The Dominion - Brazil

Battle for the Amazon

Moira Peters — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:14:49 +0000

Brazilian Supreme Court case pits farming in the Amazon against indigenous rights

The Brazilian Supreme Court has delayed a ruling that could have far-reaching effects on the Amazon and the thousands of indigenous people who live there. In question is the legality of a process that created an Indigenous Territory in northern Brazil, and the case threatens to reverse decades of progress on indigenous and social rights throughout the country.

After more than two decades of struggle for recognition, five indigenous groups in Brazil's northern Roraima state won the rights to their ancestral lands in 2005. Their efforts culminated in the creation of a new Indigenous Territory, Raposa Serra do Sol, which covers a large swath of the Amazon Rainforest on the border with Guyana.

In a decree signed by Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, over 18,000 indigenous Makuxi, Wapixana, Ingariko, Taukepang and Patamona peoples were granted 1.7 million hectares. Non-indigenous peoples were compensated and forced to leave the area. Although this might have brought an end to the long struggle for recognition of their territorial rights, the indigenous peoples of Raposa have faced fierce opposition from entrenched economic interests in Roraima.

In particular, a group of seven wealthy rice farmers has refused to leave the region, throwing the reserve into chaos. Known as fazendeiros, these large-scale farmers have rejected compensation and relocation, despite having arrived in the area less than 15 years ago.

A recent spate of violence against the indigenous peoples in the Raposa Territory has increased tensions. In April, an indigenous leader was attacked when a bomb was thrown at his house. In May, six Macuxi children and four adults were attacked and shot by armed men working for a rice farmer, and local mayor Paulo Cesar Quartiero. Quartiero was detained by police and later released, despite the discovery of a large weapons cache on his property.

Earlier, in April, the Supreme Court suspended an operation by the federal police to remove the remaining seven illegal occupants of the reserve: the fazendeiros had set up blockades and destroyed bridges in order to fight their eviction.

"Even with all the destruction carried out by the rice growers, the Supreme Court decided in their favor," Macuxi chief Dionito Jose de Sousa told the Associated Press in April.

According to Catarina Vianna, a member of Makunaima Grita, a Brazilian group dedicated to helping the indigenous people at Raposo Serra do Sol, the current struggle is a basic one for the peoples of Raposa.

"This is really a local conflict. It's about use of water, about the farms getting bigger and bigger,” she said by phone from London. “Now the indigenous people are saying, 'Enough, this has been recognized as our land.’"

With the support of the Roraima state government, the fazendeiros and state Governor José de Anchieta have appealed to Brazil's Supreme Court to break up the Raposa Territory and free up large amounts of the land.

"The farmers want the indigenous land to be divided into islands. They don't want the indigenous land to be a continuous tract of land. But legal experts in Brazil maintain that there is no legal basis to annul the 2005 demarcation," said Vianna.

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This comes at a time when President Silva has signed a decree to station troops permanently on all Indigenous Territories on the border. There has been talk among top officials in the Brazilian Armed Forces about foreign meddling in the largely-indigenous border region. Citing risks to national sovereignty, it appears the military feels threatened by the formation of Indigenous Territories.

"The military has an agenda," said Vianna, "to protect Brazilian sovereignty. It's been their main discourse since the dictatorship in the 60s and 70s. They are against the demarcation of continuous indigenous lands near the border because they want to control what happens [there], and they're afraid that what they call 'foreign interests' will use the Indians to then exploit the Amazon."

The military is using the conflict in Roraima to support these goals, suggesting the presence of drug traffickers and guerrilla groups in indigenous lands, and has called for the Supreme Court to annul Raposa Serra do Sol's boundaries.

According to Tim Cahill, a researcher on Brazil with human-rights organization Amnesty International, the military has long tried to taint social movements in Brazil by claiming connections to foreign revolutionary groups.

"In relation to the accusations of money coming in from Venezuela and FARC rebels – I have no evidence for or against it," he said. "But it's fair to say that whenever there's some criticism or attack to be made against social movements in Brazil... the FARC are always dragged out, although very little evidence is ever provided to prove these allegations. So it seems once again that it's an attempt to criminalize social movements in Brazil and discredit their work [that benefits] the poor and the marginalized."

Cahill says that the military – which has total access and freedom of movement in Indigenous Territories – does not have a good reputation among indigenous peoples.

"Indigenous people across the Amazon have persistently complained to Amnesty and denounced violations committed by soldiers who work indigenous areas – sexual abuse, physical abuse, and intimidation," he said. "There seems to be a clear contradiction in the sense that indigenous areas are meant to limit the access into those areas to guarantee their safety and protection. Yet when the Army goes in there, time and time again we see that [indigenous] rights are violated."

However, the military is unrepentant and has made it clear that no group's rights supersede those of the Brazilian Armed Forces.

"We want to be clear on something fundamental – Indian lands are Brazilian lands," said Defense Minister Nelson Jobim, according to a May Reuters article. "There are no nations or Indian peoples, there are Brazilians who are Indians."

The Brazilian Ministry of Defense was contacted for this piece, but declined to comment.

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Cahill believes the real causes for the current conflict over Raposa go deeper than the military's security concerns. He says that this case represents a key moment in the face-off between indigenous rights and the interests of big business in Brazil, and big agrobusiness in particular.

"This is something we see not only in the Amazon, but across Brazil," he said. "The cultural, social and economic rights of indigenous peoples tend to come into conflict with the economic interests of big agro-industry. And big agro-industry has been the driving force of the recent economic boom that's occuring in Brazil, and we've seen that there's a lot of political and judicial support for their interests."

"In this case, it's not that the military has allied itself with the farmers," said Vianna. "Rather, two separate interests have come together. This handful of farmers – they're extremely wealthy. It's not about them. It's about how Brazil will use the Amazon. Are they going to just leave it to the Indians, who won't develop it? Or does Brazil have a plan for developing the Amazon? This is a discourse of economic development.

"That's why the farmers are using economic arguments. They are saying, 'What we do is good for the state and national economy.' They call themselves the 'Nationalist Resistance.' They consider themselves those who represent the nation, against the Indians who are supported by 'foreign interests.' They never say who these 'interests' are. But by conflating the local conflict into this language of nationalism and development – of developing the nation – they were able to get closer to the military's cause."

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Rogerio Duarte do Pateo, a Sao Paulo-based member of Makunaima Grita, signalled that the consequences of the court's ruling could extend far beyond Raposa's borders.

"A decision against Raposa would create the legal precedents to revoke all indigenous titles to land in Brazil," he said. "Any other territory could be contested, [such as] the Yanomami, Kayapó."

Both Pateo and Cahill believe a decision against Raposa would not only violate the Brazilian Constitution, but it could put at risk the gains made over the last 30 years in terms of indigenous rights, throughout Brazil.

"What is on the line here is Article 231 of the Brazilian Constitution and the indigenous rights that are laid out in that article," Pateo said. "It's not that the court decision will directly affect the Constitution, but the arguments that are being used go against Article 231 – it seems that the justice system is going to favour the big landowners – and this will open up the way to revise Article 231."

"The 1988 Constitution allows indigenous people the process to set out and identify their ancestral lands," said Cahill. "There's a real fear that this will set back cases across the country of indigenous peoples who continue to fight for the rights to their land, and who, through this process, continue to seek the provision of their basic human rights and cultural rights."

According to a statement signed by 85 Brazilian NGOs in support of Raposa Serra do Sol, the Constitution "defined the rights of indigenous peoples over their lands and established that these rights enjoy over-riding precedence over any subsequent rights granted to non-indigenous holders."

However, Brazil's indigenous peoples are still fighting for these rights – and those outlined in the recently-adopted UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – to be upheld and put into practice.

"Indigenous peoples are considered minors under Brazilian law… The demarcation process doesn't give [them] full rights to their land, but allows the land to be held by the federal government in custody for them," Cahill said. "[It is] an issue which has been hotly contested and which many believe limits the rights of indigenous peoples to their full citizenship and full rights under international law."

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Whatever the Supreme Court decides, the case represents a key moment in the decades-long struggle for indigenous rights in Brazil.

"It would seriously undermine the whole system of Indian reserves in Brazil if the courts were to bow to pressure from influential landowners and politicians, particularly given the violence the Indians have been subjected to," said Miriam Ross, from Survival International.

According to Pateo, a ruling against the Raposa territory would not only undermine the recent successes in relation to indigenous rights, but would "mark the future of development in Brazil in relation to the Amazon,” giving a clear signal to logging, hydroelectric and agricultural companies that the Amazon is up for grabs.

The ruling was to be announced on August 27, but was delayed when one of the judges requested more time to look into the case.

"Will we continue a predatory model of exploitation that doesn't respect the law?" Pateo asks. "Or will Brazil be transformed – definitively – into a country that develops itself sustainably, and respects human rights?"

Watch video of the May attack on Macuxi Indians in Raposa Serra do Sol.

Raposa Indigenous After Attack

Lula da Silva on Biofuels... Sure is easier than land reform!

dawn — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 16:24:45 +0000

Brazilian president Lula da Silva has written a piece called 'Challenges for the G8 summit' for La Jornada de Mexico.

He states:

"The promotion of the use of ethanol and biodiesel helps to democratize access to energy, and diminishes world dependance on finite hydrocarbon reserves...

[Biofuels] constitute economic, social and technological alternatives that are within the reach of countries that are economically poor, but rich in soils and arable lands...

Brazil Refuses $40 Million US for AIDS Funding

Tue, 17 May 2005 17:58:27 +0000

Protesting demands that it agree to a declaration condemning prositution, Brazil became the first country to reject funding under the United States' AIDS programme.

As a result Brazil forfeits the possibility of receiving $40 million US in new AIDS funding, claiming the declaration is actually counteractive in the attempt to eliminate prosititution and the spread of AIDS.

"This would be entirely in contradiction with Brazilian guidelines for a programme that has been working very well for years. We are providing condoms and doing a lot of prevention work with sex workers, and the rate of infection has stabilized and dropped since the 1980s." Explains Sonia Correa, co-chair of the International Working Group on Sexuality and Social Policy, in a recent Guardian report.

The US demand for such declarations is not isolated to the Brazilian case. As the Guardian reports, in general, "most US AIDS funding goes directly to organisations working in the field and much will be channelled through faith organisations that back the no-abortion, pro-abstinence and anti-prostitution stance of the US neo-conservatives."

The same report suggests that Brazil was able to resist these demands because of strong HIV/AIDS policies and a "strong partnership between government and non-governmental organizations that encouraged a united response to Washington."

Correa sees Brazil's decision to refuse US funds as setting an important precedent but warns that other countries may not be strong enough to resist US influence. "The US is doing the same in other countries -- bullying, pushing and forcing -- but not every country has the possibility to say no."

The Guardian: Brazil spurns US terms for Aids help

AlterNet:Brazil to U.S.: Keep Your Money

Reuters: Brazil spurns US AIDS cash over prostitution issue

Reuters: US AIDS Policy: More Harm Than Good, Says Brazil

BBC: Brazil turns down US Aids funds

30 Murdered by Rio 'Death Squad', Public Outcry Limited

Fri, 08 Apr 2005 21:10:50 +0000

According to the UK's Guardian newspaper, the March 31st massacre of 30 people by a "band of rogue policemen" in Rio's working class Baixada district has not created "much of a stir" in the Brazilian metropolis.

The same report suggests that the pope's death has "eclipsed" all other news stories in this predominately Catholic country, but that complacency also stems from the fact that people are accustomed to hearing bad news come out of poorer areas such as Baixada.

Claudia Guerro of Rio's Public Safety Department suspects that the massacre was a retaliation by police against the arrest of eight other police officers connected to the murder of two people at a Rio police station.

Guerro claimed that the police officers involved in the massacre were "unhappy with our investigations into crimes committed by police officers and with our efforts to weed out corrupt and bad policemen."

While the public outcry against this incident has been limited, Bloomberg News Service reports that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is sending 600 "police reinforcements" to Rio in order to battle corruption and organized crime in the city.

The Guardian: Massacre in Rio Getting Little Attention

Scotsman: Brazil Massacre Implicates Police Death Squads

Bloomberg: Brazil's Lula Sends Police to Rio After Death Squads Kill 30

Growing Pains, Gains for Global Solidarity

Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:57:04 +0000

2005 World Social Forum was largest ever

Forum-goers discuss free radio and free software in Porto Allegre. Photo by John Perry Barlow; used under the Creative Commons 2.0 license.

It was a cool, cloudless day in Porto Alegre, and Avenida Borges de Medeiros - where thousands were gathered for the Peace March that kicked off the fifth World Social Forum - was bristling with energy and expectation. A swarm of brightly coloured flags, shirts, banners and placards competed for the eye's attention while a mishmash of languages filled the air. In the distance, from the window of a tall building, a thousand small scraps of white receipt paper fell over the crowded street, twirling brilliantly in the afternoon sunshine. On the corner of Rua Dr. Jose Montaury, the pounding drum beat and megaphone of the Partido Comunista do Brasil demanded attention, all but drowning out the rest of hubbub.

Though many of the Forum's one hundred fifty-five thousand participants may not have understood Portuguese, the PC do B's anti-Bush slogans needed no translation. Their sentiments were echoed in many of the signs carried by other groups and individuals, including some which read "Bush is the #1 terrorist," something which prompted one American participant to comment, "you can't see that in my country."

Indeed, conceived as a meeting place for "groups and movements of civil society opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism," the Forum has opened a space for the expression of ideas that challenge existing power structures. Mounted as a protest against the World Economic Forum in Davos and as a response to a world order dictated by the demands of capital, the radically reasonable mandate of the WSF is to build "a planetary society centred on the human person."

Over six days, the Forum offered an incredible diversity of over 2500 workshops, panels and other events presented by some 4000 organizations from 112 countries. Hugging the shore of the Guaíba river, the grounds were divided into eleven thematic pavilions with such designations as "Communication: counter-hegemonic practices, rights and alternatives" and "Peace, demilitarization and struggle against war, free trade and debt."

Though loosely unified under the broad banner of anti-capitalism/anti-neo-liberalism/anti-imperialism, the Forum is also a space for people to "debate ideas democratically" and there was plenty of room for controversy. One of the major flashpoints for disagreement was Brazil's president Luis Ignacion Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, and his relationship to the Forum and the values for which it stands.

Welcomed by jubilant crowds at the 2003 Forum, which followed the Brazilian elections and the victory of Lula's Partido dos Trabalhadores by only a few months, Lula has since disappointed many of his former supporters with what they perceive as an acquiescence to pressure from the United States, the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund, and his adoption of conservative fiscal policy. While many at the Peace March sported bright red T-shirts reading "100% Lula," the walls along Av. Borges de Medeiros displayed graffiti in three-foot high letters reading: "Abaixo as reformas anti-povo do Lula" (Down with Lula's anti-people reforms).

In his address on January 27th of this year, Lula stressed the importance of the struggle against poverty and his commitment to bringing this issue to the table at Davos. The crowd greeted him with a mixture of applause and jeers. (The local press made much of this booing and of the opposition to Lula from within his own party; the Porto Alegre paper Zero Hora even went so far as to speculate that Lula may be subject to threats and that he may have been wearing bullet-protective clothing under his suit, which they deemed exaggerated for the hot weather.)

Even Lula's decision to attend both the WSF and the World Economic Forum had public opinion divided. While some saw him as an emissary set to carry some of the Forum's social messages to the power brokers in the Swiss mountains, others simply viewed the move as a cynical political manoeuvre. Either way, noted Terra Viva, the independent newspaper produced for the WSF, Lula was "perhaps the only known link between the two forums."

In contrast to this lukewarm reception, the welcome received by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was overwhelmingly positive. Speaking before a crowd of over twelve thousand on January 30th, he spoke of the need to "transcend capitalism by way of socialism" and denounced the interventionist actions of the U.S. The people's consciousness of the need for profound changes is greatest in South America, he said. "When these people choose freedom, there is no force capable of stopping them." His remarks were met with wild applause.

Chavez also announced a proposal for the creation of a Latin American television network which would provide a space in the media for perspectives which diverge from the world view imposed by the North and which, he said, could more accurately represent Latin American realities. Such a plan would certainly pose a threat to the current balance of media power, as UNESCO's New World Information and Communication Order once did in the 60s and 70s. That revolutionary initiative, designed to democratize media by addressing the one-way flow of information from North to South, and supported by the Non-Aligned countries of the South, was opposed by Britain and the U.S. The withdrawal of funding and political support by both nations ultimately forced UNESCO to abandon the project.

If Chavez is able to implement such a plan, it will no doubt be in the face of substantial opposition from the Rupert Murdochs of the world. But for those who believe, as the Forum tagline goes, that "Another world is possible," such a feat would only serve to increase Chavez's rising star power.

* * *

While the WSF certainly provides space for the exchange of a diversity of ideas, its critics argue that this is its weakness, that the Forum is little more than a talking shop, an ideology fair which produces a cacophony of voices but little concrete action or results. There were also complaints among participants that the Forum lacked organization and that the infrastructure was inadequate for the sheer number of participants. In the Youth Camp, where thirty-five thousand participants pitched their tents, a lack of security was blamed for some eighty accusations of sexual assault and rape.

However, say Forum defenders like Ramesh Singh, Chief Executive of Action Aid International, the WSF's basic importance is as an event which has "facilitated various movements, processes and protests to come together, converge and synergize." Beyond providing a place for like-minded people to rub elbows, Singh says, the WSF also "sent a message of formidable challenge, creating a sense of insecurity in the minds of the dominant power and discourse."

In 2006, rather than holding the Forum in a single venue, there will be four or five events taking place simultaneously in different parts of the world. It was rumoured that one of these will be held in Caracas, Venezuela, but nothing will be officially decided before the meeting of the International Council in April. The Council has already decided that in 2007 the Forum will be held in Africa, though the exact whereabouts are as yet unknown. With over 120,000 attendees, the fifth World Social Forum was the biggest ever, and it's clear that popular support for the WSF continues to grow. It remains to be seen what effect this burgeoning movement will have on the neo-liberal agenda it seeks to derail.

» Peace Magazine: Whose Media? Whose New World Order?

» Indymedia Ireland: World Social Forum 2005: An Irish Eyewitness Report

» San Francisco Bay Indymedia: The Global Media Democracy Movement

» Z Magazine: The Future of the World Social Forum Process

» CounterPunch: Tale of Two Presidents

This year's World Social Forum was the largest ever, attracting over 120,000 participants. Jennifer Besner describes the scene in Porto Allegre.

Canadian Media Missing from World Social Forum

Fri, 04 Feb 2005 20:56:54 +0000

The Canadian media have been criticized for their lack of coverage of the World Social Forum in Porto Allegre, Brazil this year. While Canadian and American media flocked to Davos, Switzerland to cover the World Economic Forum, an exclusive gathering of CEOs, celebrities and world leaders, they were, according to critics, completely missing in action from this year's Social Forum.

Paradoxically, the meeting of 100,000 representatives of social movements in East Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Europe and the Americas was the largest ever and was touted by some attendees as a breakthrough for global justice movements.

The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star did not run any stories on the World Social Forum. And while the CBC web site featured three wire stories that mentioned the Social Forum, it featured 24 stories on the World Economic Forum.

Dr. Elizabeth Smythe, a professor of political science at Concordia University College in Edmonton who attended this year's forum, said that the lack of attention to the Social Forum is part of a larger pattern in Canadian media coverage. "Much of the focus even of our news is on isolated events, individuals and what might more broadly be called infotainment... [not on] social structures and economic processes that generate inequality."

"When media focus on politics, it is often in the context of electoral competitions and scandals of individual politicians, not on citizens participating in their community life... what the WSF is about."

Competing Visions: Social Forum, Economic Forum

Thu, 03 Feb 2005 20:45:44 +0000

Tony Blair discussed climate change and AIDS in Africa, the world's two richest men lamented the US dollar's continued decline and growing US debt, and the Chinese economy was extensively discussed at the World Economic Forum. An exclusive gathering of CEOs, celebrities, and world leaders, the conference is held yearly in the resort town of Davos, Switzerland. While speeches by Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac highlighted the plight of the poor, reports indicate that discussion was dominated by China's rapid economic growth and the "excitement" of renewed energy for World Trade Organization talks.

According to BusinessWeek magazine, one of the issues of concern in China is rapid salary growth and the "growing shortage of single women workers willing to accept very low wages." Representatives from US and Japanese multinationals discussed "how to get your profits out of China." Other sessions focused on China's growing influence in design, consumer electronics, and culture. "It's phenomenal," Bill Gates said of China. "It's a brand new form of capitalism."

World Trade Organization talks have been stalled over conflicts between poor and rich countries regarding agricultural subsidies. Another popular session looked at ways to market products to poor people, or what facilitators called the "bottom of the pyramid."

One commentator in the business press noted the contradiction in Davos between "voting poverty the number one problem facing the world today" at a Davos "town hall meeting" and "the same people in effect voting for elegance by donning black-tie and long gowns to celebrate their endeavours." A downside was that, for some, Davos is an occasion "to congratulate each other on how important they are."

An annual protest against the Davos gathering, the World Social Forum in Porto Allegre, Brazil drew a record-breaking 100,000 social justice activists from around the world. Thousands of groups and issues were represented, from Mexican farmers to Indian social movements to Korean trade unionists.

The Forum is mainly a networking session for activists to form international alliances to counter the increasingly concentrated global reach of corporations. A Chicago Tribune report mentioned several European Union delegations sent to strengthen ties between workers in rich and poor countries.

While theoretical debates abound about alternatives to global capitalism, concrete campaigns also emerged from the wildly diverse social forum. Prominent this year were calls to cancel the debt of countries hit hard by the tsunami last December.

BusinessWeek: Talking Chinese at Davos

BusinessWeek: Beyond Davos' Glamour and Glitz

The Star (S. Africa): Big business guns aim aid at Africa

Asia Times: Davos meet recharges Doha Round of WTO talks

Business Report (S. Africa): Bill Gates tells Davos the dollar is going down and his money is elsewhere

Chicago Tribune: Global counterforum draws over 100,000 social activists

Inter Press: World Social Forum: The Risks Posed by Success

AllAfrica.com: World Social Forum: Is It Africa's Turn Next?

US Role in 1964 Brazilian Military Coup Revealed: National Security Archive

Wed, 07 Apr 2004 01:19:06 +0000

Declassified files reveal that Lyndon B. Johnson wanted the US to "take every step" to support a military coup in Brazil in 1964. photo: Lyndon B. Johnson Archive

Recently declassified documents posted online by the Washington-based National Security Archive (NSA) revealed the full extent of US support for the 1964 ouster of Brazilian President Joao Goulart. On a declassified audio tape, President Lyndon Johnson said "I think we ought to take every step that we can, be prepared to do everything that we need to do," in reference to preparations for the coup.

Through the CIA, the US provided supplies and funding for the coup, and provided a naval task force to "intimidate Goulart's backers and be in position to intervene militarily if fighting became protracted," the NSA said in a news release. The support for the military coup was part of a broader program of anti-communist actions. According to the NSA's documents, Johnson feared Brazil becoming "the China of the 1960s." President Goulart was known to be friendly to labour unions, limited the profits multinational corporations could remove from Brazil, and had plans to trade with communist countries.

High-ranking US officials had previously denied involvement in the coup.

General Humberto de Alencar Castello Branco, who seized power in the coup, moved immediately to ban labour unions, round up and torture "suspected communists", and ban criticism of the government. Brazil's military government (which lasted until 1984) assisted General Jorge Rafael Videla in his successful Argentinian coup.

In December 2003, the NSA posted declassified documents that demonstrated US involvement in the Argentinean "Dirty War" of the mid-1970s. Records show Henry Kissinger and other high-ranking US officials told the Argentine military junta to get the "dirty war" over with as quickly as possible, before US Congress could cut military aid. The NSA writes: "a post-junta truth commission found that the Argentine military had 'disappeared' at least 10,000 Argentines in the so-called 'dirty war' against 'subversion' and 'terrorists' between 1976 and 1983; human rights groups in Argentina put the number at closer to 30,000."

» National Security Archive: Brazil Marks 40th Anniversary of Military Coup: Declassified Documents Shed Light on U.S. Role

» National Security Archive: Kissinger to Argentines on Dirty War: "The Quicker You Succeed the Better"