Number 424, November 3, 2000.
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In this week's issue:
>NEWS BRIEFS
- NGO to begin new phone service to assist women in Sao Paulo
- Election results
- Court upholds its decision to annul trial of the massacre at Eldorado do Carajas
- Landless leader attacked in Mato Grosso do Sul
- President nominates woman for Supreme Court appointment
- Police strike ends in Pernambuco
>URGENT ACTION
- A request from the MST (Movement of rural workers Without Land)
NEWS BRIEFS
- NGO to begin new phone service to assist women in Sao Paulo
A Non-governmental Organization (NGO) called Coletivo Feminista in Sao Paulo has begun a new service for women called "Disque SOS Mulher" (Dial SOS Woman). The project has opened phone lines which will be operated be trained attendants who will give information about health and services available in the Sao Paulo area. "SOS Mulher has two functions," said coordinator Maria Jose de Oliveira Arajuo. "The first is to give information and orientation. For example, a woman victimized by sexual violence. . .will be given information about where she can get help closest to her house...The other is simple to listen. Listening is the first step for women who are looking for their rights and for health services." The project which opened last Friday has already received dozens of calls.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
October 29, 2000
- Election results
Brazil finished its second round of mayoral elections this past weekend. Below are the winners of the capital cities, their respective parties and margins of victory:
Sao Paulo: Marta Suplicy (PT) 58.51%
Rio de Janeiro: Cesar Maia (PTB) 51.05%
Recife: Joao Paulo (PT) 50.38%
Curitiba: (PFL) 51.48%
Fortaleza: Juraci Magalhaes (PMDB) 53.97%
Belo Horizonte: Celio de Castro (PSB) 54.94%
Goiania: Pedro Wilson (PT) 55.77%
Porto Alegre: Tarso Genro (PT) 63.51%
Maceio: Katia Born (PSB) 61.26%
Belem: Edmilson Rodrigues (PT) 50.75%
Manaus: Alfredo Nascimento (PL) 50.78%
It was a good election for the Workers’ Party (PT), who now govern 6 of the 26 capital cities.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
October 30, 2000
- Court upholds its decision to annul trial of the massacre at Eldorado do Carajas
The Court of Justice of the State of Para upheld its decision to annul the outcome of the first session of the trial of the massacre at Eldorado do Carajas. (See past issues of News from Brazil on our website to get more information about the case.) In that session, which happened in August of 1999, three high-ranking officers were absolved for lack of evidence. In April of this year, the court annulled the decision. Lawyers for the defense appealed the decision, and now say they will go to a higher court for appeal. Currently, the trial is set to restart in February or March of next year.
Source: Linha Aberta
October 31, 2000
- Landless leader attacked in Mato Grosso do Sul
A leader of a group of rural landless workers connected to CUT (Central Union of Workers) was attacked in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul this week. Moises Neri was on his way to visit a group of 50 families occupying the Tres M ranch, when he encountered a group of police and gunmen. The police immediately left the scene, leaving the gunmen who then approached Neri and his three companions. The three companions fled, but the gunmen caught Neri and then beat him. Moises was later found and taken to the local hospital. "Violence is a common practice here in this state where two of our group have already been assassinated this year," said Marli de Oliveira Santos, the state’s executive director of CUT.
Source: Linha Aberta
October 31, 2000
- President nominates woman for Supreme Court appointment
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso nominated this week Ellen Gracie Northfleet to take the place of retiring Supreme Court judge Luiz Octavio Gallotti. If her nomination is accepted by the Senate, Northfleet, 52, will be the first woman to serve as a federal Supreme Court judge. A spokesperson for Cardoso’s government, Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, said that Northfleet was chosen because she was the one most qualified for the job, and at the same time the nomination is in keeping with the President’s desire to promote women into leadership positions.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
November 1, 2000
- Police strike ends in Pernambuco
Police of the state of Pernambuco ended their 12 day strike this week after agreeing to the state’s proposal for a slight salary increase and a promise to grant amnesty to the strikers. The accord is really a victory for the state and not the strikers who were demanding a much higher salary increase than what they were given. However, since the state began to fire and prosecute the strikers, the latter backed down from their demands.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
October 31, 2000
URGENT ACTION
- A request from the MST (Movement of rural workers Without Land)
Dear Friends,
In the past few weeks, the Brazilian government has intensified its attacks against the MST. These attacks have been taking different forms, such as accusations of corruption, denial of credit lines to small farmers, and arbitrary arrests of MST activists. Please send your message in support of the MST to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso: pr@planalto.gov.br with copies to: semterra@mst.org.br. Below is a sample letter in support of the MST
Thank you very much for your support.
Best regards,
Maisa Mendonça
To: pr@planalto.gov.br
Dear President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Sr. Raul Jungmann, Minister of Agrarian Development,
I have been greatly concerned by reports from Brazil that indicate that the Brazilian government is conducting a high profile campaign against the MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra) for its custom of routinely deducting voluntary contributions from its members. This is a long-established practice, adopted not just by the MST but also by numerous other organisations, including political parties, lawyer associations and trade unions, in Brazil and elsewhere. As the MST depends heavily on these contributions, we are worried about the long-term impact of this measure on the movement. We share the concern of many members of the Catholic Church in Brazil that the government is using this incident in an attempt to 'criminalise' the MST. At the same time, we are disturbed by the continued violation of the human rights of MST activists, with the assassination so far this year of ten members. We believe that the MST, through its remarkable capacity to mobilise the poor, is leading the world in developing exciting new solutions for the global problems of social exclusion and social inequality. At the same time, the MST is devising new forms of small-scale production, particularly in the field of agro-ecology, which are permitting its settlers to survive in an increasingly hostile environment. We believe that, if the Brazilian government is sincere in its much-stated objective of decreasing the notorious social inequalities in Brazil, it should be proud of the MST's achievements and be encouraging it to spread its message to the rural poor in Brazil, who, despite the government's successful programme of agrarian reform, are still being driven off the land in huge numbers.
Yours truly,
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