Number 43, August 27, 1992.

NATIONAL POLITICS

- The National Human Rights Movement (MNDH) in the next few days will enter a petition of impeachment of President Fernando Collor de Mello. The movement will make an appeal to federal Attorney General Aristedes Junqueira for the prosecution of the President in the Federal Supreme Tribunal for crimes of corruption. More than 300 human rights organizations in Brazil are members of the MNDH.

- "The military is sitting on the Constitution." This ambiguous expression was used by the Minister of the Army, General Carlos Tinoco, to sum up the position of the Armed Forces regarding the Paulo Cesar Farias case. Tinoco used this phrase during a private lunch in Brasilia with the editors of a Brazilian newsweekly. The minister made it understood that the military supports Vice-President Itamar Franco, provided that Franco heeds military demands.

- A Brasilia consulting firm prepared a long dossier on the immediate perspectives for President Collor, based on the conclusions of the Parliamentary Investigating Commission (CPI) on Paulo Cesar Farias. The three hypotheses are: 1)Collor remains in office, but without any legitimacy; 2)Collor renounces or is impeached: 3)Vice-President Itamar Franco assumes the presidency and adopts a moderate posture and makes economic policy changes to combat the recession.

CHURCHES

- Churches demand ethics in politics.

Ethics in politics and the formulation of a new project for Brazil which will redeem the social debt suffered by the majority of its people are the demands that Christian churches in Brazil are making as they confront the serious crisis connected to the Parliamentary Investigating Commission (CPI) of Paulo Cesar Farias.

In the assembly of the Ecumenical Service Coordination (CESE), held in Salvador, Bahia, from August 4-6, delegates from seven churches (Methodist, Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran, the Pentecostal Evangelical "Brazil for Christ", the United Presbyterian Church of Brazil, the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil, and the Roman Catholic Church) released a statement demanding justice in Brazil.

After stating the "dramatic" situation of the people, which is marked by "desperation, despair, discouragement, and disbelief in institutions", the churches declared that the nation,"shocked and indignant, is watching the torrent of denouncements of corruption and the lies of officials who were neglectful or were conniving with this degrading situation, and who are now trying to save their positions."

On August 10, the National Conference of the Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) published a statement entitled, "The Truth Will Set You Free", which affirmed that "the ethical conscience of the Brazilian people is facing one of its greatest challenges", and that "the current crisis can be overcome, maintaining the democratic institutions, in the clear and courageous promotion of the truth."

The CNBB stated that it "shares in the perplexities and uncertainties of the moment", and that the National Congress "has become the center of attention and the hope that the whole truth will be revealed." It adds that "the frustration and social disintegration will be greater if the truth is made to vanish and if the facts are not investigated thoroughly and those responsible are not punished."

For the Catholic bishops, "society, which has sacrificed so much in the name of economic stability, cannot live anymore with the constant spectacle of misappropriation of public funds for the illicit enrichment of a few." The bishops also pointed out that "trust in public institutions is at stake."

The above concern is shared by the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession of Brazil (IECLB) in their declaration, "For an Ethical Future of the Brazilian Nation", which was signed by IECLB president Pastor Gottfried Brakemeier and issued on August 12, in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.

The document states that "the signs which indicate the Brazilian nation is reaching a crossroad are multiplying. Society is mobilizing to recover the ethical dignity of its institutions, and articulating a vehement protest against the repugnant situation of corruption, cynicism, and lies that has been disclosed daily and which is responsible for the serious political and social crisis."

The IECLB insists on "the punishment of crimes, the priority of ethics over partisan interests, and respect for the civil rights of the population." It calls on society and its sister churches to "unite forces in order to set the country free from the captivity in which it lives." It emphasizes that the frustration over impunity, "for lack of determination and courage, will throw society into an even worse crisis and will result in very serious harm to the social peace."

In Vitoria, Espirito Santo, the United Presbyterian Church of Brazil (IPU), through its general secretary, Pastor Jaime Wright, sent a telegram to the president of the CPI of Paulo Cesar Farias, Benito Gama, saying that the church trusts that "the CPI will fulfill its duty in order to redeem the hope of our people and to safeguard ethics and the democratic system."

Through its justice and peace organizations and social apostolates, the churches continue to participate actively in the Movements for Ethics in Politics and against impunity

- CONIC supports demonstrations for ethics in politics.

Member churches of the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil (CONIC) will not sign a petition of impeachment of President Fernando Collor de Mello, because they consider this not to be a specific duty of religious institutions. However, they support demonstrations for ethics in politics and participate in all initiatives of this manner, through the churches' social apostolates.

- CNBB debates Mercosul.

The significance of the Common Market of the Southern Cone (Mercosul) in the national and international economic process will be debated by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) in a seminar to be held in Curitiba, Parana, from September 14-18. Participants will discuss the ways organziations of civil society can make interventions in the process of the implantation of Mercosul.

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