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In this week´s edition of News from Brazil:

• Bayer’s Genetically Modified Corn Denied, For Now
• The Tupinikim and Guarani Prevail in Court Against Aracruz Celulose

The National Technical Commission on Biosecurity (CTNBio) ended 2006 just as it started the year: polemically. This time it is corn, not soy, that is in the forefront of the debate and which will probably bring about changes in 2007. In its last meeting of the year, CTNBio discussed a recent court decision which put a freeze on the planting of two varieties of genetically modified (or transgenic) corn. At the request of Luis Carlos Guedes Pinto, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Attorney General’s office is trying to strike down the court’s decision. The decision was rendered by Nicolau Konkel Junior, a judge of the Federal Environment Court of Curitiba, Parana. Three entities--Terra de Direitos (Land Rights), Idec (Brazilian Institute of Consumer Rights), and ASPTA (Alternative Agriculture Consulting Firm)—brought Bayer to court over its Liberty Link, a variety of transgenic corn.

The entities were demanding that a public audience be held before CTNBio makes any decision about the transgenic corn. The entities made the original request to CTNBio, but the commission denied it, stating that it already had sufficient information to make a decision on the corn, and they have no money to organize public audiences. The entities then took their case to the court, and the judge ruled that there was not sufficient certainty regarding the seeds’ effects on the environment and human health.

In a press interview, the president of CTNBio, Walter Colli, stated, "The court made a decision, but I don’t agree with it. The decision goes against the law." He went on to state that the general public really does not know much about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). That, coupled with the opposition from environmental groups, has held up the work of the commission, he asserted.

Gabriel Fernandes, assistant technician for ASPTA, disagreed with Colli’s position, and affirmed that the CTNBio authorized 30 different transgenic experiments per month during 2006. None of the experiments proved anything conclusive. "This proves for us that this discussion over GMOs and their impact on the environment is important for all society. Large-scale farming and companies involved in biotechnology are trying to commercialize the seeds as fast as possible, without any concern for the environment or human health.

Social entities and environmental researchers are predicting that the debate over transgenics is only going to heat up next year. "The fact that CTNBio passed a whole year without granting one request for commercializing transgenics, and this recent court decision are victories for civil society. But they are not enough to counter the pressures exerted by large-scale farmers and biotechnology companies," said Gabriel Fernandes of ASPTA. "Lobby groups for GMOs are putting pressure on two fronts. The first is to reduce the number of members on the CTNBio, specifically hoping to eliminate members on the commission from social entities, and to change the rules about quorum voting. Currently, it is necessary to have a 2/3 quorum to approve anything by the commission. Today, that would be 18 votes." The lobbies want to reduce that number so that requests could be approved quicker.

According to Fernandes, the end result of the whole debate over GMOs will depend on the federal government: "A mass approval of GMOs or not is directly related to how the federal government is going to work the issue—if they are going to mobilize at the base for or against transgenics."

If the General Attorney’s office is not able to strike down the Judge Konkel’s decision, the public audiences will also be very important in deciding the issue. Colli has already indicated that the pro-trangenic side of the debate will be represented during the audiences: "It is necessary to show people that GMOs are not bad, to add some balance to the debate."

Source: Brasil de Fato, December 21-27

A federal court in Espirito Santo handed a small victory to two indigenous groups in that state, the Tupinikim and Guarani. The two groups had brought a suit against the multinational Aracruz Celulose for their treatment of the indigenous in the company’s public relations campaigns.

The conflict originally began when the Tupinikim and Guarani began to reclaim 11,000 hectares of their ancestral land, currently being occupied by Aracruz for production of eucalyptus trees. (See back issues of News from Brazil on our web site for more details.) In order to gain public support, Aracruz began a publicity campaign to smear the image of the indigenous groups. They produced material for schools, posted messages on their web site, and place ads on billboards. One such message read, "Enough of Indians who threaten workers," implying both that these groups threaten the lives of workers, and also that if the indigenous are able to get the lands back, Aracruz employees will be out of work.

The federal judge, Flavio Robert de Souza, ruled that Aracruz’s campaign was creating an environment ripe for ethnic-racial conflicts between the indigenous and those who live in proximity. The court ordered the company to remove its ads and materials immediately, or suffer a US$50,000 per day fine.

Meanwhile, the dispute over the land remains at a standstill in Brasilia. There was to be a meeting between the indigenous and the Ministry of Justice on December 19^th. The indigenous group waited four hours for the meeting, and in the end, no government officials received the group. The request for demarcation of the land has been in the hands of Justice Minister Thomaz Bastos, who is expected to leave his job at the end of January, 2007.

Source: Cimi and the MST web site

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