Number 345, April 8, 1999.
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In this week's issue:
From FOLHA DE SAO PAULO:
- Campaign begins to end child labor in tobacco fields
- MST announces occupations in Alagoas
- Police accused of killing two in a shanty town
- Drought causes increase in the number of infant deaths
- 55% of teachers have activities outside of the classroom
- According to a North American economist, Brazil has lost US$ 6
billion because of US trade protectionism
- Pastoral denounces beatings in Febem
- Governor of Minas Gerais says he will do a "road show"
From PORATIM:
- Land is repossessed after a 40 year struggle (ACTION ALERT)
**NEWS BRIEFS**
From FOLHA DE SAO PAULO:
- Campaign begins to end child labor in tobacco fields
The Tobacco Industry Union began a program this month called "The Future Is
Now" which will attempt to put an end to child labor in the tobacco fields,
principally in the south of Brazil. The program is aimed at small farmers
as large tobacco farms do not use child labor, according to the Union. It
will train teams to lead meetings with small farmers, informing them of
children's rights. The farmers will not be required to attend such
meetings, but in the near future, those who continue to use child labor
will have a difficult time finding buyers for their crops.
April 2, 1999
- MST announces occupations in Alagoas
The MST (Movement of those without Land) announced that there were
occupations in 15 different sites in the state of Alagoas. The encampments
began early yesterday and involved 2,850 families. Of the fifteen land
estates occupied, fourteen had been previously occupied, but families were
removed by the Military Police at the request of the Alagoas Justice
Department. The state co-ordinator of the MST, Reginaldo Pacheco, affirmed
that there were no acts of violence during the occupations yesterday.
According to Pacheco, the objective of the occupations is to pressure Incra
(the government agency in charge of agrarian reform) to do the land surveys
necessary for the legal occupations of the land. "We had a meeting in
January, and Incra promised to do various surveys of the lands not being
used. But nothing has been done yet," affirmed Pacheco.
April 2, 1999
- Police accused of killing two in a shanty town
Five police have been accused of killing two people in the shanty town of
Jardim Elba, Sao Paulo. One of the victims was mentally handicapped.
According to witnesses, the police entered a bar asking where drugs were
being sold. They approached the mentally handicapped man,Dedeco da Silva,
shot him in the leg, told him to run, and then shot him in the back. A
bricklayer, who happened to be passing by, was also shot. The police fired
several shots in the air to scare away the residents of the area, and put
the two men in their car. They were later pronounced dead. The five
police officers have been suspended while the incident is being investigated.
April 3, 1999
- Drought causes increase in the number of infant deaths
The Ministry of Health released information yesterday on the number of
infant deaths in the country. Between 1997 and 1998 there was an increase
of 2.54%, from 31,602 deaths to 32,407. The increase of the number of
deaths is principally in the Northeast, the region suffering from lack of
rain. The state of Alagoas especially has a high infant mortality rate: 87
per 1000 births. The report states that the increase is inevitable; it is
the result of declining social conditions of the mothers who are
malnourished during pregnancy. The babies then are also malnourished and
die from respiratory diseases or diarrhea, the two principal causes of
death for children under 1 year old in Brazil.
April 4, 1999
- 55% of teachers have activities outside of the classroom
To be a teacher is an activity that goes beyond the walls of the classroom.
A good part of the teachers in Sao Paulo's private school network dedicate
themselves to other activities in addition to teaching and apply a
significant portion of their day preparing classes, writing and correcting
tests.
This information was revealed in a research study that traced the profile
of a teacher in Sao Paulo's private school network . The study shows that
up to 55% of teachers are involved in other activities. This
characteristic tends to prevail among those that teach higher education,
where it is common to contract professionals integrated into the labor
market - like lawyers and engineers - to give classes, but it is also
apparent at high school and elementary level education , where extra
activities tend to be in the actual area of education.
In addition to working at home, teachers spend, on average, 10 hours a week
to supplement and prepare classroom activities. According to the study, a
teacher spends on average R$210 a month to maintain his/her training
current. On the one hand, the pressure to stay current is connected to a
demand of the students, but it also comes from changes in the educational
sector. Educational legislation predicts, for example, that up until 2007
all the teachers of basic education will have to have superior education.
However, a diploma is not sufficient. New proposals in pedagogy - that
require teachers to do more than transmit subject content - create the
necessity to invest in more training.
April 5, 1999
- According to a North American economist, Brazil has lost US$ 6
billion because of US trade protectionism
US trade protectionism costs at least US$6 billion annually to Brazil in
lost exports of orange juice, sugar and steel. This is not the affirmation
of a lobbyist for an association of Brazilian exporters, but the
affirmation of North American economist Gary Hufbauer, senior researcher at
the Institute for International Economics. "Brazil has all the reason to
go to the highest level of the World Trade Organization to eliminate the
North American barriers to their exports of orange juice, sugar and steel,"
says Hufbauer. He estimates that the value of bi-lateral trade between
Brazil and the US could be doubled from the current level of US$25 billion
to US$50 billion annually if all the barriers to the free flow of goods
between the two countries were eliminated.
April 5, 1999
- Pastoral denounces beatings in Febem
According to the Pastoral of the Minor, close to 49 adolescents were hurt
on Easter Sunday night -April 4th after the escape of 5 adolescents at a
detention center in Sao Paulo. The suspicion is that they were beaten with
iron bars and pieces of wood by the employees of the institution. The
accusation was made by Fr. Julio Lancellotti, of the Center of Defense of
the Child and Adolescent of the Pastoral of the Minor.
The Febem (State Foundational of Well-Being of the Minor) confirms only
that there was "a tumult involving detainees and employees" after 5
adolescents attempted to escape. The foundation opened an internal inquiry
to investigate the case. The inquiry, according to Marcelo Cury, chief of
the Febem board, will analyze the situation and find out who is guilty for
the aggressions. "If it is proven that the employees are guilty of abuse,
all of them will be punished," said Cury.
Fr. Julio Lancellotti affirms that the adolescents had marks of aggression
that could have been caused by iron bars and pieces of wood. "One
(adolescent) took a hit in the mouth and lost two teeth. We found the
teeth in the garbage. This alone indicates aggression. What happened was
a barbarity," says Lancellotti. The priest made a formal accusation on
Monday at the Ministry of the Public. It was decided that a special
prosecutor will be designated to investigate the case.
April 6, 1999
- Governor of Minas Gerais says he will do a "road show"
Itamar Franco (PMDB), the governor of Minas Gerais, said that he will do a
"road show" within and outside of the country to talk about the "real
facts" involving the conflict between the government of Minas Gerais and
the federal government. Itamar said also that he will bring to financial
institutions, like the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank,
data on the debts Minas Gerais owes to the Union (i.e. Brazil) and the
credits that he affirms the State should receive.
He announced that in June he will spend thirty days outside of the country
to realize what he called a "road show." The term, in English, is used in
the market when expositions are presented about a determined subject to
different audiences. Before the auction of the Telebras system, for
example, the government of Brazil promoted "road shows" outside the country
to promote the sale and attract interested businesses.
Itamar criticized again FHC and the economic policies of the federal
government. The governor went over again the memorandum signed by Brazil
and the IMF on March 8th to re-emphasize how FHC "is delivering over the
country" and the IMF "is monitoring" Brazil. He read item 12 of the
document, that refers to the adjustments of the States, to say that it is
the Fund who is impeding the federal government from renegotiating the
debts. He also read item 27, which refers to the privatization of the
electrical energy industry, to say that the federal government made
promises with the IMF to realize actions that are the domain of the States.
April 7, 1999
From PORATIM:
- Land is repossessed after a 40 year struggle
The indigenous community of Cerro Marangatu of the Guarani-Kaiová people
took an historical step last December 20th. They repossessed the
fazenda (a large estate) 'Fronteira'. In 1959, the community had been
expelled by the fazendeiro (owner of a large estate) who, at the time,
ordered their houses to be burnt, destroyed their crops and killed small
animals so that he could take over the area of about 15,000 hectares.
Until the 19th of December the community, with a population of 380, 760
families, lived on a piece of land of 8.5 hectares in the district of
Campestre in Mato Grosso do Sul. The whole region, according to historical
facts, had been densely populated by Guarani, until, at least the War in
Paraguay. There is still evidence of this today. Marçal de Souza,
assassinated in 1983, lived at the time of his death with the community of
Cerro Marangatu. He saw how they were trying to encircle the indians in
reserves and opposed the move. He paid with his life.
During the years when the indians were far from their lands the fazendeiro
had it stripped completely; he cut the forest and planted grass to raise
cattle. The indians couldn't even cross the land or take wood without being
intercepted by security men on the fazenda. The 58 families who retook the
land lived in various locations around the area. Some even worked on the
fazendas to sustain their families. All of them awaited the right moment
to retake the land.
The community from the beginning in 1959 dreamed of repossessing their land
and this dream was passed on from the older generation to the younger
people. Repeated claims were made to Funai (the Governmental Indigenous
Organization). One such letter was sent in March of 1998, but again Funai
did nothing other than include the claims in their plans. Tired of waiting
for a solution which never came, on their own account and risking
everything, after three days of prayer and talk, the community opted for the
only alternative which was open to them to establish their rights to the
land, repossession.
An illegal act from the point of view of the elite of society but not for
the indians who during 30 years kept alive the hope and courage necessary to
get back what is their life - their sacred land.
The mobilization results in a agreement.
The principal result of the mobilization of the Guarani-Kaiová was the
agreement between the community, the fazendeiro and Funai. According to the
agreement the community can stay on the land they occupied in the first 6
months. Funai, for its part, will establish a work team to identify and
demarcate the area. At the request of the Public Ministry of Mato Grosso do
Sul, Funai has to send a monthly report on work done. After the area is
identified the process of demarcation will follow on. However, as of yet,
Funai has not set up the working group.
If the agreement allows the community to stay on the land, the same
agreement forbids the entry of representatives of support groups who want to
help. Because of this, three year old Joanna Morrito, died on the 1st of
February without assistance.
SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
The community of Kaiová-Guarani, yet again, counts on the support and
solidarity of all on behalf of life and justice. It is important to send
the authorities letters, telegrams or faxes showing your support and your
preoccupation with the physical condition of these indigenous. Between
those who returned, over 300 people, there are about 60 men. The rest are
women and children. They need food, medicines and the protection of Funai
and principally the immediate beginning of the demarcation of their land.
Send correspondence to:
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, President of the Republic, fax; (061) 226-7566;
Renan Calheiros, Minister for Justice, fax: (061) 322-6817;
President of Funai, fax:(061) 225-8607;
Governor of Mato Grosso do Sul, fax: (067)726-4176;
The Mayor of Antônio João-MS, fax(067)435-1211.
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