Number 396, April 21, 2000.
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In this week's issue:
>NEWS BRIEFS
- Landless movement has several conflicts with government this week
- Youths in detention center in subhuman conditions
- Malnutrition worsens in the North and Northeast of Brazil
- Sao Paulo’s city council votes in favor of impeachment proceedings of city’s mayor
- Patoxo Ha-Ha-Hae launch international campaign
NEWS BRIEFS
- Landless movement has several conflicts with government this week
The MST (Movement of rural workers without land) experienced several conflicts with the government this week. First, military police in Bahia attempted to prevent buses carrying 400 MSTers from continuing on their journey to Porto Seguro, Bahia, where various demonstrations are being planned to protest the government’s celebrations of the the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Europeans in Brazil. The conflict began when the military police forced all passengers off the bus. Upset, the MSTers reacted by forming a blockade across the highway. The military then threatened the group, rocks were thrown at the police, and the incident ended with 11 MSTers being arrested.
Also this week, the MST announced a new wave of occupations in five different states. As of yesterday, the group claimed that 65 estates have been occupied. The minister of land reform, Raul Jungmann, reacted by stating that he plans to impose sanctions against the MST. First, he said the government would not inspect or grant title to any of the areas which are being occupied; and second, anyone involved in occupations will not receive any loans or land from the government.
April 15-19, 2000
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
- Youths in detention center in subhuman conditions
Nearly six months after one of the biggest riots in a Sao Paulo detention center, 900 youths continue living in subhuman conditions. This is the finding of an inspection done by the Secretary of Health. Boys in the detention centers change clothes only one time per month, there is one bar of soap for every 60 people, some go without water for a day, and some are forced to eat food without utensils. Some boys have bruises on their backs, evidently a result of beatings. Over 80% have some form of skin disease. According to the state government, the report will be investigated.
April 16, 2000
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
- Malnutrition worsens in the North and Northeast of Brazil
Children of the North and Northeast of Brazil, the poorest regions of the country, continue being most affected by malnutrition. The areas where the misery increased the most between 1998 and 1999 are cities located in the sertao (arid region in the Northeast) and in the Amazon rainforest. Among cities most affected by malnutrion are Abaetetube in Para, where 11.5% of the children are malnourished, Patos in Paraiba, with 14.6%, Senhor do Bonfim in Bahia with 10.9%, Maceio in Alagoas with 11.8% and Propria in Sergipe with 9.6%. Abaetetuba municipality is where malnutrition increased most between 1998 and 1999: In 1997, 5.7% of the 10, 983 children were malnourished; last year, 11.5% were malnourished, a 102% increase. The Brazilian Catholic Church’s "Pastoral da Crianca" (a ministry to poor families), the organization who provided the information, explained that in many places the only ones who have jobs are in the government. In the sertao, the drought accounts for some of the misery while in other places precarious waste and sewage systems factor in. The same report reveals that the infant mortality rate has actually increased in Brazil’s biggest industrial center, Sao Paulo. Among the poorest in the state, the infant mortality rate rose 38%. The increase is being blamed partly on reduction of health services, governmental cutbacks which have been mandated by the International Monetary Fund so that Brazil may continue to pay its external debt.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
April 19, 2000
- Sao Paulo’s city council votes in favor of impeachment proceedings of city’s mayor
The saga of Sao Paulo’s city mayor, Celso Pitta, continued this week as the city council voted yesterday to begin impeachment proceedings. He will be the first in Sao Paulo’s history to undergo such proceedings. The vote was 39 in favor of opening the process, 3 against, 9 abstentions, and 4 not present for the voting. A commission of seven has been established and will have 90 days to complete their investigation. If the mayor is found guilty of the corruption charges by the commission, the commission will send its recommendation of impeachment to the city council who will again vote (this time in secret). Until then, Pitta will remain as mayor.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
April 19, 2000
- Patoxo Ha-Ha-Hae launch international campaign
A signed petition and a photograph exhibition mark the official launching today (April 6) of the International Campaign for the Legalization of the Pataxó Hă-Hă-Hăe Territory in Itabuna, state of Bahia. The aim of the campaign is to report the situation of the indigenous people and pressure the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to judge immediately the Ordinary Action to Declare Title Deeds Null and repossession that was referred to the STF in 1982. The Pataxó also want the federal administration to ensure the physical integrity of the community, since they have been receiving death threats and their territory was invaded by the Military Police of Bahia in September of last year and since then they have stayed there. On the 16th, the campaign will be launched in Salvador, the capital of the state.
Source: Cimi
April 6, 2000
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