Number 406, June 30, 2000.
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In this week's issue:
>NEWS BRIEFS
- Rural settlements suffer "favelization"
- Questions defined for national plebiscite on external debt
- Bishop demands social projects against hunger
>INDIGENOUS ISSUES
- excerpts from the report "The Mystery of the Guarani and Kaiova suicides"
NEWS BRIEFS
- Rural settlements suffer "favelization"
According to a report released this week by the Folha de Sao Paulo, many people in the state of Sao Paulo who live on rural settlements--those who have gained title to land after an occupation--suffer from "favelization" (a term which comes from the word "favela," meaning shanty town). Only 16.72% of these people live in what would be considered decent housing by Brazilian standards. Over half of the population do not have running water or electricity. One source of the problem is that the government is not spending the money it has budgeted for rural assistance: at the end of May, it had only spent 6.5% of this year’s budget in this area. "The government does not commit itself to social causes, much less on agrarian reform. The less money it spends, the more it has to pay the IMF (International Monetary Fund)," said Jose Rainha Junior, a leader of the MST (Movement of rural workers Without Land).
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
June 25, 2000
- Questions defined for national plebiscite on external debt
Various entities have agreed upon the three questions which will appear on the ballot of a national referendum on the external debt. They are: (1) Concerning the International Monetary Fund: the Brazilian government should maintain its current accord with the International Monetary Fund? (2) Concerning foreign debt: Brazil should continue to pay on foreign debt, without a public audit of this debt as prescribed in the 1988 Constitution? And (3) Concerning domestic debt: federal, state and city governments should continue to use the greater part of their budgets on paying the domestic debt to speculators? The voting will take place in the first week of September. The plebiscite does not have the backing of any of the three powers--Executive, Legislative or Judicial--but is nonetheless legal. The Constitution guarantees the right for society to organize such an activity. Although the outcome will have no legal force, it is an avenue to express the will of the people. The Campaign of the Plebiscite of the External Debt already has a web site in place: www.jubileu2000.org.br.
Source: Jornal Sem Terra
June, 2000
- Bishop demands social projects against hunger
- In a homily for the Feast of Corpus Christi, Bishop Jaime Chemelo, the president of the National Bishops Conference of Brazil, said that the government is not doing enough in social areas in order to end hunger in the country. He commented further that the government invests very little in education and health and for this reason, the plan for public security (released this week) will not be sufficient to end violence. "The government needs to act in all areas, for the current problem is not only a lack of security, but also employment and policies aimed at educational and health projects," said the bishop.
Source: Axnews
June 22, 2000
INDIGENOUS ISSUES
- excerpts from the report "The Mystery of the Guarani and Kaiova suicides"
"The Indian kills himself because of desperation and not because he likes death. The indigenous culture does not see the end of life as a feast or motive for celebration" (Nereu Schneider – Coordinator Cimi-MS).
"If no one does anything for us it is better to block out the sun" (Amiltom Lopes, leader Kaiova of the Pirakua village, about the situation in which the people live, hinting at suicide).
To proclaim the true cause that leads the Guarani and Kaiova peoples to commit suicide is to pledge oneself to overcome it. It is a difficult task that means going to the limits of human capacity, to believe that life is possible in the midst of generalized death that the system imposes not only on the Guarani and Kaiova, but on the mass of excluded people. Only the courageous affirm that the Guarani and Kaiova commit suicide because of lack of land.
Between 1986 and 1999, 303 Guarani and Kaiova committed suicide. In 1980, the indigenous voice of leader Marçal de Souza, echoed around the world as a prophecy:
"We are a nation subdued by those in power, a nation that is dying without having found the way (...) our lands are invaded, are taken from us, our territories are reduced, we have no way of surviving (...) our voice is silenced by those who say that they are the leaders of this large country".
The suicides are fundamentally the fruit of the criminal confinement (corralment) of the Guarani and Kaiova in this century and in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s it became a sorrowful reality. We believe that to overcome them we have to support the Guarani and Kaiova peoples in getting out of these concentration camp type of reservations in order to have renewed hope in a new life.
WHERE DO THESE STATISTICS POINT TOWARDS?
The indigenous areas with the largest number of suicides are:
Dourados with 119 cases in 14 years that represents 39,27%.
Amambai 45 14,85%
Caarapó 44 14,52%
Porto Lindo and Taquapery 27 2,97%
Panambizinho 9 2,97%
Limão Verde 5 1,66%
The number of men who committed suicide is the largest. Between ‘92’ and ‘99’ the number is 137 (60,89%) and women 88 (39,11%) in a total of 225 cases. From this total 153 had less than 25 years of age (68%) and 72 with more than 25 (32%). We will now look at the 5 areas where the situation is dramatic: Amambai, Caarapó, Dourados ,Porto Lindo and Taquapery.
The demarcation of these areas is part of a policy programmed by the Federal Government to attract indigenous from other traditional areas, thus freeing the lands for farmers to develop large scale cattle and agricultural activities. Eight reservations were demarcated by Indian Protection Service (SPI) with cultivated land, schools, health posts, medication and seeds etc., in order to attract the Indians. The Indians who did not accept the process of enforced corralling were simply expelled from their sacred lands through violence and force.
The statistics point out that:
More suicides occurred on overpopulated reservations where peoples from different "tekohas" (sacred lands) were bounded together;
More suicides occurred in the villages where the people were corralled in the middle of their territory, invaded by farmers, as in the case of Porto Lindo or occupied by settlers as in Panambizinho, a very conflictive situation.
It can also be seen that more suicides occurred during the years, 1990, 1995, 1997 and ‘98. This was due to the situation of hunger, misery, conflicts and the lack of future perspectives.
When there is an increase in suicides, the Guarani and Kaiova react immediately and seek to overcome them by the recuperation of traditional lands which permits the revitalization of their way of life. The Guarani and Kaiova are saying to Brazilian society that this is the only way open to them to solve their problems because the Government refuse to demarcate their lands.
WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF OVERCOMING THE PROBLEM?
The first thing to be done is to demarcate the immemorial lands of the Guarani and Kaiova peoples. During a long period they demanded the creation of technical groups by the federal Government to begin the identification process of their lands. The paralysis of the Federal Government and the contempt of the State government are the two main factors responsible for the conflicts that are exploding in Mato Grosso do Sul with serious consequences. Only through indigenous pressure has anything happened in the last few years. The areas that have been demarcated and ratified have been done so because of the Guarani and Kaiova. Between 1992 and ´99 they recuperated 15 sacred lands totaling 14 indigenous lands.
Strong indicators that point towards the elimination of suicides:
In all the areas that the Guarani and Kaiova recuperated there are no suicides.
In the areas that the people left in order to recuperate their lands the number of suicides has diminished, showing that confinement is a very negative factor and has led hundreds of people to commit suicide because of lack of perspectives in overpopulated areas.
These facts reinforce the priority that Cimi MS has emphasized in its latest reports. It is necessary to invest in the breaking out of confinement in areas where the situation is alarming i.e. Amambai, Caarapó, Dourados, Limão Verde, Panambizinho, Porto Lindo and Taquapery. This will only come about by the demarcation of these traditionally occupied sacred lands. To wait for the Federal Government to take initiatives has been to admit to the possibility of the extreme act of suicide becoming epidemic in the indigenous areas.
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE VILLAGE.
The peoples respect their religious leaders. In the community, democracy reigns, they live, make decisions and talk. The important question is: what does it mean to be Guarani and Kaiová?
They have their own life project, development plans, that are linked intrinsically with their lands, extended families, their prayer house, their way of life. All of these aspects are taken into account whenever they recuperate their land. The attitude of those who support them has to be one of respect and acceptance of their way of doing things. They know who and what they are, and the people who work with them have to go through a deep process of inculturation and believe that these peoples are capable of reconstructing their own lives. Hopes are rekindled, the population increases and reciprocity is revived. Cimi-MS has given priority to the meetings of the shamans because they were losing their power and influence due to their inability to solve the suicide problem. With renewed strenght and power, they now participate in all phases of the recuperation process.
RE-EVALUATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT MODEL PROPOSED TO THE GUARANI AND KAIOVA.
The basis of the economic life of the Guarani and Kaiova in Mato Grosso do Sul is reciprocity. Everything is done by exchange. Contact and the laws of the market shook up the whole system and created the most cruel forms of dependency. To reconstruct the economy of reciprocity in the context of the market is the challenge today.
The projects were paternalistic and did not take the peoples into account. Some groups and individuals benefitted from these projects and the communities were blamed if anything went wrong. A development project for these peoples has to have their full participation and help from specialists. Their traditional economy has to be linked with their struggle to reorganize themselves on their sacred lands and strengthen their culture. This can be done through the recuperation of their lands. Guarani and Kaiova are warriors and strong, and it is necessary for them to recover and rekindle their sense of being. They have no hope on the reservations, their survival is threatened and little or no work is available to them. When they do get work it is slave labor and they are separated from their families over long periods. Recuperation of their lands is new life, new hope reciprocity, renewed mysticism, happiness.
The development model of these peoples is based on family farming. They plant corn, manioc, sweet potato, beans and rice. Immediately after they recuperate a land, they all plant together because of the necessity of producing food rapidly. They have to reforest their recuperated lands as well as cleaning up rivers and streams. Cimi Ms supports them in these projects. A lot depends on the commitment of the community in doing this work.
Olívio Mangolim
Maucir Pauletti
Miguel Feeney
Nereu Schneider
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