Number 185, June 29 1995

Newsletter n. 164

CAPOIB PROMOTES MOBILIZATION AGAINST

CHANGES IN DECREE 22/91

Leaders of various Indian organizations from different regions of

Brazil occupied the ministry of Justice yesterday to mobilize the

Brazilian society against the plans of the government to change decree

22/91, which provides for the administrative procedures to be complied

with for the demarcation of Indian lands. At the ministry, no respect

was shown for those leaders, who had to travel for many hours to

arrive in Brasilia: Capoib's (Council for the Articulation of Indian

Peoples and Organizations of Brazil) request for an audience over one

week ago was denied and minister Nelson Jobim was away on a trip to

different parts of the country and would only be back in Brasilia

today. Received by an assistant to the minister, the delegation

protested against Jobim's absence and delivered him a document stating

the positions of Indian organizations in Brazil, which oppose any

plans to amend decree 22/91.

In the document, they denounce that the Brazilian state never

complied with the legal provisions in force for the demarcation of

Indian lands, the last of which is included in the Constitution of

1988, and that in recent years conflicts with invaders of those lands

have led to acts of aggression, torture and the killing of dozens of

Indians and have given rise to a strong opposition from political

groups. They say they do not accept any amendments to decree 22/91

and that the participation of private individuals in the

administrative procedure for the demarcation of Indian lands will

allow them to be heard on the bounds of the areas to be demarcated,

will rekindle old conflicts and quarrels and will encourage violence

against Indian communities. In the state of Amazonas, invaders of

lands and local politicians, feeling confident that the decree will

truly be changed, held a public parade to celebrate what would be a

victory for them. In the state of Para, governor Almir Gabriel is

publicly asking the federal administration to reduce the Apiterewa

land and to give part of those lands back to the government of that

state.

The document stating the position of Indian organizations was also

delivered to the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies and of the

Senate, to the presidency of the Republic, and to the Office of the

Attorney-General. The mobilization continues. This Friday, the Indian

delegation will give an interview to the press and next week it will

try to meet the president of the Supreme Federal Court, Sepulveda

Pertence.

Brasilia, June 23, 1995

LAND ISSUES

- Loggers and prospectors invade Indigenous reserves

The following article is reproduced from the "Folha do Sul" from Vilhena, RO (state of Rondonia), dated 23rd June 1995.

The Indigenous reserves of Sarare and Vale do Guapore, situated on the West side of the state of Mato Grosso near the border of Rondonia, were invaded a few days ago by loggers. Prospectors invaded the Sarare reserve. The Manairisu and Anunsu peoples' lands have many paths and trails, some being larger roads, along which the stolen timber is removed. There are roads which cut the reserves from one end to the other, meeting up with BR 364, which leads to the 4 Pontes highway, on the far side of the area.

The timber stolen by people from the Pontes, Lacerda and Comodoro areas and other towns nearby, is usually planed on nearby farms. Several planks of hardwood were found at the 4 Pontes farm which belongs to Jose Luiz Honorato, Auro Honorato and Ricardo Honorato. Some of the wood is transported with false documentation. Several pieces of heavy duty machinery (trucks, tractors, etc.) have been detained in the Vale do Guapore reserve, where the Anunsu and Manairisu live. The equipment was taken to the Anunsu and Alantesu villages and the drivers were allowed to go, since they were paid by the loggers and were not directly responsible.

On the other side of the Indigenous lands in Vale do Guapore, Indians who have been recruited under false pretenses by the loggers are armed and camped on the side of the highway, not allowing the Funai (government agency for Indian affairs) inspectors from the town of Vilhena to get through. The Indians under the command of the loggers, as well as stealing timber, destroy the vegetation and their own culture, all of which leads them to prostitution, alcoholism and the disintegration of families and because of the dependence imposed by the invaders, they are transformed into gunmen, protecting the men and machines which are invading the reserves. In this way they are also destroying the Indigenous people. Logger Antonio Fritz is responsible for a large part of the illegal exploitation of hardwood in the area. This illegal commerce makes the Indians be doubly harmed. The payment made by the loggers for the timber is paid in consumer goods which are non essential for the people, and which are worth about one percent of the value of the timber. In the Nambiquara area, the exploitation of logs is led by Jair Natal Dornelles, who had already been convicted in the past. He is always threatening people in the Indigenous community as well as the Funai workers in Vilhena.

RACIAL ISSUES

- Survey on racial discrimination in Brazil

The "Folha de Sao Paulo" has just published (June 25, 1995) a Datafolha survey on colour prejudice in Brazil. It is the largest survey ever carried out in this country on the discrimination of people according to the colour of their skin. 5,081 people of 16 years and over were interviewed by 700 interviewers in 121 cities, in April. Here are some of their findings:

87% of white persons interviewed admitted to some prejudice when answering the questions asked. But only 10% are aware of prejudice in what they do. The Datafolha discovered that Brazilians do not like to be called "pardo" (pard, brown, dusky, drab - Novo Michaelis Portuguese - English dictionary). They prefer to be referred to as "moreno" (brown, dark, tawny, swarthy - ibid.), a term which is not recognized by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

"Less than 5% of Brazilians refer to themselves as black. Those who do, have a consciousness which is fundamental for the struggle of the black movement. The ideal would be if people could be classified as white, Afro-Brazilians, Asiatics and Indigenous, But the IBGE does not use that kind of classification", according to Elza Berquo, who works with the IBGE

The Datafolha concluded that people with higher incomes tend to be less racist than those belonging to the poorer segments of society. There could be two reasons for this: First, the people with higher incomes are also better educated, which would allow them to deal in a more rational way with the colour of people's skin. On the other hand, in a needy society, people with lower incomes need to compete more with others with respect to basic needs. Skin colour can then become a criterion for the disqualification of a competitor. In the country as a whole racism is greater amongst those interviewed who earn less.

The idea of legislation that would ensure places for blacks in schools and in the work force is supported by those interviewed. 55% of blacks said they agreed completely or partially with the need for a quota. 44% did not agree. The more educated disagree with the quota system.

For Carlos Eduardo Uchoa Fagundes, a directo of FIESP (Sao Paulo Federation of Industries), more important than quotas would be to give equal opportunities to all. He believes there is no racial discrimination in the country, but yes a cultural difference as far as aptitude. "The Japanese are more nimble with small and delicate things, blacks have more aptitude for heavy work" he says.

The black community and the labour movement have been discussing this for two years. "We have to struggle in the first place so that it will be recognized that discrimination does exist" says Ivair Augusto Alves dos Santos, a black activist.

Vicentinho, president of CUT (United Workers' Union) says that quotas would not be necessary if there was equal opportunity for all. But with so many differences, it would be

important that the society guarantee equality.

Fulvia Rosemberg, psychologist and Regina Pahim Pinto, sociologist, both researchers with the Carlos Chagas Foundation say that black and "pardo" children already begin to lose out to white children in pre-school. In Sao Paulo, 50% of the children in creches are black, twice as much as the proportion of blacks and "pardos" in the city. For Rosemberg, "Brazilian social policy is such that schools for the poor are poor, buses for the poor are poor, and in general, equipment is poor".

An organization which specializes in human rights, the Centro de Cultura Luiz Freire, concluded that of 1,378 persons assassinated in the city of Recife in the Northeast of Brazil in 1994, only 173 were white. The rest when autopsies were performed, were classified as being black, "pardo" or "moreno". This shows that non-whites are the object of violence which is out of proportion with their numbers, and the reason for this could show a trace of racism. It was exactly in the Northeast that the Datafolha registered the greatest percentage of persons who openly admitted to having prejudice because of colour. (17% against 8% in the Southeast). The Northeast was also the region where the lowest number of whites interviewed (8% as against 15% of whites in the South and North/Centre-West) did not manifest any implicit racism.

When a doctor at the Hospital das Clinicas (University

Hospital) was asked by the Folha if he knew a black gynecologist, he answered that, in 11 years working in this the largest hospital in Latin America, he had never seen a black doctor (specialist). Next day, he rememberd that amongst the 1200 doctors at the HC there is one black anaesthetist. The same question was asked of someone in the Law Courts in Sao Paulo - do you know a black judge?. The person was just as surprised by the question as the doctor had been. After a couple of hours' enquiring and some consultations, it was discovered that there is, at least one, Nilton Santos Oliveira, 37.

EDUCATION

- City of Santos starts plan to keep children in school

The municipality of the city of Santos (largest port city in the state of Sao Paulo), has this month launched a program which will pay approximately US$55.00 a month to families who have children who, instead of going to school, have to go out to work. The payment to the families who depend on their children's salary is part of a larger program, called "Every child in school" which aims at stopping children from dropping out during the eight years of primary school. This program will be different to the one in Brasilia, where money is given to families who seek help from the municipality. It aims at helping every child, and especially those considered "high risk".

"Financial help is not enough," according to Education Secretary Luzia Neofiti de Andrade. "Often families have other problems, such as separation, abandonment by the father, the health of someone who is not well, etc."

The idea is to centralize data on each one of the 18,000 children in the municipal school system and of the 48,000 in the state school system who are in primary school. Every two months, the coordinators will locate the students who have very low marks or who are frequently absent. Once the children who are at risk of leaving are identified, a trained person will visit the family and make a diagnosis as to the problem, in the home. If the problem is a financial one, which obliges the child to work, the family will reveive the $55.00 a month. Every four months the child's attendance at school and marks will be evaluated, and the money could be maintained or suspended. But the visits to the homes of students who run the risk of dropping out could also mean helping the family through public services, in whatever the need might be - for example health. The city of Santos has quite a low drop-out percentage. Last year, only .6% of students dropped out - as against 8.9% in the city of Sao Paulo.

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