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Number 167, February 23, 1995.

LAND ISSUES

- Expenditure cuts will seriously affect agrarian reform.

Cut-backs in the federal government's budget will seriously affect agrarian reform during 1995. Campaign promises of recently elected President Fernando Henrique Cardoso had guaranteed that 40 thousand rural landless families would be settled this year. Besides the settlement of the landless families a further 100 thousand families settled in recent years will be seriously affected. According to the "Jornal da Cidadania" of February 1995, because of government cut-backs only 39 thousand of the 100 thousand recently settled families will have credit available to them.

According to the head of the Department of Strategic Planning of INCRA (he government land agency), Gilberto Bampi, there is "a danger of having once again public offices and INCRA regional headquarters invaded by landless families who lack the financial means to make the land produce". He claims that to settle the 40 thousand families this year the government would need to spend approximately US $160 million as well as approximately US $770 million in land bonds which would be used to pay for the disappropriated land. Only US $80 million will be available this year.

Credit for families who were recently settled as well as families who will be settled this year will be hard hit. This credit is needed for such expenses as the purchase of seed, equipment and for investment in minimum infra-structure on the land. Funds are also needed to pay compensation for the areas disappropriated for agrarian reform. Many families who have no access to credit and are unable to use the land, sell it and return to their former condition of rural landless. In many cases, the ranchers from whom INCRA disappropriated the land in the first instance buy it back for under market value from such families.

Meanwhile, according to a report in the "O Estado de Sao Paulo" on February 22 the government plans to announce in March the disappropriation of 1 million hectares which would be used to settle between 15 and 20 thousand landless families. The disappropriation decrees are being analyzed from the legal and political points of view at the moment according to the report. Recent criticisms against the government's agrarian reform project have forced President Cardoso to take the decision to disappropriate a large amount at one time in order to face up to such criticisms.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

- Violence and tension in indigenous area - protest messages requested.

In July of 1994 a commission was set up in the municipality of Aripuana, State of Mato Grosso with the objective of building a road linking Aripuana with Apui (State of Amazonas). The road was planned to cut across the Arara Indigenous area of Rio Branco. The road would benefit principally the large ranchers from the region. The rancher who would most benefit from its construction is Luis Almeida. An order for the demarcation of this area had been signed by the Minister of Justice, Mauricio Correa on November 25, 1992. When the commission began the construction of the road, tension increased in the region.

In October of 1994, rancher and lawyer Luis Almeida blocked access to the road and put an armed guard there to impede the entry of "undesirable" people. People on this list of "undesirables" included functionaries from the federal government land agency (known as FUNAI) and Church workers. Church workers including members of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) and two local priests were falsely accused of being responsible for impeding the access of the government functionaries and were summoned to give evidencea at a police inquiry.

The Church workers and priests discovered that the accusations against them were not only false but serious. They were accused of organizing a guerrilla group which encouraged the indians to burn bridges; they were accused of being in contact with foreign powers from which they were receiving money to buy land to form indigenous areas and since they were against the construction of the road through the Arara area they were consequently accused of being against the development of the local municipality.

On January 12, 1995, a FUNAI team arrived to initiate the demarcation process of the indigenous area. Reaction and opposition to this event soon came from Luis Almeida and other local inhabitants who sent a vehicle with a sound system to convoke the population to a general meeting. During the public invitation to the meeting, the Church was attacked and phrases such as "we cannot allow Aripuana to become indigenous reserves" were used. At the meeting the participants were encouraged not to be afraid of bloodshed in the region and the Church and especially the local priest - Father Mario Guinzoni, were scandalously calumniated. It was obvious that the purpose of the meeting was to gain public opinion in the region against the demarcation of the indigenous area.

Bishop Antonio Possamai with his legal advisors and members of the Missionary Indigenous Council visited Aripuana on February 05 and 06 where they met with the local mayor and the president of the municipal legislature. They made it clear that the Church is not against development or the construction of roads in general but is opposed to projects such as the one in question which will benefit a few privileged persons and will cause serious damage to the lives, well-being and culture of the weakest segment of the local population i.e. the Arara indians. Soon after the bishop's visit, a campaign of mis-information and calumny was directed against the bishop and the local diocese of Ji-Parana.

ACTION APPEAL: As we prepare this material, the situation is very tense in the region. Death threats have been issued against the local priest, Father Mario Guinzoni, against the president of the president of the local rural trade union, Eudes Nepomuceno and against Nueri Fernandes Souza and Sister Lourdes Christ who work with CIMI in the region. Hired armed gun-men have been brought into the area to ensure that the demarcation process does not start.

For this reason we appeal for your solidarity and support. Please send protest messages (faxes, letters, phone calls )to the Procurator General's office demanding that those who have received death threats be guaranteed adequate protection; that the Arara indians be guaranteed their constitutional rights so that their lands be immediately demarcated; that the road construction be stopped and that the Church and its workers be allowed to carry out it work without threat and calumny. The Procurator General's address is:

Dr. Aristedes Junqueira,

Procuradoria Geral da Republica,

SGAS Q640 Lote 23 L2 Sul,

70.200 Brasilia,

DF., Brazil.

Fax: +55 61 313 5197

Phone: +55 61 315 5515.

Please send us copies of your protest messages at Sejup@ax.apc.org - thank you for your collaboration and support.

- Hunger is widespread amongst indigenous population.

According to an article by Ana Redig in February's issue of the "Jornal da Cidadania", hunger is widespread amongst the indigenous groups in Brazil. The groups suffering most from hunger are found in the north-east as well as in the States of Mato Grosso do Sul, Parana, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. Amongst the tribes which are hardest hit are the Guarani Caioua, the Guarani Mbia, the Guarani Nandeua, the Guato, the Caingangue, the Terena and Xoclengue.

In the north-east 83.9% of the indigenous population suffers from hunger. This is provoked by the size of the small reserves which they occupy and the continuing drought. Many have migrated to the cities in the region. Here many receive lower salaries than normal and lose their cultural identity. With widespread unemployment in recent years, the situation of the indians who migrated to the cities has worsened significantly.

In the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, cases of indians working in slave or semi-slave conditions in the sugar-cane plantations, the alcohol distilleries and the charcoal furnaces have been registered. Approximately 30 thousand of the 50185 (59.60%) indians who live in the center-south suffer from hunger. Here many live on reserves already demarcated by government decree. Many such reserves once again are extremely small for the indian life-style. In other cases widespread deforestation has taken place as well as widespread soil erosion and water poisoned by agricultural chemicals. In some cases the construction of dams, illegal landing strips and roads have seriously disrupted the reserves.

Newsletter of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI)

- Government says that it will demarcate Krikati indigenous area.

During an audience granted to the president of CIMI, Bishop Apparecido Jose Dias, on the 9th of this month, Minister of Justice Nelson Jobim said that the federal administration will deploy army units to ensure the demarcation of the Krikati Indian Area, located in the State of Maranhao. In recent weeks, there were serious conflicts in the Area, during which an Indian, Manuel Mendes, was murdered, on January 17th. The conflicts were caused by pressures against the demarcation from Governor Roseana Sarney and politicians who defend the interests of non-Indian invaders of the Indian land. Resorting to violence, these politicians have prevented teams hired by the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) from carrying out the demarcation, authorized by the Ministry of Justice in July of 1992.

During the audience, Minister Jobim told the president of CIMI that the office of the Attorney General of the Union will submit the demarcation of the Raposa/Serra do Sol Indian Area, where the Makuxi, Wapixana, Taurepang, and Ingariks Indians live, in the state of Roraima, to the National Defense Council for deliberations. This unnecessary procedure resulted from pressures from military sectors, because the area in question is located on the border between Brazil and Guyana. Conflicts have also been registered in this area, because the governor of the State of Roraima, Neudo Campos, insists on building a dam for hydroelectric purposes inside the Indian territory. This action is illegal, since it has not been authorized by the National Congress, as provided for in the Constitution.

One day before the audience, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Justice, Milton Seligman, asked the Federal Police to protect the lives of Krikati leaders, who have been threatened to death, and also of Father Mario Guinzone, of the president of the Rural Workers' Union, and of members of the Indigenous Pastoral Group of the Diocese of Ji-Parana, which is active in the municipality of Aripuana, State of Mato Grosso. These persons support the demarcation of the Arara do Rio Branco Indian Area and have been received death threats for this reason. Rancher Luis Almeida and the president of the City Council of Aripuana, Altamiro Girardi, are leading the pressure against the demarcation. According to secretary Seligman, the Federal Police will escort the team hired by FUNAI in its' work of demarcation.

Brasilia, February 13th, 1995

HUMAN RIGHTS

- Military inquiry denies torture.

An inquiry carried out by the military to discover if torture was used by troops during the military occupation of the Borel shantytown (favela) on November 25 last concluded that torture did not take place. The army had occupied the shantytown in its search for drug traffickers and various people including Church workers had claimed that troops tortured a number of people on the occasion. Reactions and comments following the publication of the results of the inquiry throw serious doubts on its seriousness and veracity.

One of the victims who alleged that he had been tortured during the military operation was a soldier, Claudio Rodrigues Pereira, who lives on the shantytown. He was examined in the Central Military hospital and results showed that he had suffered injuries probably from torture. A further three people who claimed also that they were tortured on the occasion were examined in the Legal Medical Institute in Rio and the results also indicated that their injuries were more than likely caused by torture. Those who claimed that they were tortured complained of electric shocks, kicks, blows and immersion in water tanks. They also claim that money they had in their possession on the occasion was stolen by the soldiers.

The report of the inquiry was prepared by Colonel Moacyr Goncalves Meirelles who claimed that the accusations made by the victims were "vague and imprecise". He goes on to accuse Claudio Rodriques Pereira, of lying about the alleged torture and does not refer in the report to the medical evidence which suggests that Pereira was tortured.

- New book to publish the names of those killed during the military dictatorship.

A new dossier of assassinated and disappeared persons by the military dictatorship in Brazil will be published in May by Editora Brasiliense. The book will contain names of people who have been overlooked by human rights groups working in this area. The preface is by the Cardinal Archbishop of Sao Paulo, Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns.

Here Dom Paulo writes "We should say 'never again' to darkness and shadows, 'never again' to fear and to dictatorship, 'never again' to death". According to Suzana Lisboa of the Brazilian Commission of Relatives of the Disappeared" the version given by the armed forces that many political prisoners committed suicide whilst in prison is false; many such people were assassinated by the military. The book will carry new information about many such people.

Federal Deputy Nilmario Miranda of the Worker's Party of Minas Gerais and President of the Congressional External Commission of Disappeared Politicians, plans to present the book to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in a special audience. "As a former political exile, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso will have sufficient sensibility to resolve this painful problem" he commented. During the audience the families of those who were assassinated and disappeared in the hands of the military during the dictatorship will request President Cardoso to order the military ministries to help them find the burial places of such people. The relatives will also demand compensation as has happened in Chile and Argentina.

NATIONAL POLITICS

- Government presents proposed amendments to the Constitution in Congress.

On February 16, the government sent the first package of proposed amendments to the 1998 Constitution to Congress. The proposal in the package deal mainly with economic questions; amendments dealing with other areas will be presented during the next few weeks. The principal proposed amendments are:

Petroleum: Non government companies could according to the amendment participate in the survey, production, transport, export, import and sale of natural gas and petroleum. Such activity will be controlled by a contract with the government. Until the present, only the government petroleum company - Petrobras, could participate in such activities.

The concept of Brazilian and non-Brazilian companies: Until the present, non-Brazilian companies were severely restricted in participation in certain economic activities such as mining. Such restrictions will be by and large lifted if the constitutional amendment is accepted. Access to mining activities in indigenous areas will still be severely controlled.

Telecommunications: The amendment would allow non government companies to participate in this area.

Coastal navigation: Until now only vessels working under the Brazilian flag could be involved in this activity. The amendment proposes to open this area to other companies.

Gas: The amendment permits state governments to allow non government companies to offer piped gas in cities. Until the moment, only state companies could be involved in this area.

- Government makes more laws than Congress.

The Congress whose function it is to make laws has done so on much few occasions than the government in recent years in Brazil. Since 1998 when the new Constitution was promulgated, the government has made 891 so-called provisional measures. Besides, most of the laws discussed and passed in Congress during this same period had been presented by the government. According to a study carried out by political scientist Argelina Cheibub Figueiredo, 1127 laws have been sanctioned since the 1988 Constitution was promulgated. 81% of these laws were either provisional measures or were presented to Congress by the government.

When the government makes a provisional measure, Congress has a period of 30 days to turn it into law or to reject it. According to the Constitution, if Congress does not deal with the provisional measure during this period it has no longer legal value. What in fact has been happening is that the Congress has been unable to deal with the majority of the provisional measures during the 30 day period and the government has re-published them many times. At the moment, approximately 50 such provisional measures are in force having been re-edited on several occasions.

URBAN QUESTIONS

- Urban violence continues to increase.

During the first six hours of February 21, the city of Rio de Janeiro registered 20 assassinations. The average in the city is 11 assassinations per day. Most of the assassinations were cruel as in the case of the bodies of four men found in the trunk of a burned-out car in the northern region of the city. State Governor, Marcello Alencar commented that such violence was common in other cites such as Sao Paulo. "In a mega-city such as Rio, violence is not resolved only by the good will of those who govern and of society. It is necessary to solve all our problems" he commented.

Sao Paulo in recent months has had its' share of violence as well. In December last an average of 15 people were assassinated per day in the city. The number of assassinations during 1994 increased 15% from 1993. 75% of the victims were in the 20 to 49 age bracket. 93.3% of the victims were men. 571 children and adolescents (approximately 1.5 per day) were assassinated in the city during 1994.

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