e Paz).

Number 234, July 03, 1996.

LAND ISSUES

- Survey reveals characteristics of landless rural workers.

The "Folha de Sao Paulo" carried a supplement on June 30

dealing with the Movement of Rural Landless Workers (MST). Most

of the supplement consisted of the analysis of a survey carried

out by Datafolha in four well known campments of the MST -

Macaxeira (State of Para) - 19 landless workers from this

campment were massacres by military police in mid April,

Barriguda (State of Minas Gerais), Pontal do Paranapanema (State

of Sao Paulo) and Alvorada (State of Rio Grande do Sul). In all,

578 people were interviewed in the campments.

The Datafolha survey showed that the level of education of

those in the campments is on average lower than other segments of

the rural population which in turn is lower than that of the

general population. Of those interviewed, 22% never went to

school or are illiterate while 68% did not finish primary

education. This compares to 17% in the rural population who did

not attend school or are illiterate and 64% who did not complete

their primary education. 50% of those in the four campments

surveyed were in the 25 to 44 year bracket. 62% were men and 82%

declared that they were catholics. 45% replied that they were

married; a further 20% were living together; 25% classified

themselves as single, 7% as separated and 3% as widows/widowers.

52% were white; in Para 50% were afro-brazilians and in the

Pontal do Paranaparema this group was made up of 45% of the

campment population.

54% of those in the campments do not have an income because

they do not work outside the campments and 67% receive food

through donations. When requested to name the item of most value

which they possess, 32% of those interviewed replied that they

owned nothing of value. Of those who claimed to own something of

value the most common responses were: electrical goods (19%), a

house (10%), animals (7%), vehicles (5%) and clothes (4%). 17%

had earlier owned land and a further 3% were former farmers

without documentation (posseiros). When questioned as to why they

lost their land and became landless, 65% replied that they were

forced to sell their land for various motives such as illnesses,

debts or due to the construction of a dam. 10% replied that they

were forced out by ranchers or armed gun-men. 10% had not

resources to maintain their land; a further 5% replied that they

abandoned their land; another 5% claimed that their area was

unproductive and 5% claimed that they left the land because of

subdivision of a family property amongst relatives. The majority

of those interviewed were in a campment of their native states.

The exception was in the Macaxeira campment where more originated

in the state of Maranhao than in the local state of Para. 86% are

children of rural workers and 61% of those interviewed never

worked in a city.

A question on political affiliation resulted in some

surprises. Traditionally the MST has had strong links with the

Workers' Party (PT) and many would have expected that most

members of the organization would be members of the party.

However, according to the survey only 51% of those interviewed

claimed that they belonged to the Workers' Party and 39% claimed

that they were not affiliated in any political party. Surprising

also was the response to the question as to which presidential

candidate received their vote in the 1994 election. An equal

number (35%) claimed that they voted for the Workers' Party

candidate - Lula, and for the successful candidate and present

president - Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

The motives for joining a campment were also surveyed. 59%

replied that they did not wish to be employees any longer. 22%

replied that their motive was to produce and maintain their

family. 8% replied that they wanted to work in a cooperative and

6% said that they wanted a place to live. When questioned about

the form of land ownership which they believed to be the best,

75% declared that they were in favor of private ownership; 19%

were in favor of collective ownership. However when questioned

about their preferred means of production, 53% replied that they

favored working on their own whilst 43% favored a collective form

of production. 15% replied that the present government is good or

excellent; 34% answered that it is reasonable and 43% felt that

the administration of President Cardoso was bad. The landless

tend to blame the government for the bad distribution of land.

51% replied that the government is responsible; 20% blamed the

large ranchers; 5% replied that the blame should be borne by the

government and ranchers ; 3% blamed large companies and a further

2% felt that the bad land distribution was caused both by the

government and large companies. When surveyed about the use of

arms in the land struggle; 88% replied that the use of arms is

not necessary; 10% claimed that it is necessary; 1% replied that

it depended on circumstances and 1% had not formed an opinion on

this question.

- Assassin of Chico Mendes recaptured.

The federal police recaptured rancher Darly Alves da Silva

on June 30 in the municipality of Medicilandia, State of Para.

Silva had been judged and found guilty of the assassination of

internationally known environmentalist Chico Mendes on December

22, 1988. He had been condemned to 19 years imprisonment for

ordering the assassination of Chico Mendes in December 1990. The

assassination was carried out by his son Darci Alves Pereira who

was also condemned to 19 years imprisonment. Both escaped from

prison in in Rio Branco, State of Acre, on February 19, 1993.

Silva and his son Darci had initially settled on a 300

hectares ranch bought from a person settled by INCRA (the

government land agency). Later they bought a further thousand

hectares. When the federal police arrested Silva on June 30, his

son was absent from the ranch and so escaped recapture. On the

ranch, both reared cattle and planted various crops since 1994;

their wives and families also lived with them. Both used false

identifications and had succeeded in getting two bank loans to

develop the ranch from the Banco da Amazonia. Meanwhile, another

of Silva's sons administered his original three thousand hectare

ranch in Xapuri where he has two thousand cattle.

On the day of his recapture, Silva was transferred from Para

to Brasilia because the federal police feared that he might

escape again if he returned to Acre. He is likely to complete the

remainder of his sentence in Brasilia. Silva will now also be

brought to trial in Umuarama, State of Parana on August 16 next

where he is accused of the murder of Acir Urizzi on June 29,1973.

At the time that Urizzi was murdered, he and Silva were involved

in a land dispute. When he escaped from prison in 1993, the

justice system in Parana had requested Silva's transfer to the

state in order to be tried for the 1973 murder. According to

newspaper reports, Silva left Parana immediately after the murder

and settled in Acre where he was later involved in the murder of

Chico Mendes.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES

- Newsletter of the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI).

Newsletter n. 216

VATICAN APPOINTS PRESIDENT OF CIMI TO BE IN CHARGE OF

DIOCESE OF RORAIMA IN BRAZIL

The Catholic Church in Brazil, particularly the segment

working with indigenous populations, received good news

yesterday. The Holy See appointed the president of the Indianist

Missionary Council (CIMI), dom Apparecido Jose Dias, to be the

bishop of Roraima, replacing dom Aldo Mongiano, who was in charge

of that Diocese in the last 20 years.

The state of Roraima, located in Amazonia, is internationally

known for constant acts of violence against the Yanomami, Makuxi,

Taurepang, Wapixana and Ingarico indigenous peoples, who

population exceeds 30,000. Most conflicts have been caused by

land disputes. Economic and political groups of that state,

supported by the local government and its police, do not accept

the demarcation of indigenous lands, and much less the presence

of Indians there. They argue that "the existence of too many

indigenous areas" hinders progress. What they truly want is to

keep large unproductive land areas in their own hands.

In this political context, the designation of dom Apparecido

is important. He is in his second term as president of CIMI, a

post he will be holding until 1999. he is 64 years old and became

the bishop of Registro, in the state of Sao Paulo, in 1975. His

action has been marked by the relentless defense of the rights of

indigenous peoples, rural workers, the blacks, and other low

income groups which have been marginalized from Brazilian society

through important pastoral activities and organizations of the

National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB).

According to dom Aldo, "the fact that the Holy See appointed

dom Apparecido is an evidence of the commitment of the Church to

assist the peoples of Roraima, whose Diocese is facing serious

indigenous problems." There is no doubt that dom Aldo marked the

history of the indigenous resistance in Roraima. He recalled that

when he assumed the Diocese the Indians has lost all their hope

as a result of the exploitation and pressure they were suffering.

Thanks to his intense work to redeem the citizenship rights of

these peoples, today they are fighting for their rights and land.

The Diocese of Roraima provides health care to indigenous

groups through a hospital and two large health centers it has

maintained there for over 30 years, and also through 80 small

health stations located in different villages. It also carries

out educational, legal and self-sustenance activities through

various projects. The greatest difficulty it has been facing

along the years is the prejudice of society against Indians.

Therefore, according to dom Aldo, the Church is concerned with

making the population more aware of indigenous rights. The bishop

also stressed the pressure from farmers and politicians against

the work of the Church in favor of indigenous peoples. He himself

has received many death threats.

Brasilia, 27 June 1996

ECOLOGY

- Dam will provoke serious ecological, social and economic

problems.

The municipality of Porto Primavera in the Pontal do

Paranapanema region of the State of Sao Paulo has given its' name

to a dam which is set to cause numerous social, economic and

ecological problems. The construction of the dam on the border

between the States of Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul started in

June 1980 and according to initial plans it was due to be

finished in 1985. Present forecasts predict that the 11.3 km dam

on the river Parana will be ready by 1998.

When ready, the dam is expected to produce 1.8 thousand

megawatts of energy or approximately 20% of the energy currently

used in the State of Sao Paulo. The Sao Paulo state energy

company has already spent US $6.5 billion on the project - this

is four times the original estimated costs for the construction

of the dam. Before producing any energy, it is expected that a

further US $900 million will need to be spent. With this

investment only three of the 18 turbines will be functioning. A

further US $600 million will be needed to leave the remaining 15

turbines ready for the production of energy.

One of the reasons for the delay in the construction of the

Porto Primavera dam was the construction of the giant Itaipu dam

- a project carried out in conjunction with the Paraguayan

government in the neighboring state of Parana. The dammed area in

Porto Primavera will cover 225 thousand hectares as compared with

200 thousand hectares in Itaipu. However the energy production in

Porto Primavera will be only approximately one sixth of that

produced in Itaipu. When the latter dam started producing energy,

approximately 1.7 thousand megawatts went unused. This amount

corresponds approximately to the projected production of Porto

Primavera and only last year was the excess production of Itaipu

totally used. The construction project at Porto Primavera never

came to a stand-still. At the busiest point during the

construction period, 8 thousand workers were employed. At the

moment there are 1430 workers.

The dam is set to bring serious ecological, social and

economic problems to the region. It was planned at a time when

ecological considerations were scarcely taken into consideration.

This changed with the 1988 Constitution and the government of the

State of Sao Paulo at the time tried to calm protests in this

area by making agreements with the local municipalities and

offering them smaller projects ranging from schools to health

centers to leisures areas. In such an agreement for example, a

200 kms stretch of road was paved in Mato Grosso do Sul. The

company working on the construction of the dam (Camargo Correa)

understood that the original contracted entitled it to also work

on these projects and gained significantly in the process.

When the dammed area is flooded a total of 1691 families

(6117 people) will need to be moved to other areas. This number

includes 12 indigenous families of the Ofaye-Xavante group. Even

though a Brazilian law of 1981 (Federal Law 6.938/81) determines

that a project on the scale of Porto Primavera should have the

authorization of IBAMA (the federal government's environment

agency), this authorization has never been sought. Amongst the

environmental damages which the project will provoke is the

flooding of the Logoa Sao Paulo state park in the State of Sao

Paulo. 420 types of fauna have been registered in the area - 12

of this group are in danger of extinction. The construction has

already seriously affected the income of approximately 700 people

who make their living from fishing in the river. The number of

fish has drastically decreased in the river as a result of the

project and when the dam is finally functioning it is expected

that fish mortality will be even higher. Another group who are

seriously affected by the dam construction are brick-makers. The

area alongside the river is one of the largest in the country

with clay highly suitable for brickmaking. When the dam waters

flood this area, 114 small industries working at this activity

will be closed with the consequent loss of employment of the

people currently working in these industries.

(Sources: "O Estado de Sao Paulo", May 13, 1996 and documents

prepared by the Movement of those Affected by Dams (MAB) )

CHURCHES

- Growth of Evangelical and Pentecostal Churches.

Between 1980 and 1991 the number of Catholics in Brazil who

left the Church was twice that of the 1960 to 1980 figures. In

the latter period the number of Catholics in the general

population dropped from 93.07% to 88.96%; during the 1980s the

figure dropped to 80%. In other religious groups the number of

members tripled between 1960 and 1991. In 1960 this figure stood

at 6.93% of the Brazilian population; in 1991 it was 20%. These

figures emerged in a study carried out by the Brazilian Institute

of Development (IBRADES) - an organization linked with the

Catholic Bishops' Conference (CNBB).

64% of the new members of these churches were of people who

defined themselves as catholics previously. According to data of

the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE),

between 1980 and 1991, four thousand new churches were opened in

Brazil. Amongst the Evangelical Pentecostal Churches which

received the largest number of new members during the same period

were the Assembly of God, the Christian Congregation of Brazil,

God is Love, the Square Gospel and the Universal Church of the

Reign of God.

Data shows as well that Kardec Spiritism has approximately 4

million members in Brazil. The Afro-Brazilian religious groups -

Umbanda was in second place after the Catholic Church when it

came to transfer to Pentecostal Churches. 17% of the conversions

to such churches came from Umbanda. Another group which is

expanding are nominal christians (people who declare themselves

as christians without any formal church membership) - especially

so in the 18 to 24 age group.

An analysis made in the State of Rio de Janeiro at the

beginning of the 1990s demonstrates how the Evangelical and

Pentecostal Churches are growing. Between 1990 and 1992, 627 new

churches were established in the state - an average of about five

each week. Of this total, 91.27% were Pentecostal. One such

church which has grown very quickly is the Universal Church of

the Reign of God. The patrimony of this Church which was founded

less than 20 years ago includes two TV channels bought for US $85

million, a recording studio, various radio stations, a financial

organization which administers the Church's companies, two

newspapers (the "Folha Universal" has a circulation of 700

thousand copies per edition and "Hoje em Dia" has 35 thousand), a

magazine, a bank (Banco de Credito Metropolitano) and a tourist

agency which arranges tours to Israel.

According to Father Carlos James dos Santos from IBRADES,

one of the explanations for the large exodus of catholics during

the 1980s was the worsening of the economic and social

conditions. This situation caused many people to seek more

immediate personal solutions from religion for such problems as

illness or unemployment. Santos also believes that the

traditional pastoral methods of the Catholic Church where

sacramental practice is emphasized do not appeal to as many

people as in former times. He believes that the Catholic Church

should now be less concerned with the exodus and more concerned

with the participation of members in the Church. "People want to

participate in a more active way" he commented.

(Source: Jornal de Opinao, June 03 to 09, 1996).

The reproduction of this material is permitted as long as the

source is cited.