e Paz)

Number 171, March 23, 1995.

LAND ISSUES

- Land violence in different states.

Bahia - Church workers threatened.

On March 14 Sister Terezinha Foppa, coordinator of the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) of the Diocese of Ruy Barbosa, State of Bahia as well as father Benedito Ballio Prado were attacked and received death threats from rancher Nildenor Silva Filho in the municipality of Lagedinho. They had visited the village of Sao Jose in Lagedinho to show their solidarity with 400 families who had been expelled from the Aguas Belas ranch by the sister of Silva Filho on March 05.

The car of the Church workers was stopped on the road by Silva Filho. He threatened them with a gun, damaged the engine of the car and let the air out of the tires as well as threatening to "cut them into small pieces". Father Benedito and Sister Terezinha reported the incident to the police in the towns of Ruy Barbosa and Itaberaba but both the civil and military police in the two towns refused to register the complaint. According to the CPT, Silva Filho has a long history of threatening local families in the region and had two youths beaten up on the ranch.

The bishops of the Northeast 3 region signed a manifestation of solidarity with the threatened Church workers. The manifestation recalls that "during the year in which the Lenten campaign remembers the excluded, we can see the exclusion of many, especially of the rural workers who continue without land and without an adequate agricultural policy (on the part of the government) so that they can plant and produce".

The Diocese of Ruy Barbosa as well as the CPT of Bahia also published a statement in which they condemn the aggression of the rancher and the partiality and omission of the police. They also demand that a number of measures be taken to resolve the situation. Such measures include that the Secretariat of Public Security in Bahia appoint a special chief of police to carry out an inquiry into what happened; that the commanding officers of the military police carry out an investigation of the use of the police by the rancher to threaten and beat up workers and that INCRA (the government land agency) make an urgent decision about this and other grave problems in the region.

Maranhao - denouncement of slave labor.

According to a report in the "Folha de Sao Paulo" on March 20, the Procurator General of the Republic in Maranhao requested the opening of a police inquiry on March 17 to examine a denouncement made by the Pastoral Land Commission (CPT) that slave labor exists on the Agronunes S/A ranch in Santa Luzia about 290 kms. south of the state capital, Sao Luis. The denouncement took place after a visit to the ranch of members of the CPT and "Folha" reporters on March 10.

The CPT and reporters discovered that the workers on the ranch are not registered, that they frequently flee to escape the severe working conditions and the exorbitant debts caused by over-charging in the ranch store as well as totally inadequate living conditions - the workers are housed in tents. There is no running water or toilets in the living quarters.

Police violence in Joao Camara - State of Rio Grande do Norte.

The national secretariat of the Movement of Rural Landless Workers (MST) denounces violence committed by police and hired gun-men against 400 families on the Modelo ranch, municipality of Joao camara, Rio Grande do Norte, on February 15.

The families occupied the area on August 24 last but withdrew on September 01 when the local judge signed a court order for their removal. On September 02 and 03 INCRA carried out an evaluation of the ranch, declared that it was not being used and recommended that it be disappropriated and used to settle landless families in an agrarian reform project. The ranch is owned by Jose Arnaud Junior and contains 7304 hectares.

The ranch was reoccupied by the families on february 14 last. On the same morning a group of police and hired gun-men led by the chief of police of Joao Camara invaded the camp of the landless families. They confiscated tools, broke cooking utensils and tore the plastic used to construct the tents. Five workers were severely beaten, one of the five needed to be hospitalized. Two workers - Antonio Pedro Barbosa and Nilton Vitor Nascimento and a director of the MST - Francisco Antonio Pereira were imprisoned. The expelled families are camped on the side of the road about 85 kms from the state capital, Natal.

Hope for agrarian reform program.

According to a report in the "Estado de Sao Paulo" of march 16, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso will announce on March 24 the beginning of the first phase of agrarian reform of his government. On that date the president will be in the municipality of Sao Joao do Jaguaribe, State of Ceara, to present land titles to 217 landless families. According to the report, during the first phase of the government's program, almost a million hectares will be disappropriated for the settlement of 16200 landless families.

Rural lobby organized in Congress.

A rural lobby composed of approximately 120 deputies representing the interests of the large ranchers is beginning to emerge in the national Congress in Brasilia. The lobby threatens to hinder voting on governments projects in Congress if their demands are not met.

One of the chief demands of the group is for smaller interest on bank loans for agricultural machinery. The lobby also demands that the government spent approximately US $700 million this month to buy agricultural products (especially corn) and so ensure that a guaranteed minimum price will be maintained. The government announced the spending of just under US $500 million for this purpose. The chair of the Agricultural Commission in Congress is controlled by the Worker's Party (PT). The rural lobby is increasing pressure here as well to lessen the influence of the Commission.

CHILDREN'S ISSUES

- Three adolescents assassinated in Suzano, a further two in Guaruja, Sao Paulo.

Three adolescents were assassinated and a fourth was seriously wounded in a massacre which took place during the early hours of March 16 in the city of Suzano, Sao Paulo. A fifth youth escaped. In the coastal town of Guaruja, three adolescents were wounded on March 16; two - 15 year old Jose Luiz santos da Cruz and 17 year old Gilson Antunes Gomes later died

According to the adolescent who escaped in the Suzano massacre, the five minors were inhaling glue in the Padre Cicero plaza around midnight when three men whom they did not know approached. The youth fled to grounds of the nearby water company. Three - 15 year old Joao Henrique da Silva Oliveira, 14 year old Andre Cesar Valdo and 16 year old Romerio Silva Alves were shot in the head and died there. A 13 year old youth received bullet wounds and is in a critical condition in a local hospital. The youth who escaped claimed that he had seen the accused assassins talking with the owner of the Padre Cicero bread shop, Francisco Jose Druri shortly before the incident.

The police later arrested Druri accusing him of having participated in the massacre. Another suspect, Helio Ferreira Alves, was arrested on March 20 and Paulo Sergio dos Santos Ruiz on March 22. A fourth suspect, Edilson Pinto da Silva is being sought by police. On being arrested, Alves confessed that the massacre of the adolescents was planned two days earlier in a meeting of store owners who accused them of stealing.

- Large number of children in sugar-cane plantations

According to a study carried out over the last two years by the Josue de Castro Center, 25% of the workers employed in the sugar-cane harvesting in the State of Pernambuco are under 18 years of age. 91.27% start working between 7 and 13 years of age and 43.5% of the children who work are not paid.

Commenting on the situation, sociologist Luciano Padrao commented "The Minister for Education said in Copenhagen that there are two thousand street children in Rio. In Pernambuco there are 60 thousand children working in inhuman conditions in the sugar-cane plantations......The work of the children is of great value for the ranchers because children are not organized such as adults. And they are more suited to certain kinds of work such as climbing orange trees and placing poison in ants' nests".

In 40% of the families included in the study, 30% to 50% of the family income is earned by the children. In the sugar-cane region of Pernambuco, infant mortality is 131 per thousand births and 56% of the children have suffered work accidents. A large number of children also works in the sugar-cane plantations in the State of Minas Gerais. An estimate puts the number at 4500. In the north of the state, it is calculated that 15% of the work-force is made up of children.

SOCIAL ISSUES

- Grassroots groups organize political pressure

A caravan of 104 buses will be arriving in Brasilia today bringing more than 4,500 members of grassroots groups prepared to pressure the government for improvements in the social area. Grassroots participation in social programs is the banner of the movement, which is co-ordinated by the Grassroots Movement Headquarters. The groups will be meeting with President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and with at least four state ministers who have been handed a 100-page document with proposals for education, health, violence, income and job creation, and the rights of children.

The Grassroots Movement Headquarters in Sao Paulo is made up of many grassroots organizations such as street children, Afro Brazilian, Indigenous people, the homeless, sex workers, shantytown dwellers, the handicapped, etc. "The movement was born out of the need to unite these organizations in order to denounce the worsening of social problems, but also to influence and pressure the State to take action" says Jose Albino de Melo, who belongs to the national headquarters which, he says, is financed through funds from the groups themselves, operating in all 20 states.

(Jornal do Commercio (RJ), 21/03/95)

Greater Sao Paulo again has more than a million unemployed

- Sao Paulo once again had more than a million unemployed in February. A survey done by the SEADE Foundation and by the DIEESE show that last month 1,043 million people were unemployed, which is 12.9% of the Economically Active Population (PEA). In January there were 973 thousand, or 12.1% of the PEA. According to the survey, the increase in the number of unemployed was due to the reduction of 28 thousand jobs in industry added to 19 thousand in commerce. Activity in these two areas continued but was maintained due to a great amount of overtime.

(Estado de Sao Paulo, March 21)

HUMAN RIGHTS

- United Nations demand response from Brazilian Government

The UN is demanding a clearer response from President Fernando Henrique Cardoso regarding violations of human rights. The message was given yesterday to the CDDPH (Council of Defense of the Rights of the Human Person), attached to the Ministry of Justice, by the government representative Jose Augusto Lindgren, at a meeting held in the ministry. The UN wants to know what measures are being taken by the government to contain the incidences of violence such as have occurred during the last few weeks.

Specifically they want to know what measures the Brazilian government has taken in the death of Cristiano Moura Mesquita de Mello on the 9th, by Corporal of the Military Police Flavio Ferreira Carneiro. The murder was filmed by a TV Globo team and was shown around the world, shocking the international community. Nelson Jobim, Minister for Justice, has said he will send the UN a report explaining what the government is doing about it. Another case which the UN wants to know about is the disappearance of lawyer Antonio Rufino da Cruz which happened in November 1994 during Operation Rio. He was last seen being arrested by the army.

(Folha de Sao Paulo, March 23)

ECOLOGY

URGENT ACTION APPEAL

We have been requested by the Grassroots Movement of People Affected by Dams (known in Brazil as MAB or Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens) to urgently appeal for your solidarity in the form of messages to two judges so that a major environmental and social disaster may be prevented.

On May 27, 1994 the construction of a hydro electric dam on the River Ribeira de Iguape, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was authorized by state authorities. The location of the construction of the proposed dam is known as Tijuco Alto. Company-owner Antonio Ermirio de Moraes of the Votorantim group of companies plans to construct the dam and it will be used to produce electrical power for aluminum manufacture.

The fact that the dam will flood a large section of an environmentally preserved area of international importance was not seriously considered when the licensing body,CONSEMA, gave its final decision. The area in question is the Atlantic Rainforest (Mata Atlantica) whose present day distribution represents a mere 8% of the area originally covered by this forest in Brazil. Environmentalists in Brazil feel that this authorization will open the door for the state electricity company to construct a further three dams already planned and so cause more widespread environmental and social damage. According to the environmental groups who accompany this question adequate impact studies have not been made and alternatives have not been discussed.

With the construction of the dam at Tijuco Alto and the likely construction of a further three at Itaoca, Funil and Batatal the foreseen environmental and social damages are as follows:

- The flooding of 11000 hectares of the best agricultural land in the region of which approximately 2500 hectares are of Atlantic Rainforest.

- The flooding of almost 100 important pre-colonial archaeological sites not yet studied or excavated.

- The expulsion of at least 4000 families from the area to be flooded.

- The extermination of 18 quilombos (historical afro-brazilian communities of descendants of escaped slaves).

- 11 caves and historical monuments from early colonial times will be submerged by the flood-waters.

- Widespread damage to the Iguape-Cananeia estuary will be caused by the construction of the dams. Internationally this estuary is considered to be a very important and unique area environmentally and approximately 8000 families make their livelihood from fishing there.

Later during 1994, the planning permission granted for the construction of the dam was contested by ecological organizations and Judge Ana Scartezini ruled that the permission should be suspended because of the potential social and ecological danger such a construction would represent. The question was taken to a higher court. Five of the seven judges have already given their judgement - 3 in favor of the construction, 2 against. The sixth judge is due to give his judgement on Tuesday April 04. If he judges against the construction, the presiding judge will have the final vote. Local ecological groups feel that both judges would be influenced significantly by letters, faxes etc. and appeal URGENTLY for your solidarity. We reproduce below copies of letters to the judges which you may use. However, please feel free to compose your own message. The fax number of both judges is: + 55 11 605 3994.

Exmo. Juiz Silveira Bueno,

Tribunal Regional Federal da 3a Regiao,

Rua Libero Badaro 39,

Centro,

01009-000 Sao Paulo,

Brazil.

Your Excellency,

I write to you to request that you support the judgement handed down by Judge Ana Scarterzini suspending the authorization to construct a hydro-electric dam at Tijuco Alto on the River Ribeira de Iguape.

If this dam is constructed, irreparable damage will be caused to the environment, whole communities (many of which are quilombos) will be wiped out, fishing will be destroyed; in short the river would be condemned to death.

For this reason, I request that your decision in the upcoming judgement of the question will be against the construction of this dam.

Yours sincerely

Exmo. Juiz Oliveira Lima,

Tribunal Regional Federal da 3a Regiao,

Rua Libero Badaro 39,

Centro,

01009-000 Sao Paulo,

Brazil.

We suggest that you send the above message as well to Judge Oliveira Lima.

MAB requests that you send them a copy of your message. Their address is:

MAB,

Rua do Comercio, 22,

Centro,

01013-010 Sao Paulo,

Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Fax + 55 11 605 3147.

If you wish to send a copy of your message to MAB by e-mail, please send it to us at SEJUP and we will be happy to forward it to them. Our e-mail box is sejup@ax.apc.org

Thank you for your interest and solidarity.

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