e Paz)

Number 107, December 02, 1993

LAND QUESTIONS

- CPT denounces police violence, land problens and calls on the Minister for Agriculture to resolve urgently the land question.

On November 24, the national council of the Land Pastoral Commission (CPT) sent a letter to the Minister for Agriculture, Dejandir Dalpasquale. The letter underlines the seriousness of the agrarian question in Brazil and demands urgent action. The following is a translation of the letter.

"Dear Minister,

Since the beginning of the week there are dozens of families of landless rural workers camped in Brasilia. These are families which were expelled from the Jangada and Riberao dos Bugres ranches in Getulina, State of Sao Paulo. The families are there in an attempt to show the authorities of this country what their situation is after the violence of which they were victims on November 19, 1993 when 41 people were injured, this figure includes 14 children.

Bishop Irineu Danelon, of the diocese of Lins, Sao Paulo witnessed the cry of 1.600 children - "We don't want war, we want land!." But this cry did not reach the ears of the authorities who sent police, dogs, horses and tear-gas. All this to carry out a court order.

In the State of Tocantins, 85 families who occupied lots 49 and 57 of the Boa Esperanca ranch in the Municipality of Piraque were also expelled from the land which they were using. Last October, the company Agropastoril Boa Esperanca S/A hired two gun-men who assassinated rural worker Henrique de Castro on October 19. They also injured his 16 year old nephew and threatened Alexandre Gomes Vera with death. The police of Araguaina e Piraque tortured rural worker Felix Faveiro. The torture included simulated drowning, beatings, his beard was pulled out and his shoulder was dislocated. Rural worker Constantino Souza Dourado received three bullet wounds and even though he was being treated in the hospital in Araguaiana, he was taken prisoner and transferred to the Piraque jail. All of this because one of the hired gun-men received a bullet wound.

A further 42 families were also expelled from the Barra do Lontra ranch in the municipality of Xambioa, also in the State of Tocantins. At the end of August and the beginning of September last, the police accompanied by hired gun-men and two court officials went to carry out a court order giving reinstatement of ownership. 14 houses were burned. The gun-men put fire to the houses and the police did nothing to stop them. The families involved lost all their food including all that they had recently harvested. While this was happening, an attempt was made on the life of the son of the rancher. On November 12 last, the police arrested rural worker Eduardo Ramos Santos who is now held prisoner in the police station of Piraque.

Similar cases, Mr. Minister, are happening all over the country.

Recently, Sister Cecilia Petrina de Carvalho, who is the lawyer of the rural families in Bonfim, State of Bahia, was wounded by a bullet.

Bishop Pedro Casaldaliga of Sao Felix de Araguaia is being threatened with death because he has been defending the Xavante indians and their lands.

Each day that passes, dozens and hundreds of families are being denied the right to a piece of land where they can live and work. All of this is in the name of the right to property which has no limits or restrictions even though the Federal Constitution speaks of the social function of property. In May of this year, even the sub-procurator general of the Republic, Dr. Alvaro Augusto Ribeiro da Costa, experienced how the so-called "property owners" and their hired gun-men function when he had his life threatened in the municipality of Buriti in the State of Maranhao.

In the south of the State of Para, the death of two ranchers set in motion a wave of violence practiced by the police and the secret police of Belem. Workers were imprisoned, tortured (even to the point of hoping to incriminate Father Henry des Roziers, the workers' lawyer) and all this was permitted so that the names of the assassins would be discovered.

We could mention as well numerous other cases from all over the country which were also accompanied by violence. Examples recently took place in Goias, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Maranhao.

In April last in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, a number of people took part in a hunger strike which lasted 20 days. The hunger - strike was suspended after partial solutions were offered for the problems in question. Until today, these problems continue despite what was promised.

Since 1964, 1.780 people have been assassinated:leaders of rural workers, lawyers and pastoral agents. All were linked to rural social movements. Of these cases, only 30 have been brought to judgment.

It is not possible, Mr. Minister, that the authorities of this country continue insensitive, blind and deaf to the seriousness of the situation in rural Brazil. It is not possible to continuously see every kind of violence and those who are responsible are not punished or as in many cases where there is not even an investigation to see what happened. It is not possible that workers continue to be expelled from the lands where they make a living while 30 million people are dying from hunger in this country.

The time for speeches has passed; now is the time for action.

It is necessary to disappropriate the lands which are used only for speculation. THE RIGHT TO LIFE DEMANDS THIS."

- Human Rights Watch/ Americas Watch denounces forced labor in Brazil.

In a news release on November 30, Human Rights Watch/ Americas Watch together with the Land Pastoral Commission (CPT) announced the publication of a special newsletter dealing with forced labor in Brazil. The following extract from the news release describes the contents and recommendations of the report:

In its most recent newsletter on Brazil, "Forced Labor in Brazil Re-Visited," issued today, Human Rights Watch/Americas Watch describes first-hand evidence that confirms the findings of its earlier reports: in the inaccessible forests of the central and western states of Brazil fazendeiros (large estate owners) use forced labor to cut and burn enormous tracts of land for the purpose of turning the forest into cattle pasture. In addition to the abuse of laborers in the Amazon, the report also states that forced labor and conditions that approximate forced labor persist in other agricultural and industrial endeavors throughout Brazil.

Though HRW/Americas Watch has issued two other reports on forced labor this is the first time that the human rights organization was able to directly document this most severe form of human rights abuse. Previous reports on human rights abuses in rural Brazil were: Rural Violence in Brazil, issued in February 1991, and The Struggle for Land in Brazil, issued in May 1992.

On a investigation mission to Brazil in June and July 1993, a researcher entered two fazendas (large estates) near Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso. At the Fazenda Pantera, workers were recruited from Cuiaba with false promises of well-paying jobs clearing the forest and were told that they would not be charged for transportation, food, or lodging. When the 70 men arrived at the Fazenda Pantera they found that they had been charged, on credit, for food, tools and materials for their shelters, which consisted of shacks made of plastic sheeting with no sanitary facilities.

The men at Fazenda Pantera worked from sunup to sundown, six days a week. After being charged for food and tools, the men would have earned less than $70 each for four months work. However, none of the workers expected to earn anything. Several workers who attempted to escape from the fazenda were chased down, beaten, returned to the work site, and threatened with death.

At the Fazenda WS, forty workers were recruited from the town of Pontes e Lacerda, in Rondonia, to clear forest and were submitted to conditions similar to those at Fazenda Pantera. One work crew who had spent three months clearing forest and were told that after being discounted for food and tools they had earned no money. The workers were supervised by armed overseers, and could not leave the fazenda until they had finished their jobs and were allowed to go.

The newsletter also documents several other instances of forced labor in the Santana do Araguaia region of southern Para and determines that conditions that approximate forced labor existed at an usina (sugar cane distillery) in Ibaiti, Parana. The newsletter highlights the fact that the use of forced labor in non-Amazon settings appears to be on the rise.

According to the CPT, as of November 1993 at least 15 cases of forced labor, involving 5,540 workers, had already been registered. In 1992, the CPT registered 18 cases of forced labor involving 16,442 workers, a substantial increase in the number of victims from the previous year. Despite the prevalence of this abuse there has yet to be a single conviction of labor recruiters, gunmen or landowners for involvement in forced labor.

In virtually all these cases certain common elements prevail: poor laborers are brought to estates or other work sites under deceptive circumstances, they are held against their will through acts and threats of violence, and are compelled to live and work in deplorable conditions. And although the use of forced labor is contrary to the laws of Brazil, as well as international law, these cases go unpunished. Violators have gone free even on the rare occasions when the police have raided the offending fazendas to free workers held there at gunpoint.

Impunity has been the critical element permitting the widespread practice of forced labor in certain regions of Brazil. Because of this impunity, those who use forced labor pay no criminal price for the use of dirt-cheap labor.

Although forced labor has been denounced widely in Brazil and internationally, neither the federal nor the state governments have yet to design a coordinated and effective program designed to eradicate the practice. Not only is the practice not repressed by law enforcement authorities, but even when those engaged in the practice are apprehended they are rarely brought to justice. In some cases, police authorities have been shown to be directly implicated in cases of forced labor.

The 20-page newsletter makes several recommendations for the eradication of forced labor in Brazil, a problem that the human rights group states is one of national dimensions and calls for increased attention by the federal government. HRW/Americas Watch recommends enhanced funding for the Federal Police with money designated specifically to the suppression of forced labor. Another important step that the government could use would be to seize lands on which forced labor is practiced without having to show that the owner of the land was aware of the use of forced labor. This step would put fazendeiros on notice that they can not simply turn over responsibility for the management of deforestation operations to others and expect to escape responsibility for human rights abuses that occur on their property. The newsletter also calls on local authorities diligently to investigate claims of forced labor and to forward all reports of serious labor abuses to federal authorities immediately.

ECOLOGY

- Atlantic Rainforest lost 533 thousand hectares in 5 years.

The "O Sao Paulo" of November 24 carries a report which shows that between 1985 and 1990, the Atlantic Rainforest lost 1.07 billion trees. It further estimates that between 1990 and today a further 1,7 billion trees have been cut down. These figures became available during the survey for the publication of an atlas prepared by SOS Atlantic Rainforest (SOS Mata Atlantica) and the National Institute of Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE). The atlas was released during the last week. Another statistic published by the compilers of the atlas is that 533 thousand hectares of Atlantic Rainforest or 6% of the 1985 total has been lost between 1985 and 1990.

The compilers believe that even on the day of publication the atlas may be out of date since a calculated 316.888 hectares of the forest have been cut down during the last three years. The small part of the forest which remains untouched is only approximately 8% of the original forest area. Most of this forest is now divided into small forest areas. As well approximately 70% of the remaining forest is owner by individuals and not by the state.

During the survey prior to the publication of the atlas, it was discovered that large companies were always responsible for the large areas of deforestation. For example, in the State of Espirito Santo, 60% of the deforestation occurred between 1985 and 1990. This deforestation was concentrated in two areas where the planting of eucalyptus is in expansion. In fact, in the entire area covered by the Atlantic Rainforest, the planting of eucalyptus is the chief culprit for the disappearance of the forest. In second place is the creation of pasture lands.

The Atlantic Rainforest has survived better in mountaineous regions where the landscape has made access more difficult. But even in such areas, for example in the Serra do Mar region of the State of Sao Paulo, large sections of rainforest are being cut down. The survey shows as well that of the 202 Brazilian species in danger of extinction, 117 are found in the Atlantic Rainforest. The survey also shows that with the disappearance of the forests, many of the water sources in the region are also seriously threatened and soil erosion has increased significantly.

In summary, the survey shows clearly that if there is any policy to conserve the Atlantic Rainforest in Brazil, this exists only on paper. In practice, this policy does little or nothing to impede deforestation in this region.

INDIGENOUS QUESTIONS

- Mbya Guarani demarcate their own lands.

Last September, representatives from 79 indigenous groups handed in to the Office of the President of the Republic a document which stated that they would demarcate their own lands. This decision was taken by the indigenous groups because the Brazilian government has not being carrying out the demarcation process as is determined in the country's constitution. Two months later, the Mbya Guarani are carrying out exactly what they promised to do; they are demarcating their own territory, the Sapukai Indigenous area in the State of Rio de Janeiro. At the moment, demarcation of the indigenous territories is the resonsibility of the National Indian Foundation (Funai)

The Mbya Guarani are opening trails through the forest which will define clearly the limits of their territory. A few days ago, they requested that Funai speed up the administrative process and put official markers on the trails. Thus they hope that the government will recognize the work which they have being doing and so they also hope to avoid violence on the part of the hired gun-men of the local ranchers.

Their territory is 2.100 hectares in area and so far only a small part of it has been invaded. The demarcation of the territory which was being carried out by Funai was brought to a halt because of bureaucratic problems. Helping the Mbya Guarani are Kaiowa Guarani and Mbya from other states and they have the support of the local mayor's office of Angra dos Reis.

AIDS IN BRAZIL

- NGOs Denounce Lack of Government Action on AIDS Prevention

and Treatment.

The theme for this year's International AIDS Awareness Day on

December 1 was "It's Time to Act" (E Tempo de Agir). This week a

number of Sao Paulo non-governmental organizations denounced the

lack of action at every level of government in dealing with AIDS.

A member of the Sao Paulo section of GAPA (AIDS Prevention

Support Group) said that 1993 "was the worst year for those

working with AIDS." In a statement released this week, GAPA along

with other NGOs said the federal government "has not implemented

one project on AIDS prevention education, nor has it distributed

a single condom in 1993."

The statement accused the federal Health Ministry, "which takes

part in every world conference, and which has access to all the

research in the world, and which knows that AZT should be

administered to an HIV/AIDs virus carrier before she/he becomes

ill", of having an ineffective AZT distribution policy. It said

all government and non-government groups working with persons

with AIDS were affected by the Health Ministry's "insufficient

and confusing information" regarding proposed World Bank

financing of AIDS programs.

The NGOs denounced the lack of action on the part of the Sao

Paulo state government, particularly the three months when it did

not distribute gamma globulin to children with HIV. "The lack of

medicines was aggravated in the case of adults, because there was

no distribution of drugs, such as Bactrim, to prevent and treat

opportunistic infections."

The statement also mentioned: "the lack of a decent health

policy which deprived the sick of hospital beds and of able

professionals to attend them; the lack of uniformity in criteria

for notification of AIDS cases; the lack of health services for

those persons with AIDS who do not live in Metropolitan Sao

Paulo."

The NGOs condemned the actions of Sao Paulo mayor Paulo Maluf,

who "extinguished the Continuing Education Program, Project AIDS,

which functioned in city schools. This resulted in the lack of

treatment for those AIDS cases previously notified and integrated

into the program, and in situations of discrimination and

rejection in the schools. The teachers who had worked in the

Project were punished and received veiled threats, and were

prevented from carrying out the Project even in an informal way

in the schools." Other health and social services once provided

by the city government, such as day hospitals and in-hospital

services have also been cut.

The future closing of one of these services, the Henfil

Center for Orientation and Counseling (COA) has mobilized NGOs

in the city of Sao Paulo to hold demonstrations and form petition

campaigns. The Center is the only free and confidential HIV

testing center in the city, and is located in an underground

gallery downtown. COA-Henfil, which is seen as model for the

type of testing centers needed throughout Brazil, was forced to

close several times this year for lack of equipment. Mayor Maluf

issued a decree in September that COA-Henfil would be closed and

the gallery would be turned into a shopping center. NGOs tried

to fight for the relocation of COA-Henfil, but the city says that

it does not have another space available in the center of the

city.

Sao Paulo was recently granted US$5 million dollars in federal

funds for AIDS testing. But with the impending closing of COA-

Henfil, the NGOs ask, "Where will the money be spent? Where are

the funds which were destined for COA-Henfil this year?"

ACTION REQUEST: The Sao Paulo area NGOs have asked for letters

to Mayor Maluf, calling on him to keep COA-Henfil open and

functioning, and to release the funds meant for the Center.

Letters may be sent to:

Dr.Paulo Maluf

Prefeitura de Sao Paulo

Palacio das Industrias

Praca Civica Ulisses Guimaraes, s/n

Pq. D.Pedro II

03003-000 Sao Paulo, SP Brasil

(FAX) 55-11-227-0199

POLITICAL NEWS

- CPI Uncovers "Corruption Cartel".

The Congressional Investigating Committee (CPI) on the budget

scandal released a preliminary report on December 1 which

acknowledged the existence of a cartel of construction

contractors organized to distribute payments to congressional

members and government officials. The CPI said the kickback

scheme was organized by the Norberto Odebrecht construction firm,

and consisted of eight other companies. In documents found in

the home of the director of Odebrecht, the names of 40 members of

Congress were linked to receiving payments. In order to finance

the kickback scheme, companies would overcharge the federal

government up to 36% the cost of public works.

President Itamar Franco called for continued investigations.

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Inocencio de Oliveira,

said that the CPI's findings makes the revision of the federal

Constitution unviable.

- PT Federal Deputy Meets with Army Minister to Discuss

Corruption Scandal.

Federal Deputy Aloizio Mercandante of the Workers Party (PT)

met with Army Minister Zenildo de Lucena to discuss the new

findings by the CPI which shook Brasilia this week. Gilberto

Dimenstein of the "Folha de S.Paulo" reported that congressional

contacts with military officials intensified this week due to the

political tension in Brasilia which was accentuated with the new

discoveries in the budget scandal. The concern of congressional

members is to demonstrate to the military and the public that

Congress and the CPI have the conditions to carry the

investigation to the end.

De Lucena told Mercadante that it is necessary to end

corruption and that Congress must continue its investigations.

He also complained that the work of the congressional Budget

Committee has stopped because of the scandal and that it has not

been able to even release credit lines, which include money for

the military. He said that the Army and the military ministers

have obligations to fulfill, and depend on these funds.

Meanwhile, Senator Jarbas Passarinho, president of the CPI,

quelled the rumor that the military was planning an intervention.

He said the rumor that an institutional act directing a military

intervention in the budget scandal investigation was an

initiative of retired officers. In response to the rumor, de

Lucena said, "We don't believe in coups, there is not the climate

for a coup."

- PC Farias Returns to Brazil.

On December 2, Paulo Cesar Farias, treasurer of Fernando

Collor's presidential campaign, and wanted in the influence-

peddling scheme which led to Collor's impeachment, boarded a

Varig flight in Bangkok, with the destination of Sao Paulo. From

there he would take a military plane to Brasilia, and on arrival

be placed in a special jail cell of the Federal Police.

Farias' 150-day escape ended late last week, when a Brazilian

tourist spotted him in a Bangkok hotel. The tourist notified

Brazil's ambassador to Thailand, who seized Farias' passport.

It is possible that Farias will testify next week before the

CPI on the congressional budget scandal. Speaking through his

wife Elma, Farias said he would not "go to the gallows alone on

account of the hypocrisy in Brazilian political life."

Farias' capture was celebrated by Brazilians, and brought

public attention back to the Collor case. The federal Supreme

Court will finally decide next week on whether or not to restore

Collor's political rights. Collor claims that because he

renounced the presidency before he was impreached last year, he

should be able to maintain his political rights. This would

allow him to run for political office, and he has already

announced plans to run for federal deputy from Sao Paulo next

year.

HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS

- Apartheid: Brazilian style.

During the warm spring and summer days, Sunday is the day for many Brazilians to get away from the hardships of the periphery

of the big cities and go to the beach. They will rent buses and get up early to go to the shore. The evening before they prepare two boxes, one with fried chicken, a mandioca flour for the chicken, fruits and cookies. In the other box, they will place their soda and beer. All set out in anticipation for a wonderful day at the beach, to enjoy the sun, sand and surf.

All this is interrupted when the excursion buses arrive at the

outskirts of the beach town. They are met by barriers and town

functionaries advising them that the beach is closed to excursion

buses. This the scenario was presented in ISTO E, a weekly

magazine, in its December 1 edition.

During the month of November, with its two long holiday

weekends, the above scene happened with great frequency. In the

Santos region, a well-known Sao Paulo seaside area, only two out

of the eight towns allowed the entrance of the so-called

"farofeiros", a term used in reference to the mandioca flour

eaten with the fried chicken by the day excursionists. One town

official who is against allowing these buses to come near the

beaches said, "This type of tourist does not bring any profit,-

they bring only trash". Another mayor of a sea-side town on

taking office closed the terminal near the beach that used to

recieve 600 buses on weekends. Only those who have reservations

at vacation colonies can enter. His reasoning is, "I want to

change the image of the city and attract another type of

tourist."

The attitude against these day excursionists, can be summed up

in the words of a 23 year old businessman who has a store in a

Sao Paulo suburb and an apartment in a well-know sea-resort,

"It's impossible to put up with these low-class people. You can't

mix. It's a question of life style.".

A well-known jurist, Miguel Real, said that prohibiting access

to the beaches is unconstitutional. "Town governments can limit

the number of buses, but cannot impede the bathers from going to

the beach, as this is public space." However, this argument is

not recognized by many of the mayors.

- Americas Watch Report On Forced Labor.

In its most recent newsletter on Brazil, "Forced Labor in

Brazil Re-visited", Americas Watch describes first-hand evidence

that confirms an earlier report: that in the inaccessible forests

of central and western Brazil, large land owners use forced labor

to cut and burn large tracts of land for the purpose of turning

the forest into areas to raise cattle. The report also states

that these conditions exist in other agricultural and industrial

endeavors throughout Brazil.

Copies of this report in Portuguese are available from Human

Rights Watch/Americas Watch, tel. 202-371-6592

In Brazil from the Commissao Pastoral da Terra, tel. 062-

224-4436.

- Bicudo Wins Human Rights Award.

The 1994 National Human Rights Award will be awarded to Helio

Bicudo, PT Federal Deputy, at the 8th National Meeting of the

National Moviment of Human Rights on Jan. 27, 1994 in the state of Bahia. Bicudo has proposed a law in the federal congress to do

away with the Military Justice Courts for trying military police.

His law is asking that those police involved in crimes, bodily

harm and torture will be tried in civil courts.

CHILDREN IN BRAZIL

- Solidarity Campaign for Children and Adolescents To Begin.

Former Sao Paulo Mayor Luiza Erundina is beginning a national

campaign in solidarity with children and adolescents. On

November 29, Erundina met with representatives of 30

organizations, including the Brazilian Lawyers Association, the

CUT labor union, the Brazilian Press Association, the National

Street Childrens Movement, and the National Institute of

Entrepreneurial Bases (PNBE), and plans were made to initiate the

campaign on December 15.

The campaign, tentatively named the "National Solidarity

Action for the Life of the Child and Adolescent", intends to

raise awareness among the population regarding the situation of

Brazil's children and youth, and to vigil governmental

authorities' implementation of the federal Children and

Adolescent Statute.

- Sao Paulo Child Advocates Protest Against Mayor's Lack of

Action.

The 20 Children and Adolescent Defense Councils in the city of

Sao Paulo decided on November 29 to take legal action against

Mayor Paulo Maluf. Maluf has not supplied the Councils with the

federally required equipment and space to do their work.

The Defense Councils are mandated by the federal Children and

Adolescents Statute, and consist of government officials and

citizens elected locally to denounce any violations of children's

rights, and to make sure that the local government is carrying

out the law.

The coordinator of one defense council, Flariston Francisco da

Silva, said that the councils intend to denounce to the Public

Minstry that Maluf's proposed 1994 budget is unconstitutional.

According to the defense councils, Maluf is not giving funding

priority to them as is stated in the federal law.

It has been one year since the defense councils began, and

three of them have no office space to work in. Some councils

have no telephones, typewriters, or cars to facilitate responding

to cases. "There is no infrastructure, and this is the mayor's

responsibility," said da Silva. He also said that the mayor

always changes the 8 government members who along with private

citizens participate in the Municipal Defense Council, thereby

disrupting the continuity of the Council's work.

The councils' legal action will also state that Maluf is

planning to fund the creation of a children's police troop,

called "Guarda Mirim". Da Silva said Maluf is using "money that

should go to the Municipal Children's Fund" to finance the

guards. He also emphasized that the defense councils are against

the formation of such a troop. "Maluf's proposal is the

militarization of the child", he said, and that there is no

educational aspect in the plan.

The defense councils are requesting that letters be sent to

Mayor Maluf, calling on him to implement the federal Children and

Adolescents Statute and to give the defense councils the

equipment and facilities needed for them to do their job.

Letters may be sent to:

Dr.Paulo Maluf

Prefeitura de Sao Paulo

Palacio das Industrias,

Praca Civica Ulisses Guimaraes, s/n

Pq.Dom Pedro

03003-000 Sao Paulo, SP, Brasil

- 68 People Indicted on Child Trafficking In Paraiba

Federal Police in the northeastern state of Paraiba indicted

on November 25 68 persons, including 17 lawyers, for child

trafficking. In an investigatory report sent to the federal court

in Paraiba, the Federal Police stated that in a five year period,

at least 1,100 children were sold to foreign couples for between

US$5 thousand and US$15 thousand.

The 17 lawyers were cited as the leaders of the trafficking

rings. Nurses, midwives, and registry workers were also

indicted. The Federal Police stated that the traffickers would

at times accompany the birth of a child up to the final process

in the adoption, which appeared legal but which used false

documents. There were also cases of women who were unemployed or

abandoned by their partners, who sold their children during

pregnancy.

Arlido Carolino Delgado, president of the Paraiba section of

the Brazilian Lawyers Association (OAB), told the "Estado de

S.Paulo" on November 26 that the OAB would most likely suspend

the indicted attorneys and possibly take away their professional

licenses.

In 1991 the Paraiba courts implemented stricter standards for

adoptions in the state, after foreign adoptions became what the

"Estado de S. Paulo" called "a great scandal" between 1988 and

1991. Since 1991, only 5 foreign adoption processes in Paraiba

have been accepted. Chief Justice Joaquim Sergio Madruga said

that "currently, adoptions are difficult and are analyzed

exhaustively."

The reproduction of this material is permitted as long as the source is cited.