Number 284, August 21, 1997.

LAND ISSUES

- Landless and ranchers clash.

The Pontal do Paranapanema region situated in the extreme west of the State of Sao Paulo became the center of attention during the last week because of a show-down between the Movement of Rural Landless Workers (MST) and the Democratic Rural Union (UDR). The latter organization represents large ranchers. The show-down came about when the MST declared an end to a six months old agreement with the government of the State of Sao Paulo when they undertook not to occupy unproductive ranches in the Pontal area. The government had promised to work towards a solution for the approximate 3 thousand landless families in campments in the region.

The MST decided to re-start the occupations of ranches because it felt that the state government had not delivered its' promises. The Sao Domingos ranch in the municipality of Teodoro Sampaio was chosen as a possible occupation target and an assembly of 3 thousand MST families was scheduled to take place outside the ranch on Sunday last, August 17. Others on the list included the Santa Rita and Santa Irene ranches. This brought a strong reaction from the UDR who showed that they had arms and guards in sufficient supply to halt any such occupation in the Pontal region. The state coordinator of the MST, Walter Gomes da Silva, accused the UDR of hiring military police on vacation and retired members of the force as guards. Trenches were dug on the perimeter of the Sao Domingos ranch where armed guards could position themselves should the MST try to occupy the area. The MST had attempted to occupy Sao Domingos ranch last February; six landless were wounded by gun-fire on the occasion.

Probably because of the tension the federal government's land agency (INCRA) announced on August 15 that the Sao Domingos 1 and 2 ranches (both areas totalling just over 1800 hectares) would be exappropriated because they had been judged as being under-used - the exappropriation order is expected to be signed by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso within the next two weeks. The exappropriation announcement also helped the MST to decide not to occupy the Sao Domingos ranch on Sunday last. The MST gave a week to INCRA to start the exappropriation process; if this does not take place they threaten to occupy the area.

The Minister for Land Policy, Raul Jungmann, described as ''bluff'' the threat of the MST to occupy the Sao Domingos ranch. The response on the part of the MST was immediate. Two ranches were occupied by the group during Sunday and Monday - the Primavera 1 ranch in the municipality of Presidente Venceslau and the Maturi 1 ranch in the municipality of Caiua. The UDR had not expected the occupation of these ranches which had not armed guards.

On August 18, 180 landless took over the headquarters of INCRA in Maceio, State of Alagoas and maintained four functionaries as hostages. This group had been removed by the military police from the Boa Fe ranch in the municipality of Atalaia (approximately 70 kms from Maceio). They demanded food, plastic covering for their tents and land to be settled on. During the expulsion the police had torn their plastic covering. INCRA quickly made an agreement with the landless - approximately US $470 thousand would be made available for the purchase of the Boa Fe ranch.

Meanwhile, during recent days the media has given widespread coverage to the visit of Diolinda Alves de Souza - wife of Jose Rainha Junior, to various European countries including France, Holland, Switzerland, Germany and England. The purpose of her visit was to obtain international support for her husband who will be in court on September 16 to stand a second trial for the supposed assassination of rancher Jose Machado Neto and military policeman Sergio Narciso in the State of Espirito Santo on June 05, 1989. Despite testimony given by witnesses uncontested by the prosecution that Rainha was in another state at the time of the murders, he was sentenced to 26 years and 6 months imprisonment on June 11 last in Pedro Canario, State of Espirito Santo. Diolinda participated in an event in London promoted by Amnesty International on August 18 when a booklet was launched showing that her husband's condemnation was politically motivated. Amnesty International promises to officially declare Jose Rainha a prisoner of conscience if he be condemned in the upcoming retrial on September 16.

VIOLENCE

- Prison massacre confirmed: prisoners tortured before being assassinated.

During recent weeks we have reported on a massacre of eight prisoners at the Roger prison in Joao Pessoa, State of Paraiba, on July 29. Various organizations had denounced that the police had made little or no effort to dialogue with prisoners holding prison functionaries as hostages.

The official report of the medical examination carried out on the bodies of the massacred prisoners shows that seven were tortured before being killed by the police. The police version was that the prisoners had been killed in a shoot-out when 200 military police invaded the prison. The official examinations however show that seven had suffered a range of cruelties varying from broken skulls to cuts on various parts of the bodies to punctured lungs.

When the results of the examinations were released early this week, State Governor Jose Maranhao removed the commanding officers (Colonels Pedro Alves Junior and Deuslirio Pires de Lacerda) responsible for the police on the occasion from office. ''There was excess, perversity and violence. It was a massacre'' commented the governor who promised to punish all the police involved. Three separate inquires are currently being carried out on the massacre.

- Drug traffickers distribute lots.

Drug traffickers based in favelas (shanty-towns) in the Mare district of the city of Rio de Janeiro were reported in the ''Folha de Sao Paulo'' on August 15 to be distributing free of charge lots to 2 thousand homeless families. Those benefited also have received building material to start work on their houses. The lots being distributed are part of a 25 thousand square meter area belonging to a company near Mare and taken over by the traffickers in July.

Drug trafficker Mauro Reis Castellano (known locally as Gigante) has led the distribution of lots. He is known locally as the head of the cocaine and marijuana trafficking in the area. His brothers, Ednaldo and Deraldo were responsible for registering families who were awarded a lot. ''The people of the 'movement' are certainly in favor. Firms have unused areas side by side with people who have nowhere to live. It is a question of justice'' commented Ednaldo. Candidates for lots only needed to show that they lived in a rented house in any of the neighboring favelas. Thousands applied for lots. The demand was so high that drug traffickers are reported to be planning the invasion of other unused areas nearby.

This event shows how in many poorer areas of Rio de Janeiro drug traffickers run a parallel form of government where police and government organizations have been excluded. Gigante for example who commands the drug traffic in Mare area since the early 1980s is a very popular figure there. He was born nearby and his popularity increased with the regular distribution of basic food-stuffs, medicine and the organization of musical events especially for the youth of the area. 40 thousand people live in the Mare area.

- Brazil has world record in deaths caused by arms.

Brazil has the highest incidence of deaths caused by fire-arms in the world - 26.97 per 100 thousand annually according to the results of a UN study reported in the 'Folha de Sao Paulo' on August 18. The Brazilian figure is 5.5 higher that what the UN considers an average for such deaths.

An average of between 40 and 50 thousand people are assassinated by hand guns each year in Brazil. Brazil is also in first place on the list of accidental deaths caused by arms - approximately 1200 deaths per year (0.75 per 100 thousand inhabitants). Brazil is in 15th place on a list of 28 on the list where arms are used to commit suicide (0.44 per 100 thousand inhabitants).

CHILDREN'S ISSUES

- ''I have no future''

In recent days the news media published reports on a study carried out by SOS Crianca - an organization linked to the State Secretariat of Sao Paulo for Children, Family and Welfare. The study was carried out between April and June of this year and surveyed the situation of 525 children and adolescents (69% male and 31% female and all under 18 years of age) who live on the streets in eleven different locations in the city of Sao Paulo.

According to the survey 16% of the children and adolescents are on the streets begging or selling objects accompanied by members of their families. The majority - 44% are on the streets accompanied by other children. 4% had come to the streets from the interior of the State of Sao Paulo; 3% from other states; 17% from the Greater Sao Paulo area and 56% from the city of Sao Paulo. Of the total interviewed 7% had never attended school; 36% were not in school at the moment and 47% are in school. 45% return home each day; 34% never go home. 53.5% of the families to which the children and adolescents belong have a house; 21.1% have a temporary shack and 9.1% live on the streets.

18% use the money they obtain on the streets to buy drugs; 38% to help their families and 43% on various personal needs. 21% use drugs daily; 10% occasionally and 66% claimed they did not use drugs. Of those who use drugs 12% use marijuana; 31% use crack; 35% use glue; 16% use chemicals; 3% use alcohol and 2% use cocaine. The vast majority (58.6%) beg on the streets. Other activities include looking after parked cars (13.9%); selling items (6.8%); shoe-shining (3.6%); wind-screen cleaners (3.2%); 1.3% work at deliveries; 1.1% are engaged in prostitution and 9.9% replied that they survived by stealing. 22% replied that money is the greatest attraction which the streets offer and 8% are attracted to the streets because of work.

The 'Folha de Sao Paulo' reporting on the study gives a very poignant portrait of one such 17 year old who cleans car wind-screens on the Henrique Schaumann Avenue in the southern region of the city. ''I have no future because for those who have passed through the devil's tunnel, there is no future'' commented the youth. The tunnel to which he referred to was his life experience - a period in the young offenders prison (Febem), the many beatings he has received and the assaults which he practices with frequency. He commented that he uses crack ''to forget how I live and where I live''.

- Number of adolescent mothers increases.

According to a report in the 'Folha de Sao Paulo' on August 19, mothers in the 15 to 19 year bracket numbered 80.4 per thousand in the 1970 to 1995 period. This represents an increase of 26% on pre 1970 figures which stood at 63.9 per thousand for mothers in this age group. On the other hand in the 25 to 29 year bracket there has been a decrease of approximately 49% from 242 to 124 per thousand during the same period.

The report claims that these trends can in large part be explained by the non use of contraceptives. 80.8% of the adolescent mothers do not use any form of contraceptive method. In the 20 to 29 year old group, 44.2% do not use such methods. Demographer Lucia Yazaki commented that if the number of adolescent mothers is on the increase due to the non-use of contraceptives, this is not due to lack of information. She points to a survey carried out by the Seade Foundation which shows that 95% of girls between 15 and 19 years know of the existence of contraceptives. ''There is a difference knowing about contraceptives and knowing how to use them'' she commented. Ms Yazaki also commented that another reason for the increase in the number of adolescent mothers is that many start an active sexual life earlier than youth in the 1970s.

- Infant mortality rate falls in Sao Paulo.

The infant mortality rate fell in the state and municipality of Sao Paulo last year. The decreases were significant - 7.8% in the city and 7.5% in the state. This is the largest decrease recorded since 1991. The decrease is even more significant in the state capital because during 1995 infant mortality there had increased by 0.3% - from 23.39 per thousand births to 23.46. During 1996 the figure was 21.62 per 1000.

In the Greater Sao Paulo region the decrease was less than 1995 which stood at 5.5%. This came about because the infant mortality rate grew in a number of the municipalities in this region. The city of Osasco for example had an increase of 11.3%. The increase in the city of Itaquaquecetuba was 12.6% - this was one of the largest increases in the entire state of Sao Paulo. In cases such as the latter two cities the increase is due in large part to the migration of poorer residents to these cities found on the periphery of the Greater Sao Paulo area. In such areas the infrastructure such as sanitation and the availability of hospitals is more precarious.

BRAZIL-BIODIVERSITY: Crackdown on Eco-Pirates

By Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 14 (IPS) - Brazilian environmentalists, fighting to halt the wholesale theft of bio-resources from the Amazon basin, are taking a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to court for illegally stealing the knowledge of indigenous peoples.

Another French NGO has cited the world famous perfume manufacturing firm of Chanel for endangering the existence of a rare Brazilian tree used in its products., Selva Viva (Living Rainforest) an NGO founded by Ruediger Von Renighaus, a native of Switzerland, is the defendant in Brazil's first eco-piracy trial. The NGO stands accused of selling knowledge about roots, shells, and seeds obtained from the peoples of the northeast Brazilian state of Acre, to foreign pharmaceutical firms. A court in Acre is expected to issue a decision momentarily to respond to formal accusations by both state and federal prosecutors.

Chanel is accused of contributing to the extinction of the ''palo rosa'', a Amazon tree whose Latin name is Aniba Rosoeodora. Chanel No. 5, one of the best known perfumes in the world, is made with oil from this tree, according to an NGO called ''Robin Hood'' which had called for a worldwide boycott of the company.

The case against Selva Viva was brought to the Acre public prosecutor's office by the local Roman Catholic Church officials, the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) and the Indigenous Nations' Union of Acre (UNI-AC).

The group accused Selva Viva of passing on information recognized as the property of native peoples to large multi- national pharmaceutical corporations, such as Ciba-Geigy, Johnson & Johnson, Hoechst, Sandoz and Lilly in return for medicines and money.

The charges are the latest of many such accusations against other firms and individuals involving the knowledge and genetic resources of the Amazon region being usurped by multinational corporations.

But ''for the first time, public officials are acting effectively and even the Federal Police has ordered field investigations,'' said David Hathaway, an environmental consultant for environmental and agricultural international NGOs, with relief.

In the past Brazilian authorities have always ''talked a lot about the sovereignty of the Amazon'' but did little to end the looting of the region's environmental patrimony, according to Hathaway.

He said the main issue involved the knowledge that has been developed by indigenous communities or subsistence farmers being obtained by companies or persons who may try to patent them as their own. In addition, the extraction of certain natural resources may result in environmental damage.

Acre has been turned into something of an environmental battleground. The state legislative assembly approved a law last month which will protect biodiversity and imposes harsh penalties against foreigners who claim rights to Amazonian forests.

The Biodiversity law sought to end to ''neo-colonialism - the invasion which in no way benefits our region'', stated Deputy Edvaldo Magalhaes, author of the bill and a member of the Brazilian Communist Party. But the legislation, which parliament may extend to other Amazon states, provoked extreme reactions.

Sergio Ferreira, ex-President of the Brazilian Society for Scientific Progress, criticized the law, calling it inefficient. But Aziz Ab Saber, a geographer and environmentalist, felt it could contribute to stepping up the fight against the ''alarming situation'' in the Amazon, prior to its complete decimation and the plunder of its resources.

Hathaway lamented that in addition to the initiative's limitations, it was rushed through and did not receive the lengthy discussion the issue deserved. A better solution, he said, may come out of a national bill which is being sponsored by Senator Marina Silva that seeks to codify the Biodiversity Agreement signed at the Environmental Summit of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. The Acre legislation was inspired by an earlier proposal by the Senator, which was modified after two years of debate in the Senate.

One major point at issue is the right of indigenous communities or small subsistence farmers to protect the knowledge they have developed over generations. This is a problem of international proportions, says Hathaway.

At present, international patent laws only recognize the rights of companies or individuals, and do not recognize the right of intellectual property belonging to an entire community. What's missing is a way to guarantee indigenous communities non- commercial rights to their knowledge which govern use of such knowledge, with access to it shared or remunerated, he said.

In any event, Hathaway considers the moves in Acre a positive step against eco-piracy which has carried on unhindered until now, despite being almost universally condemned.

He noted that Chico Mendes, the distinguished and internationally-known environmentalist, was the original leader of the Acre ''Amazon forest people'', who are in the forefront of the fight against eco-piracy. Mendes was assassinated in 1988. (END/IPS/mo/sz/mk/97)

(Source: IPS News Reports)

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