Brazil Rural Killings Double in 2025 as Overall Land Conflicts Fall

Overview

• The Pastoral Land Commission (CPT), which released its 40th annual report Monday, counted 26 people killed in rural disputes in 2025, up from 13 in 2024, while total recorded conflicts fell 28% to 1,593.
• Most deaths occurred in the Amazônia Legal, led by Pará and Rondônia with seven killings each, according to the report.
• Ranchers were named as perpetrators or alleged masterminds in 20 of the 26 killings, based on the CPT’s case files.
• Forced labor cases rose 5% to 159 in 2025, and rescues increased 23% to 1,991 people, including 586 workers found at a power plant building site in Porto Alegre do Norte, Mato Grosso.
• Alongside the report, CPT and the ISPN launched the Observatório Socioambiental to unify data from 1980 to 2023 and let users track rights abuses, deforestation, and commodity expansion by state and municipality.