Number 112, January 13, 1994

URBAN VIOLENCE

-Terror and Narcotraffic in Rio Favelas.

The Acari favela complex in the northern zone of Rio de Janeiro, an area disputed by drug traffickers, has been the scene of more violence since January 9. On that night, 12 people were killed - including 3 children and a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy - in shoot-outs between rival drug gangs.

Last October, four people were killed when 40 armed men invaded the Coroado favela in Acari. In this latest massacre, the Comando Vermelho gang was attempting to re-capture drug-selling locations from the Terceiro Comando gang. Acari residents and men connected to Terceiro Comando said that before Comando Vermelho arrived, three cars belonging to the Civil and Military Police went through the favela, as if they were observing the situation. Later, Police Chief Leonilson Ribeiro said that he suspects that military police officers may have participated in the attack.

The Comando Vermelho traffickers were turned back, but only after a bloody battle. Besides the dead, there were several people wounded from army hand grenade explosions. Residents said that the invading traffickers used a Volkswagon van to pick up the bodies and scatter them in various places in the favela.

The following day, the state government ordered a police occupation of the Acari and Jorge Turco favelas. The police are under orders to remain there until the drug traffic is completely stopped.

On January 11, Terceiro Comando members drove into the Final Feliz favela in Guadalupe, near Acari. They were looking for a drug trafficker who was protecting Parazao, a Comando Vermelho leader. The Terceiro Comando forced 50 favela residents to strip, and beat them with hammers and pieces of wood. Women had gun barrels forced into their vaginas. One man was killed and another was seriously injured.

Parazao and Jorge Luiz, of Terceiro Comando, have been at war for three months. Comando Vermelho, considered the most powerful criminal organization in Rio, began in the 1970s in the Ilha Grande prison in the southern part of the state. According to the "Folha de S.Paulo", "the principal characteristic of the Comando Vermelho is to mix the organizational tactics of armed political groups and the practicing of various types of crime, especially drug trafficking."

The Terceiro Comando, a much smaller gang, emerged as an opposition group, and was supposedly created by Comando Vermelho dissidents.

INDIGENOUS QUESTIONS

- Land will be the chief concern of indigenous groups during 1994.

The right to their land will continue to be one of the principal concerns of the indigenous peoples in Brazil during 1994. One of their chief worries at the moment is that their territorial rights be significantly reduced during the constitutional revision which has already started. Members of congress, governors, jurists, military and mining companies are amongst those who would hope to restrict or eliminate during the revision process the present constitutional rights of the indigenous peoples.

A statement of January 07, 1994, from the Indigenist Missionary Council (CIMI) gives examples of such individuals and groups who are interested in limiting the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples to land.

Jurist Clovis Ramalhate (and former member of the Federal Supreme Court) is an example of an individual who holds that the Chapter in the constitution dealing with the indians should be eliminated. According to the jurist, the chapter in question is "sectarian, radical and anti-national". According to CIMI, what Ramalhate really calls into question is the demarcation of the indigenous territories and the concept of original rights over such territories.

The distinction between "culturally adapted" and "non-adapted" indians has recently been defended once again by Admiral Mario Cesar Flores, Secretary of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of the Republic. He holds that "larger areas should be demarcated for non-adapted indians and smaller areas for the culturally adapted indians". If this distinction were to to accepted, indigenous areas would be reduced and so would be left free for occupation by groups defending different economic interests.

Those who oppose the rights of indians affirm that the indigenous peoples own a huge area of land. CIMI holds that relating the indian population to the areas occupied by such groups gives a false idea of the question. The use of the land by indians is social and is determined by the concepts present in each indigenous group regarding work and the appropriation of the natural resources. For this reason, land is fundamental for the survival of the indians. It is impossible to imagine the survival of an indigenous group with its territory.

CIMI remembers in its statement that what provokes land problems in Brazil are not the indigenous areas. While such problems can only be resolved with an agrarian reform,a survey from INCRA shows that 40.86% of the land surface of Brazil is idle; in other words this land could be used for agricultural production but by and large it is used only for economic speculation. Remembering this statistic, it would be difficult to argue that the development of Brazil is being retarded by the demarcation of indigenous territories.

ECOLOGY

- Summary of recent ecology news.

The following is a summary of the news items carried by the principal Brazilian newspapers during the last week dealing with ecology. The date is given for each summary and the newspapers are identified as follows:

FSP = Folha de Sao Paulo.

GL = O Globo.

GM = Gazeta Mercantil.

JB = Jornal do Brasil.

OESP = O Estado de Sao Paulo.

January 06, 1994.

- Municipal Secretary of Sao Paulo, Reynaldo de Barros, ignored the demands of the State Environmental Council regarding the ventilation of the tunnel under the river Pinheiros and decided not to respect the construction embargo imposed by the State Secretariat of Environment. (OESP).

- Cholera killed 500 people in Brazil during 1993 and over 50 thousand people became ill with the disease. The epidemic affected principally states in the North East and Amazonia. (GM).

January 07.

- The most intensive drought registered during this century in the Pantanal region is attracting investors to the region who are interested in using more than 2 million hectares which have become excellent pasture areas due to the lowering of the waters due to the prolonged drought. (FSP).

- Tourist buses planning to visit the beaches of Niteroi (State of Rio de Janeiro) will need authorization from the tourist organization of the city. Buses without the appropriate stickers will not be allowed on to the beaches. (GL).

January 08.

- The Mayor's Office of Sao Paulo plans to remodel the Itatinga rubbish dumb and gave 15 days notice to 130 families living in the proximities to remove themselves from the area. (FSP). Note: Our previous two editions of NEWS FROM BRAZIL carried material on this question.

- Petrobras has presented a study to the State Secretariat of the Environment of Sao Paulo where it proposes to construct huge caverns for the storage of petroleum in near the coastal town of Sao Sebastiao. These caverns will substitute the already existing storage tanks in the town and according to Petrobras they are safer, cheaper and cause less damage to the environment.

January 10.

- It is expected that the Brazilian Senate will vote on Thursday 13 the three texts dealing with nuclear safeguards. The most polemical is the text which deals with the agreement between Brazil, Argentina and the International Agency of Atomic Energy. This agreement permits inspection of the installations which use nuclear energy in both countries. The agreement was already approved by the Chamber of Deputies. (GM).

- Technicians from the Municipal Company of Urbanization (Empresa Municipal de Urbanismo) of Sao Paulo will alter the ventilation system of the River Pinheiros tunnel. The decision was taken after the embargo on the project by the State Council of the Environment. (OESP). (See as well January 06 summary)

- The biological reserve known as Poco das Antas, home to the golden micro lions (micro-leoes dourados) could be seriously damaged if the Juturnaiba dam breaks or leaks. The dam is cracked and in 1993 floods caused by this dam destroyed 200 hectares of the Atlantic Rainforest. (GL).

- A recently discovered specie of bee, found in the State of Espirito Santo, which has not yet been scientifically studied is running the risk of extinction. Surveyors affirm that there exists only three hives of this species (urucu negra) in the forests of the central region of the state; here much deforestation is taking place. (GL).

January 11.

- The Health World Organization published a report which shows that Brazil is the second country most affected with cholera in Latin America. The first is Peru. (OESP).

- Industries in Rio de Janeiro which substituted the use of oil by natural gas in the 1980s are beginning to use oil again. The chief reason is that the price of oil is cheaper. (GM).

- Excess of industrial effluent and other organic material dumped into the River Iririu are the probable causes of the death of approximately one ton of fish in Joinville, State of Santa Catarina. (GM).

WOMEN'S NEWS

- Anti-Discrimination Bill Passes Senate Committee.

In late December, the Senate Committee on Economic Matters approved a substitute bill which prohibits employment ads from making references to gender, age, and family situation, and prohibits discrimination, for these motives, in hiring remuneration, and promotion.

The substitute measure encapsulates two bills proposed by Senators Fernando Henrique Cardoso (the current Finance Minister), and Mario Covas. The legislation, which was fought for by women's groups, will now go to the full Senate for vote.

The bill states that dispensation from a job will be nullified if proven that principles of professional equality and equal opportunity for men and women were violated. It also qualifies as a crime any form of coercion or pressure on women to undergo sterilization. Not hiring women or not allowing them to register for civil service exams because they are pregnant will also be a crime.

The substitute measure also establishes a period of 60 days for judicial investigations of violations of the law. Firms with more than 100 employees will be required to have special incentive and job-training programs. It also calls for the creation of a Women's Professional Capacitation Fund, connected to the Ministry of Labor. The fund will be managed by representatives of government, and women's organizations.

- Groups Pressure for Release of Report on Violence Against Women.

Since November, women's organizations have been fighting to obtain the final report of the Congressional Investigating Committee (CPI) on Violence Against Women.

According to the December issue of "Enfoque Feminista" magazine, "neither the publication of the committee'

s conclusions, nor the measures called for by the CPI can happen because the final text of the committee's report was adulterated.

"The story begins on August 6, 1992, when reporter Gilberto Dimenstein, testifying before the CPI, accused Joao Carlos Di Genio, owner of the Objectivo schools, of enticing girls into prostitution to 'serve' politicians. The first version of the CPI report, approved by the committee, contained this charge. But in the final edition, Federal Deputy Etevalda Menezes Grassi, the committee 'reporter', decided to change the accusation because she considered it 'too heavy'.

"Her final redaction read: 'this committee received the accusation that businessmen and school owners recruited adolescents for prostitution.' Besides sparing the accused, Grassi expanded the charge to include all school owners in general. CPI president, Federal Deputy Sandra Starling, refused to sign the altered report, and an impasse was created."

Women's movements demanded the release of the unaltered report, and faced attacks form Di Genio for speaking out. "After hearing his name mentioned in an interview about the CPI report on Jovem Pan Radio, Di Genio initiated a lawsuit against the radio station, and a petition to 'disqualify' Maria Amelia Teles of the Women's Union of Sao Paulo and Denise Dourado of the Grupo Themis, of Rio Grande do Sul, questioning their ability to represent women and even the existence of a women's movement."

A letter-writing campaign initiated by Sao Paulo city councilor Tereza Lajola resulted in dozens of letter to the judge hearing Di Genio's case from feminists involved in trade unions, universities, political parties, and the black consciousness movement. Di Genio withdrew his legal action, which "Enfoque Feminista" called "the first victory in this case."

"The second victory will occur when the CPI report, with all its charges and proposals, is finally released." The next step in this effort was delivering to President Itamar Franco a thousand signatures on a petition calling for the publication of the report.

The petition campaign advanced the negotiations to release the report. However, on the day scheduled to sign the unaltered report, Federal Deputy Grassi did not appear. The report awaits her signature to be released. "Enfoque Feminista" is encouraging its readers and others concerned about the issue of violence against women to send a message to Grassi, calling on her to sign the report.

Messages can be sent to:

Deputada Federal Etevalda Menezes Grassi

(FAX)55-61-318-2213.

CHURCH NEWS

- Speculation on Successor to Cardinal Arns.

In their January 10th and 11th issues, the newspaper "O Estado de S.Paulo" reported on the speculations about the successor to Sao Paulo archbishop Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns. In 1996, Cardinal Arns will reach the mandatory retirement age of 75. "O Estado" reported that the cardinal may retire before this date because of his health. He has not fully recovered from injuries received in a car accident that happened in Santo Domingo in 1992.

"O Estado" names several bishops it believes to be "in the running" to head the archdiocese of Sao Paulo. One is Bishop Fernando Antonio Figueiredo, the conservative bishop of the diocese of Santo Amaro. Bishop Figueiredo's diocese was one of four created in 1988 out of the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo. Bishop Figueiredo is very supportive of Opus Dei, and is looked upon with favor by the Vatican.

The candidate of the progressives is Bishop Luciano Mendes de Almeida, president of the National Catholic Bishops Conference of Brazil (CNBB). "O Estado" reported that some church people feel that Bishop Mendes has little chance of being nominated because of his "liking for politics.

Another candidate is Bishop Geraldo Majela Agnelo. He is seen as a compromise between the progressive and conservative factions in the church.

A fourth bishop mentioned was the cardinal-primate of Brazil, Dom Lucas Moreira Neves, of Salvador. However, Cardinal Neves told "O Estado" that speculation about his appointment to the archdiocese of Sao Paulo "does not have the slightest foundation."

In an interview with Cardinal Arns, "O Estado" suggested that the middle class has been relegated to an inferior position in the Sao Paulo church. The cardinal stated that during the years when military oppression was most severe, "we were everyday out there defending doctors, lawyers, and other professionals who were arbitrarily imprisoned. It was a period of close union with the church and the middle class."

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