the quilombos.
Land dispute
The murder of Mother Bernadete is part of the statistics that highlight the insecurity within the quilombola communities of Brazil. Land disputes are the main threat to the security of traditional communities.
“I may not have the elements to say all [the reasons], but I say predominantly: yes, the land issue is adjacent to all this violence that traditional communities have suffered, especially quilombola communities,” said the public prosecutor and coordinator of the human rights area of the Public Ministry of Bahia, Rogério de Queiroz.

The expansion of agribusiness, wind farms and solar energy farms, along with their transmission lines, is putting pressure on quilombola territories. In addition, the real estate sector’s interest in areas valued by tourism and coastal developments is intensifying the pressure. The most worrying thing, however, is the advance of organized crime into quilombola territories, the geraizeiros and other traditional communities.
“The state of Bahia cannot experience another situation like the one that happened to Binho, to Mãe Bernadete. We cannot experience another situation of aggression, of violence against human rights defenders and we need to improve these protection and prevention mechanisms,” he warned.
According to the public prosecutor, the Public Prosecutor's Office is responsible for pointing out the errors identified in these cases. “The Public Prosecutor's Office acts almost as a subsidiary to the omission of public entities. That's why we are called. Strictly speaking, we shouldn't even be faced with situations like these. The Public Prosecutor's Office ends up being highlighted because of the void that is created in this scenario of public policy to protect these people.”
Titling of Pitanga dos Palmares
Chief of staff of the Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality of Bahia (Sepromi-BA), Alexandro Reis highlighted the importance of granting titles to quilombola territories to end conflicts. “First, because it gives communities security in terms of having their territory and land guaranteed to produce, to preserve their culture, to reproduce.”
Secondly, the preservation of the environment.”Quilombola communities have this important role of preserving the environment. Its production does not degrade biomes, nor does it harm history, affective and cultural memories, and the functioning of the community. Furthermore, it is a determination of our Federal Constitution, it is a matter of fundamental rights that it is the State's responsibility to guarantee”, he pointed out.
Sepromi works with the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra) to recognize quilombola territories. Quilombo Pitanga dos Palmares was certified in 2004 by the Palmares Cultural Foundation.
In April 2024, Incra recognized approximately 854 hectares of land as officially belonging to the quilombola community. However, the The process of granting titles to quilombola territories in Brazil is extensive and time-consuming.
Alexandro Reis explains that there is a task force working with INCRA, the Ministry of Agrarian Development (MDA), the Attorney General's Office (AGU) and the Attorney General's Office of the State of Bahia (PGE-BA) to clear the area, which covers 854 hectares. The properties of non-quilombolas have been identified and notified. Now, the federal government must negotiate compensation for the families' departure.
New protection strategies
According to last IBGE Census, Bahia is the state with the largest number of quilombolas in Brazil. There are 397.059 and only 5% live in demarcated territories.
The state leads, along with Maranhão and Pará, the ranking of deaths due to land conflicts. In Bahia alone, at least 11 quilombolas have been murdered in ten years.
Despite a firm and solid fight for the title of quilombola territories, including her own, Mãe Bernadete feared for her own life. She joined the PPDDH and had been part of the program since 2017. However, it was not enough.
“Every time we advance on the rights of these communities, the response is more violent from those who have no interest in these communities having possession of their territory. These are rich territories, with water and minerals, and the powers and economic forces question them,” said the Superintendent of Human Rights in the State of Bahia, Trícia Calmon.
She advocates reviewing protection strategies for people fighting for territories, highlighting the need to organize processes that accelerate land regularization. According to Trícia Calmon, it is crucial to identify and eliminate threats arising from insecurity in land tenure.
“It is necessary to reach territories with strong public policies, because it sends a message that that territory exists and is on the government’s action map. Another way is to strengthen the communities themselves and social movements, so that they can also build their own protection solutions. All spheres of government need to be in constant dialogue,” he warned.
What am I going to say my prayer for?
I ate fire who gave it to me
If my prayer is over, my Zombie,
The enemies did not defeat me
If our prayer is over, my Zombie
The enemies did not defeat us.
Composition by Ananias Viana, friend of Mother Bernadete
The tribute meeting comes to an end, but life in Quilombo Pitanga de Palmares continues, uninterrupted. The fight for land, rights and memory persists, invincible, like Mother Bernadete, who became eternal in roots and now stands tall as a strong trunk among the ancestors, watching over those who walk under her protection.
In every quilombola, Mother Bernadete lives on.

