Number 96, September 16, 1993

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

- Judge orders the arrest of 19 miners suspected of Yanomami massacre

On September 13th, the federal judge of Roraima, Renato Martins Prates, ordered the arrest of 19 more miners accused of planning and participating in the recent Yanomami massacre, in which at least 16 indians were killed. Last week, the judge decreed the arrest of 4 miners, but so far only one has been taken into custody. According to Prates, most of the miners accused are known only by their nicknames and have no fixed address. All are missing.

The judge also said that the miners may well be charged with the crime of genocide, which carries a sentence of between 12 and 30 years.

CHILDREN

- Street children denounce harassment by children's brigade and Military Police

Street children in Maceio, Alagoas, denounced on September 13 that they are being harassed and beaten by a group of youths organized and abetted by the Military Police on the periphery of the city. The children made their complaints to the 'Zumbi dos Palmares' Commission for the Defense of the Child and Adolescent. This human rights group said that in September alone10 children were murdered, bringing the total number of minors killed this year in Alagoas to 82.

According to nine of the children, youths belonging to the 'mirim', or children's brigade, are capturing children, who are found sniffing glue or begging in the streets, and taking them to police stations where they are beaten. "In the station, they beat us, sexually abuse the girls, cut the boys' hair with blunt scissors and even threaten to kill anyone who dares to denounce them", said one of the 14-year olds.

The mirim brigade is a paramilitary organization founded by the First Lady of Alagoas, Denilma Bulhoes.

POLICE VIOLENCE

- Mayor of Sao Paulo wants to put municipal "Rota" on the streets

Within the next two months, Paulo Maluf, Sao Paulo's mayor, intends to form a new unit of the Metropolitan Civil Guards (GCM), called "Municipal Patrols" or Romu. The new unit is programmed to have 300 policemen uniformed like the infamous Rota (the elite force of the Military Police), and according to the coordinator of the GCM, Colonel Luiz Gonzaga de Oliveira, will do the same type of work as the Military Police.

The new policemen are already undergoing special training, which unlike the training of the rank and file of the GCM, has more in common with the training given to the Military Police. They are to get special 38 caliber rifles and also use police vans just like the ones used by the Rota.

The president of the Civil Guards Trade Union, Julio Cesar Kiel, accuses the command of the GCM of "promoting the militarization of the corporation. The GCM was always a modern and non-repressive police force. This new unit will probably turn into a municipal Rota because of the militarist philosophy that they intend to spread".

One of the members of the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Lawyers Association, Jairo Fonseca, commented that the creation of the Romu is unconstitutional, as it intends to carry out ostensive policing on the streets of Sao Paulo, which according to the Constitution can only be done by the Military Police.

- "No more violence"

(The following commentary was written by Jose Carlos Buzanello, a lawyer and researcher for IBASE, the Brazilian Institute for Social and Economic Analysis)

We can no longer tolerate the "culture of violence", which produces and reproduces more resentment and hatred every day, without a definitive response from government and society to put an end to this situation. Recently we have had examples of the banalization of violence and of life. As if the massacres of Nova Jerusalem, Carandiru, Candolaria, and the Yanomami were not enough, now we have Vigario Geral.

Poverty and violence are marks of the same social reality. The many threads of violence are connected: from the numbers games, kidnapings, and drug trafficking; to inside the battalions of the Military Police, police stations, and prisons. As if the everyday violence - unemployment, hunger, a miserable minimum salary, inflation, etc. - were not enough, now there is killing in abundance, without any hesitation or remorse. The life of a Brazilian is of little value in the "death market". One kills for a pair of sandals.

The lack of opportunities and hope, aggravated by the economic recession, has pushed an ever increasing number of persons to the margins. A growing number of police have adhered to this criminal work. Every day more persons are killed by agents of "public security" of the State, by military and civil police, etc.

The State is committing two acts which affront civil society: first, it is not fulfilling its duty to guarantee the security and rights of citizens, thereby creating a vacuum for the "criminal world" to develop; second, it is the "specialized recruiter" of agents for crime, using and abusing the know-how of the "police" and public infrastructure. Organized crime within police units and prisons is part of the big scheme of the powerful, who practice all types of crimes, such as murder, corruption, extortion, and bribery. The Vigario Geral massacre is a perfect example of all this. The masked assassins were using Military Police weapons, maps and radios, and also had logistic support.

Rethinking the entire system of public security and taking forceful and efficient measures are the first steps the State needs to take in responding to the causes and effects of violence. A reform of the entire political-juridical system of public security is urgently needed to end court delays and impunity. The Public Prosecutor must have external control of police action. A swift criminal process and improvements in the penal system are necessary. With these calls for change also comes the demand for an unhesitating and effective response from the judicial powers aided by the external control of organized society.

Human indignation must be present in order to stop the violence. Brazilian citizenhood demands that public security agents respect the rights consecrated by the courts, and the punishment of all criminals. We must revert the current situation, in which the police provokes fear and revolt instead of inspiring respect and security. Public safety, guaranteed by the police, is necessary for rights and obligations to be worthwhile. In these times of "Vigarios Gerais", the police is far from fulfilling the rights of citizenhood.

RURAL WORKERS

- Rural Unions support lootings for drought victims

The decision made by the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag) over the weekend and announced by its president, Francisco Urbano, that Contag is prepared to organize lootings in open markets and food stores in the country's northeastern region to avoid outbreaks of violence, got the support of trade union leaders, such as Manoel Jose dos Santos, in Pernambuco.

Dos Santos said on September 13 that the impoverished rural workers should ask for food, and if they don't get it, they should "take it by force, but only from those who have plenty to spare". Already this year, there were 23 registered cases of lootings in Pernambuco, 8 in Bahia and 8 assaults on food-carrying lorries in Ceara.

The drought that has devastated the Northeast and especially Bahia for the last three years is causing major concern. In Bahia, the State Commission to Combat the Drought foresees a wave of lootings because, they say, 2.5 of the 4 million rural workers in the state have nothing to eat, especially in the semi-arid regions. The representative for the Federation of Workers in Bahia on the commission, Manoel Messias Dias, said that the situation was so dramatic that there is no way to avoid the lootings. "There is widespread indignation among the workers. Our intention is to organize the lootings so as to avoid a massacre caused by hunger".

Contag believes that the only way to stop the looting is for the government to create a fund for the victims of the drought, managed by non-government organizations and trade unions, so as to guarantee that the money will not be usedfor election and political purposes.

A report published last week on the results of a research studymade by scientists from the University of Sao Paulo, claims that the extent of the drought in the Northeast has been deliberately exaggerated so as to attract more federal funds,and that the US$ 11 billion invested there by the government over the last 33 years, if used properly, should have been more than enough to solve the problem. The scientists say that the 'polygon' of the drought area, alleged to cover 900 kms, is in fact only 320 kms and that there is more rainfall in this region than in Western Europe.

In response, the president of the Federal Department for Development in the Northeast (Sudene), Cassio Cunha Lima, said that the US$ 11 billion was very little, considering the region holds 30% of the Brazilian population. He pointed out that "the hydroelectric program in Itaipu, Parana, cost US$ 18 billion and Sao Paulo's subway system US$ 9 billion". More important than knowing how many square meters the 'polygon of the drought' has", claimed Lima, "is to recognize that of Brazil's 32 million starving people, at least half of them live in the Northeast and have little or no water, no way to farm and principally, have no income".

HOUSING

- Shanty-town residents fight to have their self-help projects continued

The Union of Housing Movements in Sao Paulo (UMM-SP), representing most of the shanty-towns in the city, presented a document from the City's Housing Department, to show that declarations made by both MayorPaulo Maluf and City Councilor Miguel Colassuono, are false. Maluf claimed that while the previous mayor, Luiza Erundina, of the Workers Party, spent US$ 290 million to build 2,200 houses, (US$ 131,818 per unit), using community-based, self-help projects, called 'multiroes', the real cost of building these houses is US$ 15 thousand.

The mayor and Colassuono, say the UMM, shamelessly distorted the figures by dividing the total amount of funds used by the previous administration for housing, by the number of houses actually handed over to the population, and ignoring totally the money spent on 8,000 units that were in the process of being built, money used for expropriations, urbanization of shanty-towns, improvement of tenements or 'corticos', construction work on housing allotments, etc.

The truth, say the UMM, is that, if only the cost of the building itself is taken into consideration, the 'multiroes' succeeded in building houses of 60 square metres for only US$ 6,000, while the big construction companies need US$ 9,300 to build houses with an area of only 44 square meters.

The UMM-SP and the Municipal Housing Department (SEHAB) made a joint study to see how much money was needed this year to continue the community housing projects. The figures included the multiroes, (84 in all), urbanization of shanty-towns, money for construction contracts, expropriations and improvements for 'corticos' or tenement-type houses.

However, instead of fulfilling his election promises, and supporting the fight for better housing in Sao Paulo, Mayor Maluf sent a completely different set of figures for the City's approval, so as to readjust the budget already approved last year by city council.

Comparing the mayor's new budget (already approved) to the 93 budget approved last year, it's possible to see who the winners are.

1. The construction companies are to get 45% more than was approved last year.

2. Legal fees cost 109% more.

3. A new project called 'Verticalizacao de Favela', that is, a project to build high-rises in shanty-towns located in the prime areas of the city - a kind of 'front' to hide the misery - also known in the newspapers as the "Singapore solution" - is to get about US$ 54 million.

The cuts are:

1. 32.2% from the money destined for 'multiroes';

2. Urbanization of the shanty-towns are to lose 54.1% of their budget:

3. Expropriations - 72.8%

4. 'Corticos' - 90.6%

5. Emergency assistance or risk areas - 72.8%

These changes in the budget prove that the mayor is transferring funds from the social area to other sectors, and therefore clearly inverting the priorities of the social movements in Sao Paulo.

The UMM-SP asks, "Why is Mayor Maluf giving the constructing companies nearly US$ 50 million more than necessary? Why is the mayor taking funds from the 'multiroes' if, as he says, he wants to continue the self-help projects? And why is the expropriation of areas necessary for housing programs being stopped?"

On October 4th, the UMM-SP plans to stage another sit-in at the mayor's offices, like the one they had on June 28 of this year, to force him to give more attention to the housing shortage in Sao Paulo and demand that he release the funds that he already promised for the continuation of the 'multiroes'.

- Housing movements prepare for Caravan to Brasilia

In preparation for the 5th Popular Movements Caravan to Brasilia, October 18-19, a coalition of Sao Paulo housing groups is collecting signatures on a petition to President Itamar Franco, and Secretary of Welfare Jutahy Magalhaes. The petition calls for the federal government to release funds earmarked for the construction of low-income housing.

According to the Union of Housing Movements, National Secretary for Popular Housing Adolfo Marinho Pontes has stated that the government has US$260 million budgeted for housing construction materials. The funds would be used by the popular movements in community building projects for low-income housing, known as "mutirao". The popular movements are going to Brasilia to find out: "How much has each state already received for public housing and how much will each state receive until the end of 1993?"

Another objective of the Caravan is to lobby federal deputies and senators to approve legislation to establish a National Public Housing Fund. "We delivered one million signatures on a petition for this law on November 19, 1991," said Caravan organizers. "Since then, there has been very little action. In October, we want to give the deputies and senators a 'big push' to pass the bill."

LAND ISSUES

- Quilombos struggle for demarcation

Descendants of slaves from Ivaporunduva, Praia Grande, and Piloes, in the municipality of Eldorado in southern Sao Paulo state, are preparing a legal petition to the federal courts for the recognition of their lands as remnants of 300 year old quilombo communities.

Quilombos were settlements built around the hiding places of fugitive slaves. In the Ribeira Valley, where Eldorado is located, there are at least 19 communities of quilombo descendants. The first slaves were brought to Eldorado in the 17th century by miners in search of gold and other minerals. Years later, their descendants were abandoned. In order to escape persecution, they left the town and hid in the forest, where they made their settlements.

The Constitution of Brazil states that the descendants living in quilombo communities are to be recognized as the owners of the land, and that it is the duty of the State to issue property titles to the residents.

The lawyers representing the quilombo descendants, Michael Mary Nolan and Luis Eduardo Greenhalgh, say that this is the first legal process for demarcation of quilombo land. They intend to file their case with the Attorney General on October 5. They will present historical documents which prove that the families residing there are quilombo descendants, and which show the areas to which the descendants have a right to property titles.

In recent years, a number of false property titles to the land, which is mostly unoccupied, have been registered. The area is of interest to ranchers, small farmers, big business, and energy companies.

The Sao Paulo state energy company, CESP, is planning to build three hydroelectric dams in the area. The owners of the flooded areas, which include the quilombo settlement remnants, would not be compensated. One of the leaders of the Ivaporunduva community, Jose Rodrigues da Silva, said, "If we leave here, we will die. There are people living here who have never been to Eldorado. How are we going to live in the city, with no money, and no land to plant food?"

The land demarcation process will most certainly be a long one. The Catholic diocese of Registro, with a grant from Caritas of France, is providing the quilombo residents with support through the legal process.

- Life in a quilombo.

The Sao Paulo archdiocesan newspaper, "O Sao Paulo", recently published the following portrait of one of the quilombo communities in Eldorado:

To reach Ivaporunduva, one must go 40 kilometers by car from Eldorado, and walk 200 meters to the edge of the Ribeira River. On the other side of the river, on top of a hill, sit Ivaporunduva residents, who discuss among themselves whether or not to send a canoe to get the visitor.

The only access to Ivaporunduva is by the river. The city of Eldorado provides two barges for transport (one is broken). Residents built four small canoes, which are used to haul bananas.

The women of the community remember when they had their babies in the middle of the woods. To get a doctor, or even to buy a bag of salt in Eldorado, took three days by boat. Despite the fact that Ivaporunduva has a satellite dish-on top of a simple wood house-this is not a "global village". People live on a subsistence economy, intricate family relations, and endless conversations watered with coffee.

Dona Araci Atibaia Pedroso, 65, still cuts, and then carries on her back for two kilometers, up to 50 kilos of bananas a day. The community produces weekly 3000 kilos of bananas, which are sold for CR$1.00 per kilo. "It's very little money for a lot of work, and sometimes there's not even any left over for us," she said. The complaint about prices is shared by all. Fruit from Ivaporunduva, as in the other river communities, sells for a low price for two reasons. Without the use of fertilizers the fruit is smaller and of poor quality. The bananas arrive at the market damaged, because of the poorly built canoes used to transport them. The monthly income of CR$15,000 (less than US$150) is divided among 60 families, who produce almost all their own food.

The residents plant their own rice, beans, and coffee. The children have no milk. Meat is eaten only on festive occasions. The community mill grinds mandioca flour to complete the people's diet.

Women in the community have been able to organize, and have gotten water piped into Ivaporunduva. They are also creating a community garden with medicinal plants, and have begun bible study groups.

Anthropologist Guilherme Santos Barbosa, who has studied quilombo remnants, told "O Sao Paulo", "There are no more quilombos, but there are communities of blacks who are resisting. Quilombo is an anthropological term. The black person just wants to live in his or her culture."

The reproduction of this material is permitted as long as the source is cited.