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Number 168, March 03, 1995.

SOCIAL ISSUES

- Sharp increase in police killings in January.

The number of people killed by the military police in the State of Sao Paulo during the month of January was almost double the monthly average of 1994. The number of police killings amounted to 60. A total of 413 people were killed by the military police in the state during 1994 - a monthly average of 34.4.

The number of police killings in Sao Paulo had reached a high point in 1992 when 1230 people were killed. This number includes 111 prisoners killed in October 1992 in the Casa de Detencao in the capital. The wave of international protests which followed this massacre was in large part due to a change in police policy. A new program known popularly as "Rota Light" where police were instructed to fire when no other alternative was available was introduced and the number of killings decreased dramatically. Various members of the police force accused of murder were also removed from the elite group known as the Rota. The new program was severely criticized and opposed by members of the force at the time. In 1993, 319 people were killed in the state by military police. Fears now are that the police have again become more aggressive in their approach.

The number of military police killed in the State of Sao Paulo also increased during 1994 - 73 as compared to 47 in 1993, 55 in 1992 and 57 in 1991. While figures are not available yet for 1994 the 1993 figures of police deaths are revealing. Of the 47 killed during that year, 21 were working in a part-time job such as security work in clubs when they were killed. Even though they have been prohibited to take on a second job, a very high number of police do so to increase their low earnings. The monthly starting salary for March 1995 in the military police is approximately US $460.

- The cost of education.

A document published by the Ministry of Education within the last few days lists the cost of maintaining a student in school in various Brazilian states. The differences are frightening. In the State of Alagoas for example, the amount spent by the government during a year to maintain a child in primary school is just over US $21. The largest amount per child is spent in Brasilia - US $336.

In a private school in Sao Paulo on the other hand, fees in a primary school are US $114 per month. In a post primary school the monthly fee amounts to US $156. The annual amount paid per student by the government is however US $9000 in the public universities or the cost of approximately 416 primary school students in the impoverished north-east.

URBAN QUESTIONS

- Military intervention in Rio de Janeiro ends with few positive results.

The agreement signed on October 31 last for a military intervention in the city of Rio de Janeiro ends today with few positive results. There has been no significant drop in the statistics of violence during this period; gang warfare continues between rival drug groups, kidnapings increased and there is no evidence that the volume of drug trafficking dropped significantly during the period.

The combat of organized crime was the original reason for the intervention. Statistics show that the military failed in this project. In September 2 people were kidnaped. In October the number rose to 11. In November when the military were already on the streets the number was was 23. Since the beginning of 1995 at least 14 people have been kidnaped. However, these official figures are somewhat misleading because for every kidnaping reported to the police there is at least one more case which is not reported since the family of the kidnap victim negotiates personally with the kidnapers.

The number of bank robberies or attempted robberies also indicate how ineffective the military presence has been. Between January 01 and February 15 of this year, 67 such incidents occurred. In December the number was 12, in November 46, 44 in October and 41 in September. Assassination numbers in the city have remained throughout the period at an average of 11 per day. 221 supposed criminals were imprisoned during the period. Not one of this number figured on the list of the "most wanted" and many were released within a month without any formal charge being brought against them.

The one statistic which shows a slight improvement is the number of cars stolen. During last October before the military were present on the streets, 4600 cars were stolen in the city of Rio de Janeiro. In January last the number amounted to 3103. Denouncements of torture of local residents in the Borel and Complexo do Alemao shantytowns seriously marred the presence of the troops; a military inquiry declared that the accusations were unfounded even though many human rights organizations believe that torture did indeed take place.

- Police use violence in Sao Paulo to expel families.

Military police used violence to expel 126 families from their shantytown homes on February 13 in Sao Miguel Paulista on the eastern periphery of Sao Paulo. Adults, women and even a four year old child were attacked by police who were commanded by a officer known as Captain Alvarenga by the residents.

More than 100 police - some of them mounted, backed up by earth moving machinery arrived early on February 13 to expel the families. "They did not allow us even to remove furniture. They refused to dialogue" commented one of the expelled residents, Floriza Marques da Silva. The majority of the inhabitants lost the few possessions they owned. Antao Batista da Cruz was beaten up and held in a police van because he tried to dialogue with the driver of the earth moving machine used to demolish the houses. "When each house fell, he laughed. I said to him that he should not do that" commented Antao.

The police also invaded houses whose owners were out at work. 16 year Macilene dos Santos was in school when she heard of the police invasion. She ran home and found that "they had forced open the door of our house, had removed our possessions and had placed them on a truck. I arrived just in time". Macilene managed to remove her family's possessions and store them in a neighbor's yard. When her mother arrived home from work the house was in ruins.

For the inhabitants the destruction of the houses was the end of a dream which started on January 23, 1994 when they occupied the vacant area. "I was unable to pay rent. The only alternative for me was to come here with my children" commented unemployed electrician Edinaldo Casel da Silva. Soon after the families moved in they were contacted by Jarbas Batista de Oliveira and Carlos Dolosso who according to the expelled residents of the area are professional land-grabbers. Oliveira and Dolosso brought a court case against the families requesting their expulsion from the area.

The police remained until 8.00PM. "We will stay here. We have nowhere to go .....I have lost everything" said Antao Batista alongside his wife and his son Lucas who was born last January. The police removed on their truck his cooker, fridge and the baby's cot. Antao is one of 3 million people in the city of Sao Paulo living in shantytown or tenements.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

"This land is our land"

The recent edition of Porantim (the newspaper of the Indigenous Missionary Council - CIMI) carries a report on the Guato indians who live along the margins of the Sao Lourenco and Paraguai rivers. Since time immemorial, this group was the only group of inhabitants on the Insua island (also known as Porto Indio)in the Pantanal area of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul on the Brazilian border with Bolivia.

Since 1925, a Columbian rancher known as Miguel Gatass and his descendants introduced cattle rearing on the island and gradually forced the dispersal of the indians. Many of the Guato families moved to other areas of the Pantanal, others went to urban areas such as Corumba. The situation of the Guato in the rural areas of the Pantanal disimproved significantly. Traditionally a large part of their diet consisted of fish and animals captured by hunting. They suffered considerable repression from the forestry police who on many occasions confused them with groups hunting animals for their skins. Since the island is situated on the border with Bolivia, the army established two army bases there. Later, the military classified the island as an area of "national security". This classification effectively turned over the area to total military control. The military then rented out a large area of the island to the rancher.

Those who migrated to the cities also suffered considerably. They worked as unskilled laborers, lived on the poor peripheries of the cities and were subject to unemployment and extreme poverty. However in Corumba, the Guato managed to reorganize and start the struggle for the restitution of their former island to the group. Frequent meetings took place in the house of one of the principal leaders of the group, Severo Ferreira. The older indians were a source of encouragement remembering the abundance of food and good life-style on their former island. Several trips were made to the State Capital, Campo Grande and later to Brasilia to demand the return of the island. At first no results were evident. Finally a demarcation decree was published on June 22, 1992 which delimited the Insua island as part of the Guato territory.

15 months passed until FUNAI (the government indigenous agency) organized a team to demarcate the island. On reaching the island the military commander informed them that he had superior orders prohibiting the demarcation and ordered them back to Corumba. The question was then taken to the courts and after six months of no progress the indians decided to take the matter into their own hands.

The CIMI office in Corumba and the local Catholic Diocese applied for and received a grant from Misereor in Germany to build a boat. The construction of the boat was completed on November 16 last and 10 days later a group consisting of heads of families set out for the island to initiate the construction of their houses. Arriving there, they made an agreement with the army allowing it to remain there for the time being. Since the island is very isolated they believe that the army will also help them maintain contact with FUNAI and other groups who support them in their struggle.

- Mercosul develops an anti-indigenous policy.

The same edition of Porantim carries an analysis of the anti-indigenous policy of the recently established Mercosul (the common market comprising Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina) against the Guarani peoples. In general in these countries the Guarani groups are abandoned and suffer violence in many forms. So as to plan their opposition to such policy, indigenous leadership came together with support groups at a meeting in Eldorado, Argentina, last May and decided to organize their struggle for their rights.

According to a survey carried out at the meeting the Guarani in the four countries number approximately 70 thousand people - the majority lives in Brazil. Historically this group has been subject to much violence and injustices since the time of colonization. In general, population of the four countries in question frequently likes to treat the indigenous population and their culture and customs as "exotic" such as the indigenous dances promoted for tourists. Unlike other people, the indians are subject to very complete body searches on the Argentine border. Many Guarani in all of the countries in the Mercosul have migrated to the cities and have lived there in misery. Those who remain in their traditional areas have been subjected to acute poverty, misery, disease and abandonment in general especially since they have lost more and more of their territories.

In the Argentine the Guarani population is concentrated in the Salta, Salta Jujuy and Misiones regions. In Brazil such groups are found more frequently in the States of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Parana, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Espirito Santo and Mato Grosso do Sul. In Paraguay they are found in the Chaco Central, Chaco Paraguay, Alto Parana, Canindeyu, San Pedro, Itapua, Guaira, Caazpa, Caaguazu, Cordillera del Maracayu and Amambay regions. In Paraguay, the Guarani language is still spoken by over half the population of the country. In Brazil, of the 89 Guarani areas only eight have been demarcated. A further 41 are in the process of demarcation and 38 have not officially been recognized yet.

The final document of the Eldorado meeting declared "we are going to overcome the frontiers and organize the struggle for land". Regional organization and articulation is being worked on. Lack of land or restricted areas is seen as one of the most serious problems faced by the Guarani groups. This provokes hunger, diseases and a disintegration of their culture. "The diseases brought by the white population are spreading and the majority of the schools teach history in Spanish and Portuguese" commented the leaders at the meeting. One of the solutions already found by Guarani groups has been the training of indigenous health workers and the training of indian teachers to work in the Guarani communities. Many schools in the indigenous areas are teaching the children to read and write in the Guarani language.

Weekly newsleter of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI)

- Anti-indian interests try to prevent the demarcation of indigenous areas.

Resorting to armed militiamen and constant threats against Indians, groups of local farmers and politicians are obstructing the physical demarcation of Indian lands such as Arara do Rio Branco, in the municipality of Aripuana, State of Mato Grosso, Krikati, in the municipality of Montes Claros, and Guaja, in the municipalities of Bom Jardim and Ze Doca, State of Maranhao. At this moment, they are also trying to interrupt the demarcation of the Suya Missu Indian Area, located in the municipalities of Alto Boa Vista and Sao Felix do Araguaia, State of Mato Grosso.

These lands are included in a list of 11 areas whose demarcation has been determined through Ministerial Decrees, some of which were published in the Official Newspaper over two years ago. However, all demarcation activities have been paralyzed as a result of contrary pressures.

The Arara do Rio Branco Area has been suffering retaliations since June of last year, when local politicians - under the leadership of the present president of the Municipal Council of Aripuana, Altamiro Girardi - allied himself with farmers to build a road connecting the municipality of Aripuana to the State of Amazonas, crossing the Indian land. The Indians reacted against the illegal building of this road on their land and for this reason they began to be threatened by farmer Luis Almeida, who would benefit greatly from it.

Pastoral agents and the bishop of the Diocese of Ji-Parana, dom Antonio Possamai, who support the cause of the Arara Indians, are also being persecuted and calumniated. CIMI received information that gunmen hired by Mr. Luis Almeida are threatening pastoral agents and Indians and have been instructed to resort to whatever means to paralyze all demarcation activities.

The Krikati and Guaja are also facing difficulties caused by political adversaries supported by the governor of the State of Maranhao, Roseana Sarney. The governor has come to Brasilia several times to ask the minister of Justice to reduce the size of those areas by half.

These peoples have also been targets of terrorist attacks. The most serious of them was the assassination of Indian Manuel Mendes Krikati last month. The victim's brother, Alziro Krikati, and chief Mariano Krikati have received death-threats. On the night of February 20 two unidentified men were seen prowling about near Alziro's home. Although the Minister of Justice, Nelson Jobim, declared that the demarcation of the Krikati area would continue and that he would send Federal Police agents to protect the lives of the Indians, such measures have not been taken so far.

Senators Carlos Bezerra, Jonas Pinheiro and Julio Campos, and Federal Deputies Weliton Fagundes, Tete Bezerra, Augustinho Freitas, Roberto Franca, Antonio Joaquim and Rodrigues Palmas sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice last week requesting that the physical demarcation of the Suya Missu area be suspended and a special commission be set up ''to check the actual facts in loco''.

FUNAI has been keeping closely in touch with the Ministry of Justice and the government of the State of Mato Grosso for the purpose of avoiding such absurdity. The area within the bounds of the Suya Missu land was declared a traditional territory of the Xavante people by Ministerial Decree nr. 363/1993.

Faced with situations such as these, police and judicial authorities must take immediate measures to curb the action of perpetrators of terrorist acts against Indians.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Justice must take firm and determined measures to ensure the constitutional rights of Indian peoples, otherwise only the ''fittest'' will survive.

Brasilia, February 22nd, 1995

LAND ISSUES

- International pressure to guarantee protection for 40 on death list in State of Para.

According to a report in the "Folha de Sao Paulo" on March 02 international human rights organizations want the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights to demand protection from the Brazilian government for 40 people who are on a death list in the south of Para. This is a region characterized by widespread and violent land conflicts. The campaign is being led by Human Rights Watch and the Center for Justice and International Law (Centro pela Justica e Direito Internacional - CEJIL).

On February 17 last, the Organization for American States to which the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights belongs sent a letter to the Brazilian government demanding protection for Father Ricardo Rezende of the Parish of Rio Maria, Para. Father Rezende is the person on the list who is best know both nationally and internationally. The human rights organizations want protection for all of the 40 people on the death list. They also demand that five people who had prison decrees signed against them on October 24 last be immediately arrested. These people have been responsible for violence and crimes against those who work for human rights in the region. Amongst the 40 who need protection are trade union leaders, town councilors and small land owners.

CHURCHES

- Lenten campaign focuses on excluded from society.

The lenten campaign launched by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) on March 01 focus on those excluded from society in Brazil. The campaign (known popularly as the fraternity campaign) has been launched each year by the CNBB since the early 1960s. It usually focuses on a social theme - during other years it has focused on topics such as housing, land, violence and health. Reflection material is prepared for use in the communities as well as activities for youth, liturgical celebrations, special music based on the theme, posters and radio and TV advertising. Over the years the campaign has been a high point in the social and political conscientization of the population.

The booklet prepared by the CNBB for this year's campaign remembers that "the model of development progressively planted in Brazil has been and continues to be part of a liberal capitalism which for various reasons has not managed to overcome the more perverse characteristics of a wild capitalism ...... neo-liberal proposals guarantees privileges to a minority". The CNBB document goes on to observe that "the recent adjustments in neo-liberalism has not shown a social sensibility to overcome this situation (privileges to a minority)".

The document lists some of the groups such as abandoned children, the aged, prostitutes, those in prison, the ill and drug addicts who find themselves excluded from society. It comments that "the reasons are many that can cause a person to be in this situation" such as families who cannot pay rent, adolescents who flee from domestic violence and the unemployed. Such people, observe the bishops, are excluded because "they are poor, because they have health problems, they provoke fear, because they litter the city, because their morals are considered doubtful or because they occupy public areas".

Speaking of the prisons, the bishops observe that "the jail system in Brazil is totally inefficient, inhuman and dishumanizing ". There are approximately 130 thousand prisons in 297 prisons in conditions which could never recuperate or re-socialize any person. Speaking of AIDS victims, the document observes that 90% of the 50 thousand AIDS victims in the country are between 20 and 50 years of age and comments that "the high treatment costs, which does not cure but may prolong life, makes such people undesirable for health plans and put an enormous strain on the family budget of the vast majority".

The bishops also recognise that the Church has been guilty in this area. They recognise that their contribution has not always been adequate in the social area. "We did not always know how to be sensitive to the problems which other religious groups suffer" comments the document while it denounces discrimination suffered by non-Catholics.

At the launching of the lenten campaign in Sao Paulo on March 01, the Cardinal Archbishop Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns commented that the government should resist the temptation to implant a neo-liberal model in Brazil. According to Cardinal Arns, such a model would worsen significantly the situation of the approximately 32 million people in the country who do not enjoy the minimum conditions for survival. "I believe that the number of excluded may decrease but this will not happen if we allow neo-liberalism to take over our country as happened in North America and in various rich countries throughout the world where the poor are becoming more and more numerous and capital is controlled by the few" commented the Cardinal. He singled out for criticism the fact that the monthly minimum salary was maintained by presidential decree at US $84 while politicians at federal level and many of the civil servants recently received a salary rise of almost 100%.

HEALTH ISSUES

- Malaria infects 80 people per day in State of Maranhao.

According to a report on February 28 in the "Folha de Sao Paulo" malaria is once again making huge inroads in the State of Maranhao. During 1994, 28189 cases were reported - an average of 80 per day and up 74% from the 1993 figure of 16221.

The huge increase in the disease in Maranhao happened even though the combat of the disease has funds guaranteed in the entire Amazonian region of which the state is a part from the World Bank. However, due to government regulations municipalities who had an unpaid debt with the federal government were not eligible to receive funds for the eradication of the disease. For this reason, 70% of the US $1.2 million available for combating malaria in the state during 1994 went unused.

Apart from the fact that an anti-malaria campaign was not carried out in many municipalities, other factors helped to increase the disease during 1994 - the extra rain, deforestation and the presence of gold-prospectors in the state. The municipality of Pindare-Mirim is a case in point. Here the presence of gold-prospectors arriving from other malaria infected regions of the country increased significantly and 13659 cases were reported during 1994. In all, 18 municipalities have significantly higher concentrations of the disease. The high rate of deforestation in some parts of the state has encouraged the disease bearing mosquitoes to concentrate more in urban areas.

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