Number 100, October 14, 1993

POLICE VIOLENCE

- Rio police informant denounces police violence and corruption.

The testimony given by police informant Ivan Custodio Barbosa de Lima last week in the investigations of the Vigario Geral killings revealed the extent of violence and corruption committed by Rio de Janeiro security forces. State Secretary of the Civil Police, Nilo Batista, said of the actions of civil and military police denounced by Lima, "This is the real organized crime ring."

Lima also gave information in five other cases involving police. In exchange for his testimony, Batista, who is also vice-governor of Rio de Janeiro, gave Lima immunity of prosecution and guaranteed his personal safety.

Highlights of Lima's 15 hours of recorded testimony were: 1)Accusations against 28 Military Police, 3 Civil Police, and 2 police informants in the killings of 21 residents of the Vigario Geral favela; 2) Accusations against Military Police of the 9th Battalion for the killings of 11 residents of the Acari favela in 1990. Lima said the victims were buried in the town of Sao Goncalo; 3) Accused military police officer Eduardo Creazola of the murder of Edmeia da Silva, the "mother of Acari", whose son was killed at Acari, and who denounced police involvement in the killings; [Post script:  On January 23, 2004, São Paulo's Estadao newspaper reported ".....Eduardo José Rocha Creazola, accused of participation of the shootings in Vigário Geral was absolved by the courts because of lack of evidence. 
(http://www.estadao.com.br/arquivo/cidades/2004/not20040123p11120.htm)] 4) Said that civil police found fugitive Pablo Escobar at a residence in the exclusive beach town of Cabo Frio, north of Rio. The police demanded, and Escobar paid, US$10 million for not turning Escobar over to the authorities; 16 drug traffickers were killed by civil and military police last June in the Tijuca National Forest in Rio de Janeiro; 6)Jorge Carelli, of the Osvaldo Cruz Foundation, was "disappeared" and killed by informants of the Anti-Kidnaping Division of the Civil Police; 7) Police accused in the Vigario Geral killings had plotted to kill Secretary Nilo Batista.

Batista said that the police model in effect in Rio is "out of control. If the efforts made to commit crimes were applied to carry out the law, public safety would be much better than it is now."

A commission of civil and military police, and officials of the Public Ministry (the state's prosecutory system), is studying each denouncement made by Lima.

Lima was an informant for 16 years in the theft and robber department of the Civil Police.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

- Loggers accused of killing Kanamari indian.

The National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) on October 3 accused three loggers of killing twenty year old Jose Kanamari, a Kanamari indian. The loggers, Leotoero Acreano, Antonio Brabo, and Jose Hugo, were illegally taking logs out of the indigenous reservation, Vale do Javari, near the Brazil-Peru border. The three loggers have fled and up to this moment have not been apprehended.

On October 8, the FUNAI administration in Mato Grosso do Sul, the state Secretary of Justice, and representatives of the Indian Council met with 120 Kanamaris who have been occupying a ranch in Porto Murtinho, 600 kilometers from the capital, Campo Grande, for the last week. According to FUNAI, the indians are asking that the owners of this ranch not be allowed to return, as the ranch is located on their reservation. The Kanamaris complain that ranchers Mario Peron and Edson Nogueira have been exploiting the land illegally since 1981.

- Attorney General asks for explanation for not demarcating indigenous territories.

In response to an official letter in which the federal Attorney General, Artistides Junqueira, asked for an explanation for the non-fulfillment of the constitutional deadline of October 5 for demarcating indigenous lands, President Itamar Franco stated that there does not exist any process on this matter. Hours before Junqueira sent his request, the Ministry of Justice said that only 16 of the 32 governmental decrees for setting boundaries have been ratified by the President.

- Timber companies speed up removal of mahogany from indigenous areas.

The Catholic Church's Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) reported on October 7 that 5000 mahogany logs will be removed from the Kayapo indigenous area, in the state of Para, by the Ferreira Timber Company. CIMI said that this operation is illegal, since the trees were cut down on indigenous lands, and the logs were seized in August by the Brazilian environmental agency IBAMA. However, because the area is not inspected in any way, the timber company is acting without restraint. The company belongs to Kayapo who live in the Pykany village. An additional 8 thousand cubic meters of mahogany are being taken from the same area by the Purimil Timber Company, with which the Kayapo in the Kikretum village do business. All this timber will be removed from the indigenous territory by the middle of November, when the rainy season begins.

In addition to the devastation the companies are causing, CIMI accuses them of undermining the traditional social and economic organization of indigenous people. "Because of the easy money they are making, the men, particularly the younger ones, do not need to work and spend most of their time hanging around drunk in the neighboring villages."

CIMI states that "some indigenous leaders have been corrupted and are now negotiating multi-million contracts with timber companies, without taking into account the damages which this kind of exploitation is causing to the Indian territory and community. In August, Father Diego Polizzari and two teachers were expelled from the Kikretum village in compliance with a requirement of the Purimil timber company. Father Polizzari had denounced the illegal exploitation of hardwood in the Kayapo area to the news media. The priest and the two teachers were expelled in spite of opposition from a number of indians who are members of the Indigenous Pastoral of the Prelacy of Xingu, Para, and of CIMI."

There are many mahogany trees on Kayapo land, but because of unrestrained exploitation since the 1960s there are some areas where no mahogany is found anymore. CIMI says that even FUNAI has been facilitating and mediating irregular contracts with timber companies.

- Investigation of Yanomami massacre concluded.

The Catholic Church's Indigenous Missionary Council, CIMI, reported on October 7 that the Federal Police has ended its investigation of the massacre of Yanomami indians last August and concluded that the massacre was an act of genocide. The preventive detention of 23 gold miners has been requested. According to the officer in charge of the investigation, the Brazilian miners intended to kill all the Yanomami in the two villages located in Venezuela. The Federal Police blamed the invasion of Yanomami territory by the miners on the Calha Norte (North Channel) project of military occupation of Brazil frontiers, and on the former governor of Roraima and ex-president of FUNAI, Romero Juca.

- Military occupation of the Amazon increases.

The Brazil Army confirmed on October 7 the opening of lines of foreign credit for buying Brazilian weapons. According to the Minister of the Army, Zenildo Zoroastro de Lucena, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been studying since the beginning of October the request to open new financing abroad, in negotiations linked with Brazilian agricultural products. Among those interested in this operation are Russia, France, China, and the United States. The released credits, as much as US$1 billion will be used by the Armed Forces. Zoroastro said that most of the purchases would be for light combat equipment for the new military centers to be set up in the Amazon region as part of the Army's occupation of the area.

The Army Minister said that the military occupation of the Amazon will happen through small, but well-equipped contingents. He emphasized the importance of the region for the country's economic future and the need for the military to accompany the process of populating the region with new military centers and more troops. "The Amazon will be the new pole of development in Brazil," he said.

Troops transferred from other parts of the country will reinforce the contingent of 4 brigades, with 6000 soldiers of the Jungle Infantry of the Amazon region. Their priority will be defense of the borders. Brazil has made an accord with Guiana in order to avoid possible conflicts with US military maneuvers near the Brazilian border.

Zoroastro termed a success the recently concluded Operation Surumu military exercises in the Amazon region. The exercises included a "D-Day" landing of 800 paratroopers 220 kilometers from Boa Vista, Roraima. Maneuvers of this sort are to occur every two years.

- Guarani protest government inaction on demarcation.

Sixty Guarani leaders, representing 25 thousand indians from Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, and Santa Catarina, met in Sao Paulo between September 30 and October 5. The purpose of the assembly was to discuss strategies to assure the space needed to survive physically and culturally.

Although many of their villages are close to large urban centers, the Guarani maintain their cultural traditions. Most Guarani do not speak Portuguese, even in villages within the city of Sao Paulo.

The Guarani reserve in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, suffers from a high rate of suicides. In Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, and Rio de Janeiro, their lands have not yet been demarcated. In Espirito Santo, the Guarani are suffering from the actions of the Aracruz wood pulp processing plant, and in Parana, from the consequences of the construction of the Itaipu dam.

On the closing day of their assembly, the Guarani held an action in front of the Sao Paulo City Council to protest the lack of government action in demarcating indigenous territories. In a statement, the Pro-Indian Commission said, "If the Constitution had been obeyed, today the 519 indigenous territories would be demarcated. However, the reality is something else. At this moment, only 87 indigenous lands have been demarcated.

"The responsibility for demarcation and protection of these lands belongs to the federal government, which has not fulfilled its constitutional duty.

"The constitutional period for demarcation ended today, but the federal government's obligation in fulfilling the law will not end until the last territory is demarcated and free from invasions."

GRASSROOTS MOVEMENTS

- Citizens Action against Hunger Movement begin new phase.

The Brazilian Association of Non-Governmental Organizations sponsored a seminar in Sao Paulo from September 30 to October 2 on the experiences registered so far in the Citizens Action against Misery and for Life Movement.

Paulo Pires de Campos, of Citizens Action, said that "some anti-hunger committees have reached another stage where they are not just collecting food but are starting to discuss actions to do away with the misery in this country."

Campos gave as an example the work of the Bank Workers Union's committee against hunger in Brasilia, which promotes discussions on citizenship, and developed a literacy program for children and adults, and a sewing workshop.

Using such examples, seminar participants raised issues for the future of the movement. They reaffirmed the proposal to fight to restore the notion of citizenship and citizens rights, but also concluded that Citizens Action must also act as a watchdog in regards to the activities of the State, which is primarily responsible for combating misery and improving the conditions of life of the population.

One group consisting of street people presented a series of proposals ranging from the call for more volunteers to work in Day Centers to the need to engage the middle class in the fight against misery. They called for pressure on the federal government to create work fronts, with shelters, and guaranteeing these fronts 40% of the homes built. The group also called for more day care centers and proposed that the school nutrition program also provide food for street children.

Another organization which participated in the seminar was the government-sponsored Food Security Council (CONSEA). This group considered the settling of rural workers on the land as one of its priorities in the fight against hunger. It is pressuring the federal government to restart the settlement program, which has been paralyzed since 1988.

Favui Valente, a CONSEA consultant, said that the government's original goals was to settle 20 thousand families by the end of 1993, and consolidate the already existing settlement programs. However federal funds for this work were cut by 22% in the 1993 budget, and the goals have not been met.

Despite this, the program started again last July with the signing of two decrees expropriating 1,555 hectares. Twenty-seven projects settling 3,270 families were created through September, and 26 other areas, totaling 289,656 hectares, were expropriated for 7,250 families. An additional 37 projects which would benefit 8,362 families are being analyzed by government lawyers.

"If this program were strictly fulfilled, it would settle 16 thousand families, which represents 80% of this year's goal," said Valente. CONSEA intends to pressure the government to designate US$ 1.3 billion of the 1994 budget for the settling of 100,000 more families next year.

- Citizens Action to conduct census of malnourished children.

The Citizens Action Movement against Misery and for Life is coordinating a national census to identify children up to age two who are malnourished. The census, to take place between October 12 and November 15, aims to reduce the number of deaths due to hunger and diseases resulting from precarious living conditions.

Many deaths could be prevented with the adoption of simple measures, such as furnishing potable water.

Once identified, the children will undergo a rehabilitation process (food and medical treatment), through the System of Alimentary and Nutritional Vigilance. Flavio Valente of the government's Food Security Council said that the idea of the census consists of having local groups discuss with the population the causes of hunger and to find ways to eradicate it.

- Betinho wins UNICEF award, calls for social change.

Sociologist Herbert de Souza, "Betinho", executive-secretary of the Brazilian Institute of Social and Ecomonic Analysis (IBASE) and founder of the Citizens Action Movement against Misery and for Life, received the 1993 "Children and Peace" prize awarded by UNICEF on October 7.

On October 12, Betinho spoke before thousands of pilgrims at the mass in honor of Brazil's patron saint, Nossa Senhora de Aparecida at the basilica in Aparecida, Sao Paulo. He denounced "the industry of misery" financed by public funds, and used for political objectives. He called attention to the fact that the greatest concentration of social aid is found in northeast Brazil, and perpetuates a centuries-old structure. "This region was the one which industrialized misery and hunger with the aid of the 'coroneis' (large land holders and power brokers) and their modern-day counterparts.

"A country which exports food cannot have people going hungry. It is absolutely immoral and indecent, that 32 million people go hungry in a country with the third largest agriculture economy in the world."

Betinho said the anti-hunger campaign must move to another phase. "After food, jobs; after jobs, change the country's structures. Before, we tried to change the country through reason, theories, ideologies. Now we are wanting to change the country through ethics, solidarity, and the concrete practice of persons encountering one another.

"My belief is that we common citizens, if we organize ourselves and mobilize ourselves, will change this country. We cannot keep expecting salvation to come from above, from the State. The State is only an instrument, salvation is the society."

POLITICAL NEWS

- Constitution revision begins, and civil society reacts.

The Federal Supreme Court overruled the decision of one of its members and declared the congressional vote to initiate the revision of the Constitution.

Congress opened the revision process on October 7. Because there were not enough members to make a quorum, the reading of the regulations for the revision, known as the Internal Regiment, could not take place.

INESC, the National Institute of Socio-Economic Studies, in a message to NGOs and grassroots movements, called for "preventive attitudes to avoid being run over by the conservative wing of Congress, which is clearly the dominator and definer of the rules of the game" in the constitutional revision.

INESC suggests that "all organizations mobilize themselves and put into action their mechanisms for communicating with congressional members, and requesting their active and strong participation in the formulation of the Internal Regiment, and the limits of the revision, the forms of popular participation, and the end point of the revision."

The Internal Regiment, proposed by Federal Deputy Nelson Jobim, sets up the following process for the revision:

October 13-28 - Discussion, amendments, and voting on the Internal Regiment.

November 2-27 - Presentation of amendments to the Constitution.

November 27 - Initiation of voting on constitutional amendments.

INESC notes that this calendar, which includes Congress working on weekends and holidays, "is being co-sponsored by the conservative majority of Congress, and that more democratic alterations to it, to guarantee popular participation, will only be possible through direct and indirect pressure from the organized sectors of civil society."

Speaking before thousands of pilgrims at a mass honoring Brazil's patron saint on October 12, Bishop Luciano Mendes de Almeida, president of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, said that the time period for introducing amendments should be at least 30 days. He also stated that the revision is proceeding in an inciting and precipitated manner, and that the proposed Internal Regiment does not allow enough time for civil society to present proposals or work to guarantee the social rights won in the 1988 Constitution.

CHURCH NEWS

- Assembly of the People of God reaffirms the option for the poor.

The Second Assembly of Groups of the People of God was held from October 6-12 in Itaici, Sao Paulo. During this assembly 250 lay people, deacons, priests, and bishops discussed ways in which to do pastoral work in the communities, based on the social, political, and cultural reality of the country. The assembly committed itself to working for a renewed church, the option for the poor, and the creating of space for Christian values in different cultures. Father Antonio Valentini Neto, under-secretary general of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of Brazil, said, "It is not a question of writing a new gospel, but of bringing the Christian message to the reality of our days."

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