Brazil in Hot Pants

I Moved My Blog

2009-07-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

As of July 01 all new articles are posted on my new blog: "Brazil In Hot Pants",
which you can find here.

Hope to see you there

Anton Steeman

The Howler

2009-06-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

I don’t have to relate here about the events and emotions in Iran. The Pullitzer-Prize-worthy blogging of Andrew Sullivan at The Atlantic and Nico Pitney at HuffPost are appallingly complete and deeply moving. They embody Obama’s words: “We are bearing witness”.

Using Andrew Sullivan’s words: “Did you notice how many times he [Obama] invoked the word "justice" in his message? That's the word that will resonate most deeply with the Iranian resistance. What a relief to have someone with this degree of restraint and prudence and empathy - refusing to be baited by Khamenei or the neocons, and yet taking an eloquent stand, as we all do, in defense of freedom and non-violence.”

In stark contrast to Obama’s eloquent stand and the cautiousness of the European government leaders, Lula, the great world leader, saw fit to defame the standing of Brazil and its people in the world.
As a belligerent child, who sees his beloved toy taken away from him, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared in Geneva, that based on personal experience, the protests currently taking place in Iran are a reaction of losers, and that the controversy surrounding the re-election of Ahmadinejad will not change his intention to travel to Tehran in the near future.

In this hour of desperation, while the Iranian people are demonstrating in the streets for their democratic rights, Lula can only talk about trade between Brazil and Iran.
"I want to go to Iran, I pretend to fix a date and visit Iran because we are interested in building a partnership with Iran, interested in trade with Iran," he said.

At a press conference, to emphasize his understanding of world politics and the definition of democracy, he stated that Iranian’s actual president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has 61 or 62% of the votes. How can you imagine fraud with such an impressive popular support?, he wondered.

"I do not know anyone other than the opposition, who should have disagreed with the Iranian election results. There are no figures available, there is no proof. For now, it's just, you know, something between “flamenguistas and vascaínos," (referring to two rivalling Brazilian football clubs).

Lula, the popular leader of the Brazilian dream, prototype of the common man that reached the highest levels of society, collided head-on with equality, with equal rights and obligations, with the principles of equality and democracy. With his imbecile statements he shook off his carefully built-up image as a reformist and took the cloth of the repressor and anti-libertarian.

The Brazilian president's view on the election in Iran does not make the slightest difference - either in Tehran or anywhere else in the world, but it is revoltingly gross to compare the peaceful demonstrations for justice of the Iranian people to two rivalling Brazilian football clubs.

Seeing his jaunt to Iran going beyond reach, he probably had meant to say to the Iranian people: "Sifu" (fuck you).
*
Note 1: Lula used this obscene expression (Sifu meaning fuck you) during a meeting with governors. The TV-News outlet ‘Jornal Nacional’ qualified the words as "extravagant", which was very generous of them.
Note 2: With the peaceful demonstrations getting approached with violence by the Iranian authorities and the hospitalized injured arrested by the Basiji, several foreign embassies in Tehran are helping to protect the victims and are taking in injured. Why is the Brazilian Embassy not on the list?

90612

Brazilian Supermarkets Require Deforestation-Free Meat

2009-06-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

The major supermarket chains stepped forward to protect the rain forest. A crucial step. WalMart, Carrefour and Pão de Açúcar will work with certificates of origin for beef which they offer on the shelves of their stores. Recently, Greenpeace released a study showing that the biggest slaughterhouses in Brazil, which receive financial funds from the BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) and other public banks, buy from farmers in illegally deforested areas. The NGO studied the entire distribution chain. (see also my yesterday's post: The Folly of an Economy Going Against the Environment)

Last week in an interview with Míriam Leitão the president of Abras, Sussumu Honda, said that the supermarket chains were taking the denunciations very seriously and would take a decision. Decision taken! The supermarkets published the following statement:

*
Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Pão de Açúcar suspend purchases from farms involved in the deforestation of the Amazon, and will work with audits and certificates of origin.

In a meeting of the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets (Abras), on June 8, the three largest supermarket chains in the country, Carrefour, Wal-Mart and Pão de Açúcar decided to suspend purchases from farms involved in the deforestation of the Amazon. The action is a repudiation of practices condemned by Greenpeace. The supermarket sector, by means of Abras, can’t associate itself with the denounced wrongdoings and will act vigorously.

The position defined by the supermarkets includes notification of the slaughterhouses, suspension of purchases from farms denounced by the federal public prosecutor of the State of Pará and the requirement of Certificates of Origin attached to the invoice/transport bill. As an additional measure, the three supermarket chains require an independent and internationally recognised audit to ensure that the products they sell are not from deforested areas of the Amazon.

This is a joint sectorial response to the report published by Greenpeace earlier this month and the subsequently civil action by the federal public prosecutor of Pará, who sent a recommendation to the large supermarket chains and 72 other buyers of animal products so that they should recede buying meat products originating from the destruction of the rainforest. *
end of statement

At least some companies take their ‘social responsibility’ seriously.

Photos from top to bottom: Hypermarché Carrefour Pinheiros - São Paulo - Meatproduct section; WalMart's Nacional store Brazil and Carrefour Bairo Santo Amaro - São Paulo. - Courtesy: WalMart and Carrefour

90605

The Folly of an Economy Going Against the Environment

2009-06-11T09:36:00.000-07:00

From economists it is expected that they are in favour of production at any cost and against environmentalists. But it has to be the opposite. The Brazilian economy will suffer immensely if it continues the deforestation of (among others) the Amazon rainforest.

It is a shot in the foot. Export of Brazilian beef, for example, will face difficulties if the exporters are not guaranteeing the world market that the cattle did not come from deforested areas. The same problem producers will face with supermarkets, as they will require a ‘clean origin’ of the meat. Consumers also are awakening. As a consequence it is irrational, from an economic point of view, to go against the protection of the environment.

The Medida Provisória*) No. 458 (Decree MP 458), which passed Congress is foolish. It permits regularization of the lands for those who illegally invaded the Amazon rainforest. It regularizes illegality.

The confrontation between farmers and environmentalists is completely unreasonable. Even if the matter is discussed only in terms of economy, the environmentalists are right. Farmers celebrate victories that will turn against them in the future. The slaughterhouses will have to prove to supermarkets in Brazil and elsewhere that they did not buy cattle from (illegally) deforested areas.
The world is moving in one direction and Brazil running in the opposite direction with eyes fixed on the past, turning the clock back.

The debate, the proposals in Congress, the approval of MP 458, the mistakes of the government, the complicity of the opposition, show countrywide lack of understanding.
The tragedy is a multi-party action for burning down the Amazon.
Even China starts to change. In the United States, the Bush government is dumped in the trash bin of history. President Barack Obama steers the country in another direction. Presented US Congress with a set of federal parameters for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. What was once just a Californian dream, is now the outlook for the entire country.
At a time when the environment begins to accelerate attention in the world, Brazil still thinks it can bring down the planet's largest tropical forest, as if it were an obstacle.

MP 458, now only pending presidential sanction, is worse than it appears. It is disastrous. It legalises grileiros, who illegally invaded and burned down a part of the Amazon. He, who stole 1,500 hectares before the first of December 2004 could buy it without bidding and without inspection. He has preference over the land and can pay in the most friendly way: in 30 years with three years of grace. And if at the end of the grace he wants to sell the land, the MP allows it. In three years, the property can be passed on. For up to four hundred ‘stolen’ hectares, the period is ten years. And if the grileiro stool the land and left the daily work to his labourers as he himself lives somewhere else? He has also the right to stay with it, because even if the land is run by a "figurehead" the grileiro can buy it. And if it is a company? No problem at all.

Supporters of MP 458 in the House and the Senate say it is to regularize the situation which was initiated by the Military Regime and later abandoned.
Bullshit. As the deadline to acquire land is set by the first of December 2004.
They said it was to benefit the small settlers. Bullshit. As it does allow the sale of land run by a figurehead, and the sale to corporate entities.

The bill creates indecent loopholes for privatization in the worst way of the patrimony of all Brazilians.

Former Minister for the Environment and presently senator Marina Silva said that the day MP 458 was adopted in Congress, it was her third worst day of her life. She feels as if Brazil has lost all the advances of the recent years.
It is almost impossible to agree with Marina Silva as there hasn’t been much progress shown in the last years. The Lula government has always been ambiguous in relation to the environment, and Fernando Henrique, his predecessor, kept silent. If they had shown some stature, Brazil wouldn’t have lost what it lost.
In just the first two years of the Lula government, 2003 and 2004, 51.000 km2 have been deforested. Compare this to the size of the Netherlands (41.528 km2). And many grileiros who were part of that attack at the rainforest will now be ‘regularized’.

Last week Greenpeace released a devastating report, showing that 80% deforestation of the Amazon is due to livestock. Greenpeace published the names of the perpetrators, of which Bertin, Marfrig, Friboi JBS are the largest. The Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) is their partner and finances the ‘illegal’ operation. The mentioned companies provide meat to numerous retail chains, among them, large supermarkets as Carrefour, Wal-Mart and Pão de Açúcar.

During the Globonews’ programme ‘Espaço Aberto’, the coordinator of the study, Andrew Muggiatti met with Sussumu Honda, the chairman of ABRAS (Brazilian Association of Supermarkets). The BNDES was also invited, but did not show up.
The good news that came out of this programme was the positioning of the supermarkets. According to Sussumu Honda, they are preoccupied and will use their power to pressure the slaughterhouses to prove the origin of the cattle which meat is put on the supermarket shelves.
Brazilian meat exporters have threatened to sue Greenpeace. They should do the opposite and refuse any supplier linked to deforestation. The world will not buy Brazilian beef at this price. Exporters will face barriers. That's for sure.

The backward steps will not eliminate the external market. But that is of less importance. The tragedy is that Brazil is losing its future.
Ironically Brazil adopted MP 458 during the Week of the Environment.

This is a free translation and interpretation of an article which Míriam Leitão wrote on her blog on 05 June 2009

*) Medida Provisória In Brazilian constitutional law, a Medida Provisória (presidential decree) is issued by the President of the Republic, at his discretion, without the participation of the legislative branch. The measure has the force of law, albeit not being really a law in the strict technical sense of this term. Only in cases of importance and urgency the Chief Executive may issue decrees, which he should submit later to Congress. The decree stays in force for sixty days, extendable for another 60. After this time, if Congress does not approve it, and convert it into law, the measure will lose its force.
90603

Indians Tembé-Ténêtéhar: The Guardians of the 'Carbon Storage' in the Amazon

2009-06-08T07:19:00.000-07:00

The indigenous Tembé-Ténêtéhar people, who live in the north-west of the federal state of Pará ,will sign the first carbon credit contract to preserve their forests.
The Indians living in Terra Indígena Alto Rio Guamá will receive money from a foreign company to keep the forest within their reserve standing as it is.

The contract for the sale of carbon credit was due to be signed last Friday, World Environment Day. Only heavy rain postponed the ceremony, which was planned to take place in Belém. The agreement will bring together the American company C-Trade and the Indians of Terra Indígena Alto Rio Guamá.

C TRADE, is an international developer of Carbon Trade Credits (aka CERS - Certified Emission Reductions) for renewable energy projects that offset the use of fossil fuels, such as solar, wind turbines, energy efficiency, forest carbon sequestration and waste-to-energy power plants.

Ronald Shiflett, C-Trade’s Director, International Utility Efficiency Partnership, is in Belém and will meet his new partners in a traditional business suit, as the Indians will show up in their traditional outfit, with cocares (feather headdress) and body paintings, done based on the jenipapo (black) and annatto (rood) fruit pulps representing their ethnic traditions.

”The C-Trade proposal is beneficial for us,” says Valdeci Tembe, community leader of Susuarana, one of 14 villages in the south of the Terra Indígena Alto Rio Guamá on the banks of the Rio Gurupi, and with Muxi Tembe, leader of the Tekowau village, one of the promoters of the proposal.

Considered one of the poorest Indian people in Pará, according to the National Indian Foundation (Funai), the Tembé-Ténêtéhar live permanently under threat from illegal loggers. Without hardly any source of income, the sale of logs from illegal cutting is one of the only income sources for some of the 216 families. Furthermore (illegal) loggers invade the reserve, and part of the reserve is already taken by marijuana plantings run by drug traffickers.

Conservative calculations of the C-Trade project show that the Indians could have a financial return of BRL 1 million (€ 350.000) annually. The offer stipulates that the Indians will receive 85% of the value of the sales of carbon credit in the international market, while the remaining 15%, will stay with the company. Only one quarter of the reservation will be subject to the contract. For each hectare of preserved forest, it is estimated that four tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) will be avoided in the atmosphere.

In Terra Indígena Alto Rio Guamá some 145.39 tonnes of carbon are stored per hectare. The volume is so large that it turns the Tembé-Ténêtéhar people in real guardians of a huge "carbon storage" of the Amazon rain forest: 40.8 million tonnes of carbon stored in an area of 279 hectares, on the border with Maranhão.

The Tembé-Ténêtéhar with their 281 indigenous lands scattered throughout the Amazon and their more than 61 extractive reserves in the region stock a total of 15 billion tons of carbon. This signifies 30% of the 47 billion tons of carbon stored in trunks, branches, leaves and soil of the Amazon forests, according to calculations of the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (Ipam = Environmental Research Institute of the Amazon). Experts warn that if this volume is released to the atmosphere, the effect would be a further worsening of the climate crisis.

Defining the key target of the negotiations, Juscelino Bessa, the regional administrator of Funai (Fundação Nacional do Índio is the Brazilian National Indian Foundation, or protection agency for Indian interests and their culture) said in Belém: “We are selling the idea of preservation. In addition to profit, the contract may add a social and ethnic content to the products of the forest.”

Felício Pontes, federal prosecutor with the Public Ministry in Pará, who was crucial to the negotiations, concluded: “If Brazil is a signatory of the Kyoto Treaty, nothing more is just then that the Indians receive payment for environmental services rendered to the country.”

The Federal University of Pará, also an important partner in the negotiations, established a management model for the use of the sold resources of carbon credits. The project envisages the creation of a Bolsa Floresta, similar to the Bolsa Familia, which will supply the Indians monthly with money to develop sustainable projects in the reserve.

90602

The Collapse of Health Care in Pará

2009-05-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

In June last year, the deaths of 13 babies in just one weekend in Santa Casa de Misericórdia do Pará in Belém bringing the total at 260 dead babies in just 45 days, shocked Brazil. Since then, finally, it was recognised that the chaos in health care was structural. The historically overcrowded (public) emergency hospitals had reached their peak, due to the large number of people coming from the interior, where emergency care in the municipalities is lacking completely.
The problems reported in the capital are in fact a reflection of a disorganized management system at the three government levels (federal, state, municipal), which afflicts the entire federal state of Pará, historically discriminated with unfairly low federal funds. The Plano Diretor de Regionalização da Saúde (RDP = Master Plan for Regionalization of Health Care), released in March of this year by the state government, is not much more than a piece of paper as long as there is no federal support for the financial resources required.

The RDP designed a network of regional hospital clusters in the interior, but the actual Secretary of Health of Pará, has to admit that the RDP master plan will never leave the drawing board without federal funds.

While the northern region, in its entirety, is hampered by a lack of federal funds, the situation in Pará is more severe, due to its continental size and its epidemiological profile. The federal government pays monthly through the Ministry of Health per capita the amount of BRL 8.29 (€ 2,90), to cover the health care costs of medium and high complexity. The lowest value per capita compared to any other Brazilian state, including the northern region. Tocantins, for example, with about 2 million of inhabitants, (five million less than Pará), receives BRL 12.24 (€ 4,30) monthly per capita, Roraima and Acre, respectively, BRL 14,48 (€ 5,08) and BRL 19,33 (€ 6,78).

The logic of the governmental Unified Health System (SUS) is simple. The system pays for services rendered. Each consultation or examination computed by SUS is paid afterwards. SUS pays materials and also the services of professionals. But without investments to create and structure services, most municipalities, being very poor, are not getting more resources from the SUS, other than for carried-out treatment. So they are condemned to water and bread, just waiting for fixed (federal or state) funds, which are distributed with regard to the number of citizens.

In addition to the scarce resources, small steps in pursuit of improvements are harmed by politics, as a change of government could result in a halt of concrete actions. As happened to the five regional hospitals, of which the construction started in 2003 under the previous governor. Three of the five are completed, Santarém, Marabá and Tucuruí. In Breves, as well as in Redenção, the conclusion of the hospitals is not even forecasted by the sitting governor, our (in)famous Ana Júlia Carepa. Of the hospitals ready to operate, the government is unable or unwilling to operate them at full capacity.

Most municipalities in Pará, most of them very poor, can not even offer the most basic health care of average complexity to their citizens, who as a consequence migrate in cascades to Belém in search for health care. Belém, indeed, has the largest infra-structure for health care with its hospitals, doctors and specialists, but should only treat the serious cases from the interior. But what happens is a reversal of the patient’s profile. The funds under the agreement between the municipalities and Belém should be used for the serious cases, however it is mostly used in treatments of low and medium complexity, and consumed last year BRL 178 million (€ 62,4 million), while the SUS (Unified Health System) paid BRL 175.8 million (€ 61,7 million) leaving Belém with a deficit of BRL 2.2 million (€ 0,7 million).

The emergency rooms of the hospitals in Belém are a reflection of that. Data from the Municipal Secretary of Health (Sesma) show treatment in both hospitals have reached the average of 50% being patients from the interior, and of this volume, 60% are cases of medical practice, i.e. cases without high risk to life according to the medical classification and should be treated at home in the individual municipalities.

Furthermore, the more severe cases, which, in fact, have to come to Belém in search of health service, arrive in the capital in an aggravated state due to poor transport conditions, usually in common ambulances without a doctor, without oxygen facilities for the patient, and in many cases, with only the driver, without a companion. That is, as far as, the health departments in the interior have an ambulance available. It is quite common, however, that patients are transported in vans or kombis without any infra-structure to make the pilgrimage from hospital-door to hospital-door in Belém. No place, no problem, patients are laid down on stretchers which fill the corridors.

In contrast with this, the daily paper O Liberal reported, that last year there was not a shortage of federal funds transferred to the government of the state of Pará for health care. Pará received more than BRL 1.1 billion (€ 386 million) for the 143 municipalities, with almost half of that amount just for the capital of Pará. Belém snapped up BRL 533.4 million (€ 187 million) exclusively for health care. The amount refers to all the money released by the National Health Fund (FNS) to the state of Pará.

The State Health Fund (Fespa) was the body most favoured by the federal money transfers, with BRL 231.4 million (€ 81 million).

What have they done with all that money? Hospitals are falling apart, equipment broke, emergency rooms are not functioning due to a lack of doctors, beds, medicines and equipment. Simple question: Where is all that money?

Remember Ana Júlia Carepa, the (socialist) governor of Pará? Remember her words?
We “..... believe that another world is possible and in the name of this ideal, we have built our government. In the name of this ideal, we work to transform Pará into a constitutional state.”

Constitutional state? Not when you are poor. Don’t expect health care at your side, even worse don’t expect the socialist governor at your side. Like to know where Ana Júlia spends the money:
The governor of Pará, Ana Júlia Carepa has launched an "aid" package for some ‘low-division’ football clubs in Pará. The value of the aid is almost BRL 1.5 million (€ 550.000). Among the three clubs is Remo, for which the Ana Júlia’s father is an adviser.

I end this post with some words regarding this item taken from the blog: ‘Movimento da Ordem Vigilia Contra Corrupção’, which crucifies the governor of Pará:

“
The heinous opportunism of Ana Júlia Carepa
Ana Júlia doesn’t give a damn ....... As a matter of justice, that “petralha”*) woman has to be held liable for this barbaric crime, which resulted in the deaths of nearly 300 Brazilian babies, due to her omission and neglect.

Certainly, she will not lose the opportunity to try to "scrape" a little money with the excuse to build more hospitals in a state, where she (already for two years) criminally maintains the Hospital in Santarém, all finished and equipped, closed, only because it was built by the previous governor. (By Gaúcho/Gabriela)
”

Next year there are elections, not only for a new president, but also (among others) for a new governor. Let’s hope, that the people in Pará will remember the devastating results of 4 years Ana Júlia Carepa. I doubt it, but I hope, as Pará and its people deserve better.

-
*) Petralha is the contraction of PT (Brazilian socialist party) and the Irmãos Metralha (The Beagle Boys in English). The word identifies a member of a moralistic political party that when in power, deceives, steals, kills, lies, corrupts, installing a cleptocracia, in other words a state governed by crooks)

90514

Brazil’s Economically Active Population

2009-05-27T18:16:00.000-07:00

- or - Over 70% never attended a professional qualification course

The professional education, which includes courses aimed at training and professionalizing employees, still leaves much to be desired, according to the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (Pnad = National Survey by Household). According to the survey, 72,4% of the economically active population never attended a professional class. Or in absolute numbers, 71,5 million working people. Among the unemployed, 5,3 million people never went to a professional education course (66,4%).

The figures also show that the professional education run by the government has the lowest impact, clearly demonstrating the disinterest of the Lula government in education in general and professional education in particular. Only 22,4% of the total of students enrolled in professional education attended public institutions. Institutions offering private education (NGOs, private schools, trade unions etc.) had 53.1%. Professional education linked to the System "S" (SESI, SENAC, Sebrae, among others) had 20.6%. System S is the collective name of eleven professional categories, established by Brazilian Law.

Among the courses of professional training, also known as free courses, because in general they do not require a certain level of pre-education, computer courses came on top with 41.7%. Then, there are the areas of commerce and management (14%) and industry and maintenance (11.2%).

Students protesting Lula's education policy

To be honest I have to say, that end of December last year as a New Year’s present Lula announced to create 38 federal institutes of education, science and technology in the country. Two of them will be in Rio de Janeiro. The measure, according to the government, increases the number of students in technical courses at secondary level, technology and higher degrees from 215 thousand to half a million. (Tell me, what is, half a million out of a population of some 180 million for an emerging economy, which - according to Lula - has to be one of the economic forces in this world.)

Please don’t laugh at the following: “What is happening today is that the country is experiencing a time of increased investment in science and technology. This year (2009) we will open 100 colleges, in a country that had opened 140 in a century,” Lula said.

This sounds nice and hopeful, but there are two problems with Lula. First Lula always announces plans and uses words as ‘we will’ and at the final end people discover that of all the announced plans almost nothing is really implemented. Second, the announced plan covers mainly investments in higher education, and that’s the problem in this country, there are almost no professionally educated blue-collar craftsmen. If there is money available, all money goes to universities and higher technical institutes, as only half of the new-to-create openings is reserved for the professional education at mid-level. But developing a future and filling the shortage in the industry the country needs many more blue-collar professionals. When confronted with these critical remarks, Lula, after almost seven years of his reign, still blames previous governments or the sitting state or local governments. But as a matter of fact it is Lula’s government that fails in the first place, as ........

In 2008 the Ministry of Education used only 27% of its investment budget. For 2009 the budget for this ministry faced a BRL 1.6 billion (€ 570 million) cut. And to make it worse, among the programs affected by the budget cut, is ‘Brasil Alfabetizado’ (Literate Brazil)

Public school in the township Sabonetinho-Maranhão

Of the 141.5 million people in Brazil older than 15 years, an estimated 14.1 million is illiterate, of which only 547 thousand attend alphabetisation classes (3.8%).
A recent study focussing on the Education of Youth and Adults (EJA), the Alphabetisation for Youth and Adults and the Professional Education shows, that there were (2007) 13.5 million illiterate Brazilians (9.5% of the population older than 15 years) with no prospect of change, as they do not attend classes to learn to read and write.

In absolute numbers, Bahia was the state with the largest number of illiterates who were not enrolled: 1.8 million people. Then comes São Paulo, with 1.4 million. Among the states which are trying to overhaul their backwardness is the Amazonas: 19.3% of the illiterate population over 15 years was attending classes.

Is it any better with the literate population? Another study reveals that 77 million Brazilians (almost 50% of the population) never ever read a book.

Lula’s daily repeated rhetoric, criticising his predecessors sounds hollow. His: “Tell me of any government, in any period of time, in this country, which did 50% of what we are doing for education,” trying to shoot down critics, is laughable. Just drive around and see with your own eyes the devastating status of school buildings, let alone the poor low level of public education and the lack of (even the most basic) educational material.

90527 - 81242

A Good Yankee Conquered Latin America

2009-05-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

The judgement of the first hundred days of the Obama administration might have had all the attention in the US, it is, as a matter of fact, a global affaire. The foreign policy of the Bush/Cheney administration was ruinous in its approach to and contacts with Latin America. Bush’ few visits to Latin American countries were always characterized with massive, sometimes even violent protests and demonstrations. Neither the Latin American leaders nor the people expected anything positive from Bush/Cheney, and as a consequence any American initiative, commercial or charitable, was met with mistrust and suspicion. Exponents of this disastrous foreign policy were the dubious American interventions in local affairs in Venezuela, Bolivia and Paraguay and the re-instalment of the 5th US Navy Fleet in the Caribbean. The US, personified by George Bush, was “el diablo” as Hugo Chávez stated openly and with which statement many a Latin American government leader silently agreed.

Although the 5th Summit of the Americas, sarcastically called the G-34 (the number of countries attending the meeting of three days in Trinidad and Tobago) as part of a soup of letters and numbers in which leaders dive, was distinguishably unimportant, it was, however, the perfect event for the new president of the USA to meet efficiently with all government leaders of Latin America, notably the Left-Wing leaders with anti-American feelings, among them Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Fernando Lugo (Paraguay) and Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua). But it was also crystal clear that the meeting in a country once a haunt for pirates and smugglers had to offer some thrilling bids and a bit of suspense.

The Summit was created in 1994 by the then US President Bill Clinton. The initial objective was to create a single trading system, the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) for the whole region. After several dead ends, especially between the United States and Mercosur, the initiative was buried after the last meeting in Mar del Plata.

But this time, it was the Latin American and Caribbean debutante ball for prince Barack Obama, and you never could know whether Hugo Chávez would try to spoil the party and steal the show (he anticipated that he might veto the final declaration) and the absence of Cuba was remarkable since the island of the Castro brothers was the predominant theme of this picnic.

Several Latin American leaders agitated as usual against the financial shenanigans perpetrated by Big Brother America, albeit knowing they need to work with Obama. You just had to observe the body language and juggling rhetoric of Lula in relation to Obama. Again, as in the G-20 summit in London, we had the flawless performance of the US president stating that he was here to listen, to recognize flaws and trimming edges, but let's remember the obvious: the US is still the indispensable superpower, maybe weaker, more limited and less arrogant, but still the No. 1 Superpower.

There were also limits to achieve necessary change. Before the trip to Trinidad and Tobago, Washington broke some ice in relations with Havana, allowing more travel and financial remittances from Cuban-Americans to the island. But not enough to make an immediate reversal of the economic embargo, in force for 47 years, the age of the President. This will depend on tortuous negotiations with the anti-Castro lobby in Congress, and positive gestures of the Castro brothers.

Who was to know, that Chavez, supported by his vassals, might lay an ambush, but what fun could there be with "el diablo" George W. Bush not present? It should have been difficult to repeat the waves of protests and bullshit targeting Bush during the 2005 summit in Mar del Plata.
Before the Summit started Itamaraty, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, released a statement: “President Obama is new in office and it makes no sense to create a "negative" situation during the summit”, and continued to say that the Cuban government itself would have no interest in a confrontation with the Obama government, because of its willingness to a "dialogue."
"President Lula goes to Trinidad, aware that neither Obama, nor Cuba are interested in transforming the embargo in a big controversy during the summit.”
For many, the US remains an imperialistic country, but Obama is a good Yankee.

Before the summit started The New York Times published a sombre toned article, emphasising the erosion of the US influence in Latin America and the deeper engagement of China in the hemisphere, but it is ridiculous to imagine that one day the “Emerging Asian Superpower“ will have a hegemonic role in American’s backyard.

The veteran "Brazilian-expert" Abraham Lowenthal, professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, said that Obama’s trip to Latin America during its first 100 days of government is prove of the importance he gives to the region, given the alarming economic crisis and geopolitical challenges in other parts which consume all attention of his administration. Latin America, however, is not a priority of this government. The urgent national issues, like the economic crisis, drugs and immigration, dominate his domestic agenda.

What is the importance of the summit for Brazil? And can somebody tell me how many summits President Lula has already participated in during the four months of this year? Since the summit in Mar del Plata, Brazil is more prominent and influential. For Lula, it is great to be charmed by Obama. But in the words of Rubens Barbosa, former Brazilian ambassador to Washington, the summit is a "non event" because it was originally initiated to stimulate a dead FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas), against which Brazil resisted. FTAA is not any longer, but there is Hugo Chávez’ Alba. Leaders can always find a reason for another summit.

Although heavily criticized in the US, Chavez friendly handshake and gesture to present the new US president with the book “Las venas abiertas de América Latina” (or in English: “Open Veins of Latin America”), written by the Uruguayan Eduardo Galeano in the seventies of the last century, was one of the most remarkable public expressions of seeking a rapprochement with the US and at the same a signal to the ‘imperialist’ that the future had to be laid out with mutual respect. Remember, the book - which is arguably Galeano's best-known work, analyzes the history of Latin America as a whole from the time period of European contact with the New World to contemporary Latin America, revealing what he views as European and later US economic exploitation and political dominance over the region - is clearly a signal of the Latin American leaders to Obama, that continuation of this loathed policy can not and will not be accepted any longer.

Whether US policy to Latin America will change dramatically in a positive direction requiring mutual respect, we have to see. But for the time being “A Good Yankee Conquered Latin America”.

90437

The Pantanal by Train

2009-04-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

Beautiful news for those who always wanted to see the beauty of the Pantanal, but were put off to make a trip by a chalana (a boat used to navigate the Pantanal rivers between Brazil and Bolivia) or on horseback, as tickets are on sale for the Pantanal Express, the latest venture of a touristic railway in Brazil.

The Pantanal
The Pantanal is the largest continuously inundated plain of the world, formed mainly by the floods of the river Paraguay and its tributaries. The region of about 250 thousand square kilometres is for 80% situated in the federal states Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, while the rest is mainly in Bolivia and a small part in Paraguay, where it is named Chaco.

It has an impressive diversity of fauna and flora. According to the WWF, there are 1,132 species in the Pantanal of butterflies, 656 birds, 122 mammals, 263 fish and 93 reptile species. In the rainy season, between October and February, the Pantanal is virtually impassable by land. In the remainder of the year, the soil is an excellent pasture for livestock.

The Pantanal Express
The train, operated by Serra Verde Express, parts from Campo Grande and passes by Aquidauana and Miranda on Saturdays and makes its return trip on Sundays. The journey is 220 kilometres long and takes some 7 hours.

The price of an economic class ticket costs BRL 39,00 (€ 13,50), and on-board service is not included. The Tourist class is sold for BRL 77,00 (€ 27,00) and includes lunch, soft drinks and service of a commissioner. The Executive class and cabins go for BRL 126,00 (€ 44,00) and guarantee snacks, mineral water, soft drinks, beer and a bilingual commissioner.

The Pantanal Express begins its adventure on May 8, 2009. Administered by the Serra Verde Express, concessionaire of the tourist trains Paranguá-Curitiba (in the Serra do Mar), the Pantanal Express is designed to meet the international tourist, but will certainly attract the nationals also.
The train will stop at four stations: Campo Grande (departure), Piraputanga (where it makes a short stop), Aquidauana (for lunch) and Miranda (arrival at the end of the day, after seven hours of travel). A future extension of the line will end in Corumbá.

With nine wagons, including restaurant and luggage van, the Pantanal Express has a total capacity of 400 passengers.

The average speed is scheduled to be 35 km/h, not much more slowly for not tiring the passenger, but with the right speed to take photos. With panoramic windows, the trip will give the passenger the opportunity to observe typical Pantanal species such as the araras-azuis (macaws) and others in a variety of shades until the next stop in Aquidauana, passing the rivers Miranda and Aquidauana.

The first stop is in Aquidauana, founded in 1892 by colonels (land owners) and major Teodoro Rondon, it was the most developed town in the former state of Mato Grosso.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception, in Gothic style, standing at the entrance of the town, is worth a visit.

For the lunch the options are between a juicy feijoada de pintado (a dish with brown or black beans and pintado (Pseudoplatystoma corruscans)) a fish very much appreciated in the region) or a dish made of white meat, caught from the fresh waters in the region.

Those who want to extend their stay can choose between boat trips, hiking trips, horseback riding, and observe the nocturnal wildlife.

Back on track, the journey ends in Miranda, where the main activity is fishing, inspiring the local culinary experience. There are also artisan products made by the Kadiwéu Indians. The Indian villages, five kilometres from the town centre, can be visited.

What can you expect to see during this train journey?

* Ariranha ((Pteronura brasiliensis), a species of the otter, very common in the Pantanal. It is a carnivorous mammal and semi-aquatic South American. Lives in groups on the banks of rivers. He feeds mainly on fish.
* Onça Pintada (Panthera onca). The jaguar of the Pantanal, threatened with extinction. The largest cat of the Americas is an animal with nocturnal habits, hunting capybaras, deer, fish and birds. An adult can reach two meters in length and weigh 160 kg. It is also found in areas of the Atlantic Rainforest and the Amazon.
* Tuiuiús or Jaburu is a migratory bird inhabiting South and Central America, most common in the Pantanal. It can reach a height of more than a meter.
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More infomation visit: Pantanal Ecoturismo.

90440

Wrong Choices

2009-04-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

This is a (translated and edited) text of the blog of Miriam Leitão, economist and columnist for O Globo
The response of Lula’s government to the financial crisis has serious defects: some market sectors are benefiting but not the entire economy, and incentives are given without something in return. The car, a product for the middle class and the rich got a tax waiver, the employees of the automakers received an employment guarantee, but the sugar-alcohol sector has neither, not even a guarantee of the labour laws.

In the United States, aid to the automakers was given under the condition of environmental improvements. Here, nothing was requested from the automakers, except to keep labour employed, which creates a distortion in the economy: all Brazilians can be dismissed, except employees of the automotive sector and public officials.

March 30 was the “Day of Cars”, here and in the US. There, the president of General Motors fell in disgrace because the government refused his plan for the adjustment and adaptation to the requirements. I do not want to compare the aid of billions of direct tax-dollars to the coffers of the auto-industry in the US, to the tax waiver here, but insist that this was a great opportunity to induce changes upon the Brazilian auto-manufacturers.

The new president of GM will have 60 days to submit a new plan, but already started to say that the new cars will be different. Frederick Henderson said that the automaker is one or two generations behind in green technology for cars and that the company will have to learn to make money on light cars, and not just SUVs. Another requirement is that of a fiscal adjustment in the company, which will separate good assets and problematic liabilities difficult to digest, such as the employees’ pension fund.

Over in the U.S. it is entirely different, but it is important to see the attitude of governments, in helping the industry. The Obama administration has asked something in return. The Lula government extended the reduction of the IPI-tax for cars and trucks requiring only keeping employment at the same level. It is worth remembering that the manufacturers of trucks did not meet the requirement, from the beginning of 2009, to manufacture only trucks with clean diesel engines. After seven years of delay, they said they were not prepared and needed three more years to deliver here in Brazil, what they deliver in other countries already for years. This, for example, could have been a consideration, a quid pro quo.

The complete absence of concern of the Lula government for the environment is shocking. Yesterday the government reduced the IPI-tax to zero for electric showers, high consumers of energy, and a product which has been abandoned in other countries. Electric showers have had a reduction of the IPI before and have now been set to zero along with other conventional building materials such as cement and brick. The Ministry of the Environment had asked to equalize the tax for the electric shower (which was 5%) with solar panels (which pay 18%). The decision "has not yet been taken” and is still in consideration by the Treasury.

End of March Banco do Brasil got authorized to extend the credit line of the FAT Giro Rural for two years. The credit line is BRL 4 billion (USD 1,8 billion) and the first trance will be paid from April 1. The agribusiness is getting an aid package for the sugar-alcohol sector and the production of meat, two flagrant champions of slave labour. Livestock breeding is directly related to the deforestation of the Amazon. The BNDES (Development Bank) will make a classic rescue operation, supplying BRL 200 million (USD 87 million) for a bankrupt slaughterhouse, which operates in a deforested area. In none of the aid programmes any change in conduct was negotiated, neither in relation to the workers, nor in regard to the environment. This all happens as if the Brazilian government is not of this world.

The vehicle per capita in Brazil, according to Anfavea (Automobile Manufacturers Association), is one vehicle for every eight inhabitants. This is the overall average, taking into account the population and the fleet of 25.5 million cars. Just to compare, the same density in the US. is one vehicle for every 1.2 inhabitants, in Japan it is one vehicle for every 1.7 inhabitants, in Mexico it is one for 4.7 inhabitants, in Argentina it is a car for every 5.2 inhabitants, all data from Anfavea.

The 2000 census said that 54.4 million Brazilians lived in households that had one or more cars, which then represented 32% of the population. Imagining that this percentage has grown a bit, as the sales of vehicles increased - though most new cars have been bought by the same families who had cars before, but some new entered the market - who owns a car belongs to the middle class and from there upwards. The two figures show that the motorized do not reach 40% of the population. The ones who buy a new car are exactly the ones who have a higher income.

The government did something that will benefit only the middle class and the rich, protected only employees of automakers and support the agribusiness without requiring any change of conduct.

Lula is losing the chance to change opened up by the crisis.

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Polemic: Lula's White Blue-Eyed Bankers

2009-03-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday 26 March during a visit of British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva blamed the rich countries for the crisis.

"The crisis was caused by irrational behaviour of white people with blue eyes, who in the past seemed to know everything, and now show no knowledge at all", said Lula in reference to foreign speculators in the first world countries.
When asked by a journalist whether his statement would not have an ideological bias, Lula said: "As I do not know any black or indigenous banker [...] I can only say that it is impossible that the part of mankind, which is the worst victim, shall pay for this crisis. This is not possible," he added.
”We can not allow the poor to be the first to pay the bill run up by the rich," he emphasized.

During his statement to the press, at the Alvorada Palace (the Brazilian White House), with the visiting British Prime-Minister at his side, the president compared the financial crisis to a fever and also defended the actions of the government as inducer and articulator of policy.

“It is usually said that the government only is a hindrance, and when the crisis happened, those who seemed to be the “gods of the economy”, seek that same “non-knowledgeable” government, to save them.“

And continued to defend regulations for the international financial system, by saying: "It is not possible to have a society where you enter a shopping mall or an airport without being filmed, always being watched, and the financial system is not monitored and has no regulations."

Lula said that the global economic crisis will worsen if the G-20 meeting in London in April does not submit concrete initiatives to recover the global economy.

"If the G-20 is just a meeting to mark another meeting, we will be discredited and the crisis may worsen".

Lula questions the effectiveness of the economic package presented by the President of the United States, Barack Obama, which provides for USD 1 trillion for the purchase of assets considered "toxic”.
"If Obama made the decision in the best interest to the United States. Great. I hope it works," he said "but I can not use the little money we have left, to buy titles that I call “rotten”," he added.

He stated also that he hopes that Obama, in the G-20 meeting in London, presents a plan as the views of the American president are supreme and must be respected.

Note:
AmericaBlog's “Chris in Paris” writes in his post "Lula and Berlusconi need therapy":
"The last time I checked, disgraced but wealthy Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O'Neal is African-American....." and contests Lula's words. Clearly he doesn't understand the language and the way-of-thinking in developing countries and doesn't know how the people living in these countries see AND experience daily the Americans living in their countries.
Lula's words had nothing to do with racism or discrimination, but everything with the cold truth as the big speculators (including bankers) of the USA created the mess the US and the world are in, in the first place and the European bankers ran into this pit out of greed too. Have you heard of any 'coloured' bank in Latin America which needed bail-out money? Brazilian banks proved to be sound. So, Lula is right, it were the "white, blue-eyed bankers" and it is of no importance that by any coincidence there was somewhere, sometime a 'black banker'.
Lula's words, blunt as they came from his infamous big mouth, are however correct. The poor, developing and emerging countries are suffering most, thanks to the insatiable greed of the white, blue-eyed bankers of the rich countries.
A sore blogpost. Better read the text in the original language first, before starting to shoot. Incredible that in general you attack the main stream media and now use their words as basis for your blog. A blogpost not worthy the slogan: "A Great Nation Deserves The Truth". It is not Lula who needs therapy, the white, blue-eyed bankers (speculators as Lula said) in the US and Europe need it most and urgently as well, as they don’t seem to be inclined to change their attitude. So don’t blame Lula without knowing what you are talking about.

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The Battle against Slave Labour in Brazil

2009-03-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

One of the items on the FSM (World Social Forum) was the slavery. But always when I talk or write about slave labour, I get commented that I have to show pictures to prove my case. My words are apparently not credible enough or the horrific and the disgrace of contemporary slave labour rise above the human mind and should be underlined with hardcore photos. Slavery in the sex industry is widely recognized as existing, but slavery in the "normal" industry, especially in the sugar cane, is often seen as excessive. And the "evidence" is often no more than words, because pictures are almost never available.

To my joy Leonardo Sakamoto published on his blog a video, which I like to copy here. Expect no images of slave-drivers with swinging whips, the modern slave-driver is more subtle: He simply is a crass sweater. I translate here his short text:

”The battle against slave labour in Brazil”

Click on the picture above, the video opens in a new window.

This video "Frente de Trabalho", made on behalf of the Sindicato Nacional dos Auditores Fiscais do Trabalho (Sinait = Union of Labour Inspectors) addresses the battle against modern slave labour in Brazil. Director: Caio Cavechini.

Caio, one of the best directors among the young makers of documentaries, also directed "Correntes" (Chains), in cooperation with “Repórter Brasil”, among other national and international award-winning documentaries.

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“What State is this? What Justice is this?”

2009-03-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

When I wrote about the World Social Forum, held in Belém, I quoted the words the governor of Pará, Ana Júlia Carepa, used in her closing-speech. I repeat:

“…….. here in Pará we demonstrate that it is possible to construct a new development model for Pará and the Amazon. We feel one with these hundred thousand people, who believe that another world is possible and in the name of this ideal, we have built our government. In the name of this ideal, we work to transform Pará into a constitutional State.”
And I commented: If you know Ana Júlia and her political results, you get weak knees listening to these words.

Well, let’s have a look how weak our knees can get. First a few words as introduction.

Marajó

Marajó. A pearl dwelling in the delta of the Amazon River. With a land area of 47.573 km² (larger than the Netherlands) it is the largest island in the world surrounded by freshwater. Although its northeast coastline faces the Atlantic Ocean, the outflow from the Amazon is so forceful that the water around the island is brackish. Its beautiful beaches, creeks, vigorous nature, the primitive handicraft, the breeding of buffalos and culinary specialities created the eco-tourism attracting many a tourist to this beautiful island.
It is this island we will talk about in this post and (unfortunately) not about its beauty.

The Bishop of the Prelature of Marajó criticizes the government of the Federal State of Pará for omitting cases of paedophilia

“The omission of the State is the worst thing facing the people of Marajó in all sectors, which contributes to the persistence of sexual exploitation of young children, teenagers and to the misery in the 16 municipalities of the archipelago”, according to the testimony of the bishop of the Prelature of Marajó, dom Luiz Azcona for the Parliamentary Commission on Paedophilia, installed by the Legislative Assembly of Pará, to investigate cases of abuse and sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in Marajó.

The bishop, the first person to denounce publicly that there is an integrated paedophilia network by politicians, businessmen and other people in the towns of the archipelago, related that since 2005, when the first complaints were filed, till this very moment, nothing has been done to change this situation. He repeatedly denounced trafficking routes for girls from Melgaço, Portel and Breves to Spain, through Belém/Airport Guarulhos São Paulo/Madrid.

Dom Azcona recalled that in June 2006 there was a complaint against sailors who navigate the river Tajapuru between Melgaço and Breves, where 11 and 12 years old girls are sexually exploited in exchange for some kilos of meat or litres of diesel oil. “Until now, the authorities have done nothing. Members of the Pastoral of the Child who made the complaint and subsidized the reportage are suffering death threats”, he complained.

During his testimony the bishop presented a report, containing photos, video recordings, documents, names of parliamentarians, businessmen and other authorities involved, and statistics of social entities, a list of public and private establishments, involved in sexual exploitation of children and minors in the State of Pará.

The bishop of Marajó believes that the problem is very serious not only because of the scope and number of occurrences but also by the ‘modus operandi’, in plain daylight, near police stations, in classrooms, in the streets and public places, such as ports and bars with large movement.

“We are no man’s land, there is not one single navy vessel controlling the entry and exit. There is bio piracy, arms trafficking, distribution of drugs, and trafficking women to the exterior. The presence of the State is extinct” said dom Luiz Azcona.

In Portel you can find the sexual exploitation of girls between 12 and 17 years at the riverside and, according to the report of the church, in the bars Altas Horas, Mormaço and Tropical. In Breves, it is the central square of the town. In Anajás, gangs of lesbians are luring girls into sexual exploitation in neighbouring municipalities or tempting them to go to Suriname and French Guiana. In Bagre, at the riverside, boys and girls meet fishermen and owners of vessels, offering them “programs” that cost BRL 3,00 (one euro)

Another major complaint made by dom Luiz Azcona is that young people are enrolling in public schools with the aim to entice minors for sexual exploitation, scheduling meetings with businessmen and politicians in the region. “There are principals, teachers and public servants involved and all that happens in plain view of the police,” said dom Azcona.

Another case is the former councilman of Portel, Roberto Terra, son of the then mayor of the municipality, who was convicted for raping a 13 years old girl, but never went to prison. “The victims had to flee to not die, and the criminals are walking around freely. The municipalities continue to be miserable and with total absence of public policies.”

“What State is this? What Justice is this?” he exclaimed.
Parliamentarian Bira Barbosa, president of the CPI, said that after the official testimony of the bishop the commission had sufficient and concrete material to execute the investigations.
But as always a date for the following hearing was not set. And as always nothing will happen.

In the last two days more than twenty new cases of sexual abuse against children and adolescents, both in the interior of the capital, were brought to the attention of the parliamentarians and senators who participated in Belém in a joint session of the CPI’s about Paedophilia of the Senate and the Legislative Assembly.

Two cases are in this context of immense importance to the public. The accusations against the parliamentarian Luiz Afonso Sefer and João Carlos de Vasconcelos Carepa, a.k.a. “Caíca, brother of the Governor of the federal state of Pará, Ana Júlia Carepa. Yes, the same, who I quoted in my introduction to this article,
A dossier sent in February by judge Paulo Gomes Jussara Júnior addressed to police-inspector Socorro Maciel, who chaired the investigation in which João Carlos de Vasconcelos Carepa was accused, disappeared mysteriously, according to the judge himself.
The judge, hearing that the dossier did not come in the hands of the police, went to the post room, where he got the confirmation that the document had arrived on February 9, but then got lost.

So tell me, what will be next? Don’t dream of a conviction and prison. Forget it, be realistic! Nothing happens as usual.
“What State is this? What Justice is this?” You give the answer.

Source: CNBB, O Liberal and Agência Pará de Noticias
90313

War between the Vatican and Brazil

2009-03-12T17:47:00.000-07:00

First in brief the (shocking) facts:
A 9-year-old girl was raped by her stepfather. The child is in the 15th week of pregnancy with twins, when an abortion is performed.
Although banned, the Brazilian law allows an abortion in two situations, namely in cases of rape and when the life of the mother is in danger.

The Roman Catholic Church had the (ridiculous) hope that the child would carry the twin pregnancy to the end. Last Tuesday, the Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Dom Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, tried to convince the girl’s parents to refrain from abortion. The mother of the girl did not budge and did not even wish to talk with the Archbishop.

Subsequently, the Archbishop excommunicated the mother, doctors and others involved in the abortion.

“As a Christian and Catholic, I regret the fact that a bishop of the Catholic Church takes, I should say, this conservative position. Or in other words, it was not possible for the girl raped by her stepfather, to give birth to a child, as the girl herself was in mortal danger. I think that in this aspect medicine acted more appropriately than the church. The doctors did what needed to be done: save the life of a nine years old girl,” said medical-director Sergio Cabral.

According to the doctors, the girl, who is 1.33 m high and weighs 36 kg, had no physical structure for a pregnancy, let alone for a twin.

I do not need to make critical remarks myself. Here is a translation of the blog of Ricardo Kotscho, Paulista, 60 and reporter of iG and the magazine “Brasileiros”.

Can I excommunicate a bishop of my church?
This morning I opened the newspaper after I had written my previous article and could not believe what I read about this incredible incident of a 9 years old child, raped by her stepfather and pregnant with twins.

To save the life of the girl, the doctors of the Maternidade CISAM, University of Pernambuco, in Recife, did what they had to do. On Wednesday, she was subjected to an abortion to terminate the pregnancy.

The medical director of the Maternidade, Sergio Cabral, who was responsible for the operation, explained everything in detail:

“The biggest risk would have been the continuation of pregnancy. The body of a nine years old child has not yet been fully formed. If everything goes well, she will leave the hospital this week.”

Everything well, although not for the lawyer of the diocese of Olinda and Recife, Marcio Miranda, who announced that he will file murder charges against the victim’s mother, who allowed the abortion.

Can you imagine such an absurdity? As if he speaks in the name of God, the Archbishop of Olinda and Recife, Dom Jose Cardoso Sobrinho, personally justifies in public the activities of the lawyer:

“We, representatives of the Catholic Church have the obligation to proclaim God’s law. In such cases the aim does not justify the means and is the secular law contrary to God’s law against murder.”

We? Who? This paleface? As a practicing Catholic, baptized, confirmed and educated at a priest school, ex-member of the Council for Justice and Peace of the Archdiocese of São Paulo, I can not accept that this bishop speaks on behalf of me and my church.

Outrageous. But what is at stake are not the laws, neither the secular nor the religious, but the life of a helpless girl and that all in a country, where the law allows victims of rape abortion into the 20th week of pregnancy, without judicial authorization.

As bishop Sobrinho has excommunicated already the whole family and half the world in this tragic drama, I wonder: Do I have the right to ban him from my church?

The more he tries to defend his position, the more rebellious the bishop makes me with what I read in the newspaper, to the point that I doubt whether the words are really from him:

“The girl was totally illegally pregnant, but we must save lives. The Church has always condemned abortion and will continue to condemn.”

Illegally pregnant? What is that? Is there legitimate rape?

If the bishop really is interested in saving lives, he would have given full support to the physicians of the Maternidade CISAM and the mother of the girl and not threatened them with a trial in a secular court.

Or he should go talking to Paula Viana, coordinator of Curumim, a non-governmental organization for the defence of women, who could explain whose lives must be saved:

“With each advancing day, the risk would be greater, the girl felt sick and showed already other complications. Immediate medical intervention was necessary.”

And to think that this Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife has been occupied by a man as my friend Dom Helder Câmara, the bishop who in the darkest days of the military dictatorship, risked his own life to save the lives of others.

I am sure that this church, which dom Sobrinho claims to represent not is my church, not the church of Dom Helder. Someone is in the wrong church.

end blogpost

The Minister of Health José Gomes Temporão, regularly locking horns with the Catholic leaders because of his programs against sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS, classified the decision of the Catholic Church to excommunicate those involved in the abortion as “radical” and “inappropriate”.

“I was shocked by two facts: what happened to the girl and the position of this clergyman who wrongly claims to advocate for life and puts a very important other life at risk.”

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also entered the war with the Vatican, when he said in an interview that “medicine has been more correct than the Church.”

I don’t need to add more words. Excommunication! Who cares? The Brazilian might be a Catholic, but he is no fool.

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The Most Envied Man of Carnival 2009

2009-02-27T14:14:00.000-08:00

Betto Almeida, 36, paints the body of (female) dancers, who participate in carnival parades in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. For many Betto Almeida is a lucky bird. In addition to his daily work as art director of TV soaps, he paints, brushes, drips and sprays paint on some of the finest Brazilian carnival bodies and that already 12 years.
With sweat on his forehead, he says that it is hard work but worth it. A modelling agency pays him BRL 1,000 (€ 335) for about two hours required for painting a model. During the samba parades, he paints two models a night. And throughout the year he paints a minimum of 50 women for various events.
“I started to do it for the …. continue reading and see the video

Carnaval 2009 in Olinda: The Giant Dolls

2009-02-26T14:19:00.000-08:00

The, of origin pagan festival, that was brought from Europe to Brazil by the Portuguese colonists, is in Olinda, as we know it today, a relatively recent event, dating from the beginning of the twentieth century.
Although a relatively recent event Carnival of Olinda has maintained its purest traditions of celebrating carnival in Pernambuco. Each year, hundreds of carnival blocs and carnival groups meander through the streets and on the slopes of the Cidade Alta (Upper City), keeping alive the original roots of the most popular festival in Brazil.
And don’t forget the giant dolls, each year, new versions are created and total now more than a hundred. The Calungas (sacred doll in the Candomblés of Pernambuco) are carried in … continue reading and see the full photo session

Galo da Madrugada - The Early Morning Cock

2009-02-25T16:36:00.000-08:00

Recife. Multicultural Capital of Brazil.
Early Saturday morning (21), the parade of the block Galo da Madrugada toured the streets of the centre of Recife. The sculpture of a Galo (cock) with a height of more than 6 metres is the sensation of the bloc. In its 32nd edition, the first time without the founder Enéas Freire, who died in 2008, the block came with news. With 23 trio-elétricos leading the party of some 1,5 million foliões (partygoers), it was the first time that the bands did not play solely frevo (frevo is a rhythm from Pernambuco derived from the march, the maxixee (Brazilian tango) and the capoeira).
The Galo travels a route of 4,5 kilometres. The Galo is considered the largest carnival block in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records.
The VIP area was stocked with celebrities as Reinaldo Gianecchini, Adriane Galisteu, Seu Jorge, Luiz Melodia and Gutta Stresser.

The Carnival of Recife is one of the best known in the world and one of the most attended in Brazil. The capital of Pernambuco was, as every year, the stage of various cultural events: the sound of Frevo, Maracatu (an Afro-Brazilian rhythm), samba, rock, reggae and many other musical styles.
On Sunday (22), the group Quanta Ladeira which housed in the Pólo Rec Beat, in downtown Recife, founded just over 10 years ago, was a must - with its parodies and songs satirizing the political and current events.

The Multicultural Carnival of Recife is democratic, popular and, especially, original in its format. Completely decentralized, with poles of entertainment throughout the city, is this format undeniably a success. Shows are free and of high quality, both in presentations of carnival groups, and in stage shows with well-known artists and orchestras.

The distinctive feature of the visual artist Cicero Dias, linked to the themes that were part of the carnivalesque life of Enéas Freire, two of the three persons honoured during the Carnaval Multicultural do Recife 2009 (the third was the composer Carlos Fernando) coloured the streets of the city during these days. Elements that allude to the president of the Galo da Madrugada and others remembering the pictures of the modernistic author of Rosa dos Ventos (March Zero) were distributed over the city greeting the incoming foliões.
The decoration project was executed by the team of architect Carlos Augusto Lira.

Website of Recife at: www.carnavaldorecife.com.br

The Best Carnival of Brazil is in Salvador

2009-02-25T12:54:00.000-08:00

Anyone who spends carnival in Salvador just wants one thing: fervour every day. And he gets it. Here fun is granted. This year was even more agitated, with the commemoration of 60 years of the Filhos de Gandhy (Children of Gandhi), which has been honoured along with other afoxé blocks.

50% of the people chose the carnival in Salvador as the best in Brazil. A survey organized by the Jornal Nacional/O Globo on their website, chose the capital of Bahia. With six days of festivities, 234 blocks with 45 trios-elétricos, and the presence of big music stars, the capital of Bahia attracts 650 thousand national and foreign tourists, resulting in a carnival for two million foliões (partygoers). Recife and Rio de Janeiro were, respectively, with 19% and 15% of the votes. São Paulo and Florianópolis got 4% each, with 8% of the Internet users indicating other cities.

The president of Saltur - Salvador Tourism Company -, Claudio Tinoco, was not surprised with the outcome of the survey. For him, the capital of Bahia has a carnival tradition with strong popular roots. “It is the sum of the magnetism of the trios-elétricos and the big stars of our tribal music to the sound of African drums, the irreverence of the people and the cultural mix.”

Carnival in Salvador de Bahia requires a dictionary: First: afoxé, also known as Camdomblé de rua, is an Afro-Brazilian street manifestation with roots in the iorubá people and is a genre of music known as ‘ijexá’. The biggest and best known afoxé is the Filhos de Gandhy.

Then we have the trio-elétricos. Large lorries or even trailers stacked with high power audio equipment with on top a stage for the performing artists of the music group. I.e. a moving stage, as the truck tours the city streets while the artists play for the crowd.

In the two trio-elétrico circuits in Salvador, Avenida and Barra/Ondina, the heavy-weights of the axé (a music genre) were back in full swing. On Thursday (19) Timbalada performed in Nana Banana, Friday (20) and Saturday (21) Chiclete com Banana took the block. On Sunday (22), Monday (23) and Tuesday (24), Chiclete reigned the Chameleão. EVA, with Banda Eva, performed Sunday (22) till Tuesday (24) - the same days, Ivete Sangalo, former lead singer of the band, stirred the crowd with the block Coruja. The Voa-Voa, also from Chiclete com Banana, closed carnival at 0h30 of Ash Wednesday (25).

During the six days of the Carnival in Salvador, it is estimated that some 10 million litres of beer and 8 million litres of soft drinks are consumed. These are initial estimates of the breweries and show the economic impact of this most popular festivity. According to Salvador Tourism Company (Saltur) the activities related to carnival during a year of preparation and the festivity itself, move about BRL 1 billion (€ 325 million) and generate some 220 thousand temporary jobs.

Enjoy the images. An attentive reader of my carnival posts should observe the difference between the ‘stars’ of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and the muses starring in Salvador. In Salvador it is the music, in Rio and SP it is the glamour.

The big music stars:
Claudia Leitte - photo Fred Pontes and Ag
Daniela Mercury - photo Divulgação and Ag
Margareth Menezes - photo Wellington Carvalho
Ivete Sangalo - photo Charles Naseh
Claudinha Leite - photo Ag A Tarde

Visit www.amsteeman.com to see large pictures

90232

The 7 Best Places in Brazil to Enjoy a Hectic Carnival

2009-02-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

Is Rio de Janeiro world famous for its spectacular carnival and awesome beauties, year after year industrial and economic centre São Paulo is trying to excel Rio in luxurious floats as well as in breathtaking beauties.

Glamour, glitter, sensuality, competing samba schools and millions of euros are however not part of the carnival in all Brazilian communities. There are Brazilian towns where carnival still is what it was and should be, ordinary people enjoying and participating in traditional street carnival. No sensuality, no spectacular semi-nude queens, no floats, no millions. Just traditional local music and fun, much, much fun. The original sound of carnival.

Let’s visit 7 places, Florianópolis, Ouro Preto, São Luís do Paraitinga and of course Salvador, Recife and Olinda. Number 7? That’s a surprise, wait and see.

This post will describe the first three in a bird’s-eye view. Salvador, Recife, Olinda and No. 7 deserve some special treatment.

Florianópolis
Who thinks Florianópolis has no Carnaval is wrong. In the most festive time of the year the streets of this island-capital of the federal state of Santa Catarina in the south are invaded by catarinense carnival blocks, bringing residents and tourists together in an unstoppable agitation.

The most famous block is the “Bloco de Sujos” (the Dirty Sods), where in the centre of the city men dress as woman - this year, the parade of the block took place on Saturday (21). Sambaqui and Santo Antônio de Lisboa are neighbourhoods in Florianópolis with a long carnival tradition. In the latter, for example, the parades of the blocks Avante and Baiacú were on Friday (20) and Monday (23). Just in the street, free to the public to enjoy.

Site Florianópolis: www.visitefloripa.com.br

Ouro Preto
In Ouro Preto, a town in the federal state of Minas Gerais, famous for its magnificent colonial architecture, carnival blocks have a long tradition. During carnival, the excitement with the blocks on the slopes of the mining town is contagious. The first block of the city came in 1867 and is still successful in Ouro Preto. The “Zé Pereira Clube dos Lacaios” was founded by officials (lackeys) of the Palace of the Governor and has dolls with more than two meters height as its principal allegory.

The town also houses independent blocks, such as the Bandalheira, which satirizes the days of military dictatorship, linking doctors, masons, workers and students, the Cordão Banjo de Prata (Silver Banjo String), founded in 1934, revives the atmosphere of the 1920’s carnival and Balanço da Cobra, which has a doll of the animal which gave the block its name, satirizes politicians.

As you may recall, originally carnival was about ridiculing political decisions, governors, regents and the clergy. Ouro Preto still breathes the original atmosphere.

Site Ouro Preto: www.ouropreto.mg.gov.br

São Luís do Paraitinga
In São Luís do Paraitinga, at 170 km from São Paulo, the fun is in traditional style, with blocks and marchinhas. The carnival’s march, also known as “marchinha” is a music genre that was popular in Brazilian carnival during the years 1920 to 1960, when it began to be replaced by the samba-enredo. Already for 28 years the residents of the town and nearby villages create the intrigues. In all, São Luis has 35 blocks, 25 professionals and ten amateurs. They pass through the streets of the historic centre and at the end of the presentations, they gather at the Praça Oswaldo Cruz for an enormous party which unites foliões (partygoers) of all ages.

As is custom, the municipality arranges a contest to choose the three best marchinhas. The winners earn cash prizes and a trophy. The foliões don’t need to pay anything to join the carnival in the streets, but creativity is vital: each block requires that participants wear a special costume. The block Maricota, which paraded on Sunday (22), for example, had the clothes made with cans. On Saturday (21) the block Juca Teles paraded, with the mandatory use of a colourful hat, tiara and parasol.

It is indeed a different carnival. São Luis do Paraitinga has one of the most inventive, fun and colourful carnivals of Brazil, with each year a theme chosen to celebrate, in 2009 it was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Elpídio dos Santos, Brazilian conductor and native of the town.
In São Luis do Paraitinga they play with their culture, their revered traditions, their stories and legends, their customs…

Carnival is in the Air!

Site São Luís do Paraitinga: www.saoluizdoparaitinga.sp.gov.br

This post is based on information from: viajeaqui

Visit www.amsteeman.com to see large pictures

90232

Blondes, brunettes, mulattos …. Ahh, Muses, What's Carnival Without Them?

2009-02-22T19:09:00.000-08:00

São Paulo as the industrial and economic centre of Brazil starts its carnival parades on Friday night with the highlight on Saturday night. Then it is over in São Paulo, the Paulista can not spend valuable working hours with something as frivolous as carnival. Monday is simply back to work.
Rio de Janeiro is different. Cariocas are partying all the time and working a bit in between. Rio is the glamour city, São Paulo is for serious business.
Although in Rio carnival in the streets starts on Friday, the big carnival parades in de Sambódromo are Saturday night with the top on Monday night. The Carioca is slowly cutting-back on his festivities on Tuesday to enable him to quietly sleep on Wednesday, as officially his working day starts at noon. But don’t contact a company in Rio before Thursday morning, better still wait till next Monday.

Anyway, let’s start with:

The Muses of 1st day of carnival parades in São Paulo:

For a full reportage with all the pictures of the carnival queens and beauties visit: “Blondes, brunettes, mulattos …. Ahh, Muses, without them carnival would not be fun” at Anton Steeman Homepage

Carnival 2009 - A Work of Art called Monalisa

2009-02-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

This is a free interpretation of Ancelmo’s blog.

The first queen of the carnival’s parade which started today is a spectacular appearance in the photos. You can congratulate her, Monalisa Lucia de Carvalho, 21 years, the “Mulata do Gois 2009”. The representative of the city of Portela was the most voted in the carnivalesque contest of this column and took the competition’s title of the “loveliest on the internet”. For the group of Oswaldo Cruz, however, it is hard to take - as it is the second consecutive year that Portela takes the title. The photos of the winner, by the expert Fabio Rossi, were taken at the train station. What a beauty - what a styling.
continue reading and enjoy more photos of Brazilian carnival queens

Carnival 2009

2009-02-21T15:43:00.001-08:00

Today carnival in Brazil started its five days of festivities. The next few posts will be devoted to this all consuming event. Enjoy the view of the Brazilian beauties, abundant in numbers and luxuriant in appearance. After the carnival is over, the serious part of the year 2009 finally starts for the Brazilian and we, in our blog, shall go back to the reality of Brazilian life.
But first: five days carnival, parades, samba and beauties.

Heavy rainfall here in the Amazônia region frustrated

2009-02-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

Heavy rainfall here in the Amazônia region frustrated my communication devices, i.e. my radio-antenna for internet and my telephone line. Consequently for some weeks now I have not been able to post new articles, although some interesting things happened.
I know, I know, it is the rain season, but nevertheless there is much more and much more heavy and intense rainfall than in previous years. At this moment my internet is working again and I hope to post some articles in the next few days. They have been written during the last weeks and I shall use the date of writing and not the date of posting, to get them in the right order.
I hope my connection stays stable, so that I can upload the articles.
Sorry for the inconvenience and please come back soon.
Anton

Update: All articles about the World Social Forum have been posted in order with the date of writing. I hope they will give the reader a good impression of the event as it took place. With regard to the discussions the bloggosphere reports in great length about all topics, so that I could restrict myself to the periphery.

World Social Forum - The final balance

2009-02-02T06:40:00.000-08:00

The previous articles described the run-up to, the opening and the proceeding of the forum. Now the final balance.

The final balance of the World Social Forum (WSF) in Belém was positive. At least according to the organizers, the mayor of Belém and the governor of the federal state of Pará. Eventually 135 thousand people participated from 142 countries, with 15 thousand participants in the encampment and 4,830 volunteers, translators, technicians and representatives of the organizers.

The governor of Pará, Ana Júlia Carepa emphasized the positive influence of the forum on the economy of the state. (I had expected that, as a socialist, she would highlight the results of this ‘human’ forum, but no, the true socialists: only money counts). She stressed that in Great Belém 40 million reais (€ 13.5 million) was spent, of which 18 million for housing, 16 million with meals and 6 million with transport. According to the governor “the choice of Belém could not be at a more opportune moment, because here in Pará we demonstrate that it is possible to construct a new development model for Pará and the Amazon. We feel one with these hundred thousand people, who believe that another world is possible and in the name of this ideal, we have built our government. In the name of this ideal, we work to transform Pará into a constitutional state.” (If you know Ana Júlia and her political results, you get weak knees listening to these words.)

But the official view is not shared by the university students, who made their appearance to the lecture-rooms on Monday after the forum. Kyone Oliveira, 18 years, of the faculty Zootecnia, says she is shocked by the state the campus is in after the forum. “They have polluted everything and then go away. I thought, that it would go this way, that’s why I have not participated. Neither my university nor the city of Belém has the infrastructure to organize a forum like this. If we as students already suffer from poor toilets, think of all those people. They improved only the roof of the lecture-room and now they say that everything is in order.”

The day after the World Social Forum 2009 ended the two campuses that hosted the event showed significant differences. While the campus of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) was clean and quiet, on the campus of the Federal Agriculture University of the Amazon (UFRA), you could observe the mess, the stench and the dissatisfaction of the participants.

After the forum many students said they had a ........ continue reading and see more images of the event

90118

The heat dominates the World Social Forum in Belém

2009-02-01T06:20:00.000-08:00

This is a translation of an impression, published by Leonardo Sakamoto on his blog about his experience with the World Social Forum in Belém. It is obvious that he was clearly present in Belém.

During the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre (in the years 2001 to 2003 and 2005) the weather was hot. But the heat in Rio Grande do Sul is nothing compared to the climate of Belém in the month of January, where the mugginess of the humid air embraces you upon arrival. The frequent rainfalls are refreshing, but sometimes even the pouring rain is unable to cool down the atmosphere. The theatre installed in the Federal Agricultural University of the Amazônia (UFRA), one of the places where the WSF is being held is the refuge for those who melted of the heat outside. The at least ten split level high-power air conditioners, are the joy of a gang, sleeping on the floor, uninterested in what’s shown on the screen. In the press centre, housed in the sport hall, the scene is repeated, a number of journalists asleep under the blessing of an air conditioner by the sound of hectically attacked keyboards by colleagues.

One of the rooms of the debates, which I attended, was jam-packed. People, standing along the wall and sitting on the floor, throwing jealous looks at those, who had fled the heat, slumbering in comfortable chairs. With few clothes on, radical groups at the entrance to the youth camp - the place where hundreds of camping tents were standing - preached that the event itself is the problem: “The Social Forum is part of a movement that would fragment the people!” The heat also causes other unusual scenes. A friend was robbed by two persons. The theft of the product: a bottle of mineral water. “Ohh, brother, give me the bottle and buy yourself another one.” Who said that water is the most precious good we have, was not mistaken.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the first time that I travel in the Amazon region - on the contrary, the region is the backyard of my origin - no exaggeration. The problem is the long distances between activities, spread across the UFRA and the Federal University of Pará, which is not easy. I am far from healthy, sleep with a slight headache caused by the heat and the thermal shock of entering and leaving buildings with air conditioning. Since ordinary cars and taxis are not admitted on the campuses, walking under the burning sun or calling a cyclist turned ‘bicycle taxi’ is the only way. Three reais (about 1 euro) for a ride. For those moving from one campus to another, not far apart, the boats are an alternative to travel via the river. By noon, it requires more than an hour to board. Standing in line under the burning sun. When I return home, I have to explain to my girlfriend how I got so sunburnt, while I was at work.

Maybe an auto bus is missing. Or a better distribution of the events. You hear frequent complaints about the (des)organization of the event, the sudden change of activities, the lack of direction signs, halls without the necessary equipment and so on. In addition, of course, the lamenting about the registration fee of BRL 30.00 (10 euros) that would have limited the participation of the poorest inhabitants of the city. The striking presence of military police and national security forces, which does not correspond with what the forum is and represents. Taxi drivers were involved in the wave of paranoia about security, alarming everybody as a broken record: “We are now in a dangerous neighbourhood … We drive through a dangerous neighbourhood … Do not forget, this is a dangerous neighbourhood … Oooolha, a dangerous neighbourhood … Fortunately we are now leaving this dangerous neighbourhood.” It looks like a city-tour! Nonsense. Dangerous are some large multinationals, which are located in this state, dismissing people to decrease the risk of falling profits.

Of course, all this does not overshadow the brilliance of an event, where you stumble on diversity, knowledge and culture. Where the reception and the hopes of people and communities from many corners of the world give you warm feelings and charges your energy. Consequently, this forum is indeed hotter than that of Porto Alegre, because it seems bigger. And despite the heat, it is worth it to stay on to the end.

source: Blog de Sakamoto

90137

World Social Forum - The course of an event

2009-01-31T05:44:00.000-08:00

For those who did not know that this year Belém was the seat of the World Social Forum (WSF) the participants of the forum could easily be taken for tourists on holiday in the capital of Pará. The campus of the Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (Ufra = Federal Agriculture University of the Amazon) - one of the main centres for this event - seemed more like a vacation colony. At least until the debates started. On the campus it was quite normal to see people walking around in swimming trunks, without shirt and carrying articles, which are typical part of a Brazilian summer, such as sunglasses, hats, sunscreen, bottles with mineral water and other paraphernalia reconciling with the intense heat.

In the youth camp, where about 12 thousand youngsters were camped - the crowds grew with the arrival of the participants - but none succeeded to sleep in the tents for a long time. Already in the early hours of the morning, the sun and the heat made sure that those who were planning to sleep longer fled their tent. “At night, as it gets still and quiet and with a touch of wind and no noise. But in the morning it is unbearable,” said Oliveira Sebastião, an economist from Mato Grosso.

The access road to the World Social Forum on the campus of the UFRA was transformed into a camelódromo (a collection of stalls). The products on offer were as varied as the variety of races walking the tarmac road to the encampment. It was said that the caiapó indian Bep, divided his attention between the discussions in the Indian Tent and his stall outside. At noon there was a long row of people, interested getting painted a certain part of their body with indian designs. Each painting took BRL 5 (€ 1.70).

Caiapó Bep was in Belém since Sunday with 60 caiapó indians from the Aldeia Kokocuedan, situated on the banks of the Rio Branco in Ourilândia do Norte. The village is located 100 kilometres from the city centre. The first difference Bep noticed was the weather. “Very hot. Even poor.”

Is the weather hot and all bad for the caiapós of Kokocuendan, the food served in their hostel, installed in the public school Mário Barbosa is even worse. “Many bad things, such as meat. Indians don’t eat this. Our meal is rich,” he said, reciting the ingredients of a good meal in the village: “many sweet potatoes, macaxeira, banana and fish.” Many indian children and adults had problems with the ‘urban’ menu resulting in diarrhoea.

Despite bad weather and bad food, life at the WSF was softened for Bep and his tribe by the gaining of some money. He and three other indians reserved time for body painting. Some asked just a simple painting, but the caiapós invoiced like ‘gringos’. The paint is made with the juice of the genipapo, roasted and grated, mixed with water and charcoal. The painting stays for 7 to 15 days.

At both sides of the entrance stalls with handicrafts, art crafts, typical regional meals, snacks and other types of objects were erected. A colourful fair.

On the campuses of the universities, you could see it all - or almost all. In the tents, ....... read the full story and see more images of the event.

90118

Latin America celebrated the collapse of neo-liberalism

2009-01-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

Latin American Presidents with a left-wing signature participating in the World Social Forum 2009 in Belém, celebrated the collapse of neo-liberalism.

Characterized as the block of the real left-wing Latin American social movements, Presidents Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Rafael Correa (Ecuador) and Fernando Lugo (Paraguay) celebrated the collapse of neo-liberalism in ‘Davos’, a reference to the meeting running at the same time as the Social Forum, and collecting the crème de la crème of capitalism in the Swiss Alps. The assembled Latin American presidents gave a clear message to the participants of the World Social Forum (WSF), that was held in Belém from January 27 to Feb. 1: "We need to unite Latin America to cope with the economic crisis", they claimed, while they also called on the ‘left’ world to support their governments.

The Presidents took part in a debate organized by the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST = Movement of landless farmers) and the umbrella organization of small farmers, Via Campesina. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil was not invited to this meeting.

In the debate with the MST, Rafael Correa set the tone at an early stage, when he said that "neo-liberalism is a perverse system that now crumbles." The Ecuadorian president also said that the Social Forum is part of the solution the world needs and proposed enthusiastically: "The WSF is part of the solution to the crisis. Hopefully, the alternative emerges now from this Forum in Latin America.”

Hugo Chavez argued that the Forum has to leave the trenches of the fight and launch the attack. "The WSF must change its strategy because we are in the phase of attacks and no longer in the period of trench warfare."

During the debate, called "Prospects for the Integration of Latin America”, the Presidents launched numerous attacks on the "North American imperialism.” Chavez proposed an international trial of the former U.S. president George W. Bush for his alleged crimes against humanity. In the same debate, the freedom fighter Che Guevara was honoured. His daughter was present during the session.

With the new American president Chavez was cautious: "We are still waiting for the performance of the new American government, which faces itself a very serious problem within its borders: the economic crisis." But he stated that he was not blinded by the promised changes: "The empire is still intact and the president [Obama] has said that Chavez is an obstacle."

Fernando Lugo, Paraguay’s last year elected President, new in this ‘left’ presidential bloc, welcomed the participation of farmers and indigenous movements as agents of change in the WSF: "Thanks to the social movements in Latin America, we experience a time of change."

Evo Morales expressed his solidarity with the landless and indigenous people and admitted that he can make mistakes, but promised never to abandon “the struggle against North American imperialism."

The Brazilian Minister of Agrarian Development, Guilherme Cassel, said that the MST made a serious “political mistake” by refusing, Lula to taking part in the debate with the Latin American presidents. And concluded with the words: "He, who takes part in a WSF debate is open to dialogue and criticism."
It is clear that the MST is very dissatisfied with the agrarian reforms (or lack there of) during the reign of the Lula administration. And it is also clear that what Cassel said is a farce, because Lula has never been able to handle criticism in a positive way.

Lula will participate in some activities during the last days of the WSF, but none of the MST and Via Campesina, the international organization to which the MST is connected.

90136

The World Social Forum - Preparation and Opening

2009-01-29T08:09:00.000-08:00

The event was outlaid so ambitiously that it had to go completely wrong. The organizers had clearly forgotten that they had to do with the Federal State of Pará with its public administrators and political leaders, who are still unable to look up the word 'organization' in the dictionary, let alone find the word.
During the six-day forum (from Jan 27 to Feb. 1), 2400 activities were scheduled, which means that some 200 activities were held simultaneously about topics such as the environment, global warming, poverty, child- and slave labour, exclusion of poor countries, and of course, the destruction of the Amazônia region and alternatives to the capitalist system, which threw the world in an economic and financial crisis (I am sure, that Davos is anxious to have a look at the proposals). But the farmer, he ploughed on, so if everything raised by somebody should be found important, then it might come to something ... ever.

The World Social Forum (WSF) is regarded as the largest marketplace on the planet of ideas, with discussions for everyone.
But a month before the international event, the city was still looking for solutions to its problems. Lack of security, traffic chaos and deficiencies in public transport are some of the most serious problems of Belém. And for years it is no different. On top of all this the complaints of the population of the capital of Pará itself.

During the forum, the hotels and pousadas in town were fully booked - even the motels, normally operating as centres for lovers and other sex activities, had their faces adapted to accommodate participants of the event. Another 15 thousand houses were rented, the rent up to BRL 2 thousand (€ 660) for the 5 days of the forum. The hotels did not stay behind and reached the, for Belém, exorbitant price of BRL 900 (€ 300) per day, including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

To house the event and guarantee the safety of the participants the state government invested BRL 143 million (€ 48.5 million), with a third for the purchase of police cars. Ten field hospitals were built on the campus of the Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA = Federal University of Pará) and the Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (UFRA = Federal Agriculture University of the Amazon), where also an encampment for 30 thousand young visitors was raised. An additional 270 hospital beds were reserved in the public and private hospitals for emergency situations.

During the days of the event about 600 thousand male condoms from the Program for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and AIDS were distributed. (nb, 1 condom per day per participant)

Until Sunday, February 1 (the last day), the organization of the Forum hopes to greet 120 thousand people from 150 countries, including ......... continue reading and see more images

Tell me: What actually is the World Social Forum?

2009-01-28T05:26:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, January 27, 2009 the 9th edition of the World Social Forum opened in Belém, the capital of Pará, with an estimated 60 thousand people from around the country and 30 thousand foreigners participating. For the city of Belém an unprecedented large-scale event that would rule the entire city for 6 days.

However, a survey conducted by the media-group ORM Portal showed that the event is unknown by the Paraense (resident of the federal state of Pará).

Derived from the Latin word 'foro', forums were in ancient Rome places of public meetings where Roman citizens could speak out about urban problems. But only the patricians, who owned great estates and consequently political rights, were regarded as citizens. Participation was thus limited by social conditions. Centuries later, when the freedom of expression was established in the constitution, the absence of knowledge and information marks the opinion of those who live in the vicinity of the world’s main discussion forum on contemporary problems: the World Social Forum 2009.

But what is it? An event, a protest, a demonstration? A survey last week organized at the site of Portal ORM (http://www.orm.com.br/) showed that 50.4% of the 345 people who voted did not know what the World Social Forum is or what it serves. A worrying result particularly since it concerned a news site, which is usually visited by people looking for information and generally are well informed. Of the people who said they knew the event, slightly more than half said that they would participate in the activities.

The results in the street are similar to the virtual vote. People who live in the bordering area where the forum is held, the two federal universities, noticed changes and additional traffic, but are unfamiliar with the themes, goals and personalities, who were present this week in Belém. Some people saw the results of the preparations for the event in practice and observed the large and conspicuous presence of police and security forces. "I know that many people are coming, but do not know why. I think they will talk about street violence. What I do know is that things have improved here, never ever there was so many police in Terra Firme" says Maria Sales, who lives in the vicinity of the Federal Agriculture University of the Amazônia (UFRA).

If one of the main objectives of the Forum is, promoting the debate between young people, then the propaganda has not worked effectively for the youth in Pará, in particular those from the interior.
But there are also people who know nothing and ........... continue reading

90139

The World Social Forum 2009

2009-01-27T05:04:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, January 27, an estimated 60 thousand people from around the country and 30 thousand foreigners started their participation in the 9th edition of the World Social Forum, held in Belém, the capital of Pará.

While the entire capitalistic controlled western world looked to Davos, on the other side of the world, the World Social Forum was held totally ignored by the world press. Well, what should the third world do with a Social Forum, in this time of international financial crisis. As if we don’t have other problems on our minds, then whining Indians, racial inequality, poverty, cutting some trees, etc. The Western world can’t give a damn about it at this moment. And although Lula, presumably, preferred to be in Davos pushing up Brazil in front of all the great leaders of this planet, he was forced to be in Belém, where this social event took place. You can’t let them, your ‘red rascal’ colleagues, President Evo Morales of Bolivia, Hugo Chaves of Venezuela, Fernando Lugo of Paraguai and Rafael Correa of Ecuador, come to Belém and find the event so important yourself that you travel to Davos.

Beyond some local and Latin American political leaders, a handful of national and international intellectuals, especially American university professors, droves of activists and a massive turnout of hopeful youth participated.

90118

In 2008 Fines for Environmental Crimes Exceeded 1 billion Euro

2009-01-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

In 2008 more than BRL 3 billion (€ 1 billion) in fines was imposed in the Amazônia for environmental crimes. But the question is, who is crazy enough to pay the fine? For sure not the Brazilian environment criminal.

A report stipulating the by Ibama (the Brazilian Environment Authority) imposed environmental fines shows that between January 1 and December 8, 2008 22,697 reports of environmental offences were made with a total of BRL 3.25 billion (€ 1.05 billion) in fines. The figure is 38% higher than in 2007, when it was BRL 2.37 billion (€ 0.772 billion).

The bulk of the amount came out of actions against deforestation in the Amazônia. Fines for illegal logging, storage and transport of illegal timber in this region reached BRL 1.76 billion (€ 0.57 billion), accounting for 54% of the total.

Pará is the federal state, which picked together the highest amount of fines with € 196 million. Followed by Mato Grosso (€ 195 million), Amazonas (€ 148 million), Minas Gerais (€ 140 million) and Rondônia (€ 75 million).

Writing criminal reports is one, but collecting the fines is a different chapter. A study by the Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia (Imazon = Institute of Man and Environment in the Amazon region) points out that a very small portion of that money actually gets into the public purse.

According to Imazon, the value of fines collected between 2001 and 2004 was only 2.5% of the total amount of fines imposed in this period. If the same pattern is repeated for 2008, the federal treasury will only collect BRL 81 million (€ 26 million).

But there is probably some progress, whatever that is supposed to mean in the Brazilian legal confusion. According to the researcher Paulo Barreto, one of the authors of the study, there were four legal bodies where could be appealed, now there are only two. Paulo, faithful believer as he is, thinks that this might speed up the process, but he warns that one of the main constraints of collecting fines is the lack of lawyers with Ibama. "What has to be done to improve the collection of fines, is focussing on the most important cases. All the studies show that 80% of the value of the fines should be raised by 20% of the processes.”

For Ibama it is not just the amount of fines in their fight against environmental crime. "Together with the fine, we have the seizure of the area, the confiscation of the illegal product, the removal of livestock, the seizure of trucks, machines and the deterrent effect of an inspection." says Roberto Borges, national coordinator for environmental operations of Ibama.

According to Borges, in addition to the fines Ibama also tried to permanently seize the property of the criminals. "It started with seized timber, but we have to expand to tractors and trucks, used for the environmental crime. We have to de-capitalize the environmental criminal." he says.

Source: O Liberal
(cartoon J.Bosco)
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Forgotten Prisoners

2009-01-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

In a country where state prisons bulge, inmates just remain behind bars, although they served their ‘time’.

Inspections carried out by the Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ = National Council of Justice) in four of the 27 federal states of Brazil discovered that more than a thousand prisoners, even after they had served their criminal sentence, were still behind bars. Around 1.218 other convicts had no access to the facilities to which they were entitled - as a pardon, a semi-open regime or external work. Without a lawyer or a public defender assigned to their case, these prisoners eventually just are forgotten. This situation of neglect was found in the federal states of Rio de Janeiro, Maranhão, Pará and Piauí.

So far, 4.731 criminal processes have been analysed. After visits to the state prisons by the CNJ, 2.218 prisoners received some form of benefits which they were entitled to, but never received. The situation was most precarious in Teresina, the capital of Piauí. In eight prisons in this city, 1.087 cases were analyzed with the result that 464 prisoners were assigned additional facilities, while 345 were released immediately.

In the cities in the federal state of Pará the processes of 1.641 prisoners were analyzed. 435 prisoners (you can’t even say: convicts) were released.

But heck, why make a fuss about it? Prisons are overcrowded, so what? A detainee cost "only" BRL 1,200 (less than € 400) average a month. Who cares? Certainly not the public administration or the local politicians.

The state of Pará has nine thousand prisoners, of whom 70% (6,300) are between 18 and 29 years and herewith it is the champion again. Pará is one of the states where the prisoners are the youngest.
More than 6 thousand young people, who might be part of the economically active population of the state, but now, dominate the unproductive army under harsh living conditions in prison and police cells in the capital and the interior.

CNJ-judge, Gilson Dipp said that inspections were executed in state prisons, where local authorities have greater difficulties in terms of supervision. "The results are abhorrent. It is terrible. The people who remain behind bars are the people that lack any defence. The persons involved are poor, without the support of a public defender."

Far from being an exception is the position of a detainee accused of a crime, and is imprisoned illegally. Pará, in this respect is champion again of the most inhumane penal system. Data show that with the label 'pre-trial detention’ detainees are held in police stations for a period of five years without ever being tried.

The Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure provides that within a period of 5 to 90 days, a detainee should be heard by a judge for the first time. The period may be extended, but from then on the detention is illegal and inhumane.
From data released by Susipe (Prison Administration), it appears that of the detainees in custody, 73 are there already for five years, 153 four years, 416 prisoners three years, 1.125 two years, 956 prisoners for a period of six months to one year, 706 prisoners with less than six months and "only" 702 prisoners are still within the established legal term. And that is pre-trial detention without any trial.
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In 2008, the Lula’s Government executed only 22.5% of the budget - Health care got only 7% of its allocation

2009-01-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

The speech of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva relating the public investments to solve the economic crisis is in flagrant contradiction with the facts. Last year, the government has issued only 22.5% of the budgeted investments. At a total investment budget approved by Congress of BRL 47.6 billion (€ 15.5 billion), only BRL 10.7 billion (€ 3.5 billion) has actually been spent.

The investment budget includes all public works for infrastructure, housing and sanitation facilities for which the federal government is responsible, including the activities of the Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento (PAC = Program for the Acceleration of Growth).

The low level of investment extends even to the social sector. According to the Ministry of Health, only 7% of the investments were implemented. Of a total of BRL 3.9 billion (€ 1.3 billion) in the budget only BRL 276 million (€ 90 million) is spent. The program for hospital and outpatient care of the SUS (National Health Service) for example, for which a financing of BRL 1.7 billion (€ 0.55 billion) was approved, got paid BRL 163 million (€ 53 million = 9.5%). And a credit-line of BRL 324 million (€ 105 million) as a federal share in the construction of sanitation facilities in rural areas, transferred only BRL 3.9 million (€ 1.27 million = 1.3%).

The Ministry of Education realised actually 27.5% of the planned investment. From a budget of BRL 3.7 billion (€ 1.2 billion) BRL 1.03 billion (€ 0.33 billion) was spent.

In important parts of the infrastructure sector, such as the Ministries of Transport, Public Works and Municipalities, which are responsible for roads, housing and sanitation in the country, the executed investments made up only 18.4% and 14.7% respectively.

The Ministry of Urban Development, which is responsible for social housing had a budget of BRL 442 million (€ 143 million) in 2008, only to spend BRL 50.9 million (€ 16.5 million = 11.5%).

The Ministry of Social Development had available for investments BRL 196.5 million (€ 64 million), but used only BRL 101.4 million (€ 33 million), representing 51.6%. This amount represents about 1% of the total expenditure in this sector, which covers also the Program for Family Support (Bolsa Família), which consumes more than BRL 10 billion (€ 3.25 billion) per year.

For investments in tourism, traditional for all countries worldwide an important source of new jobs, the Lula government spent only 3.5% of the 2008 budget. Of the BRL 2.5 billion (€ 0.81 billion) budgeted, BRL 87 million (€ 28 million) was effectively spent.

In contrast to this tendency (or shall we say: intention, which obviously prevails in government circles) not to invest, the Ministry of Defence used 80.5% of the investment budget. Of BRL 4.1 billion (€ 1.33 billion), BRL 3.3 billion (€ 1.07 billion) has been spent.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs even exceeded the original budget allocated for investment. Foreign Affairs actually invested BRL 40.4 million (€ 13.1 million), while the original budget allowed BRL 38.5 million (€ 12.5 million).

Result: The international financial crisis, the beautiful and sometimes lyrical words used by Lula in his speeches to obfuscate the economic crisis, coupled with the apparent intention of the federal government not to invest in this country, have led to a sharp decrease in the number of jobs in the last two months of last year, in the month of December alone, a loss of 600,000 jobs. This estimate comes from the Minister of Labour, Carlos Lupi, who does not exclude a further reduction of jobs in the first quarter of this year.

Figures are based on data of the Sistema Integrado Informações Financeiras (Siafi) - Integrated System of Financial Information.

cartoon: J. Bosco/O Liberal
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Brazil: The Country of the Future

2009-01-21T08:09:00.000-08:00

With Lula 'highly commended' in the world, my last series of posts may have created the impression that I'm negative about Brazil and everything the government Lula does or fails to do. That certainly is not my intention. I am well disposed towards Brazil, where I live, and so it is with a bleeding heart when I see the (often unnecessary) injustice that goes around. What Lula is concerned, I can say that I am indeed very disappointed in what he has implemented during his six years of governing the country.

Almost everything that is achieved is not due to the Lula government, but despite the Lula government. It is the result of an independent continuation of the Plano Real, proposed by the then President Itamar Franco and implemented by his successor and former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC), and his social politics thereafter. Lula has not fulfilled his socialistic election promises. The economic policy is a continuation of the FHC policy. Social programmes, such as the Bolsa Familia, are based on the policy put in motion by FHC. The growing prosperity of the Brazilian is not due to Lula, but due to the explosive expansion of the private initiative, the discovery of large oil reserves and the (silently admitted) illegal logging of the Amazônia, allowing both livestock and soy and sugar cane production to explosively spread.

Health, Education, Public Safety, Infrastructure, Public Transport are treated like neglected children. Police and Justice fail by all means and the Judiciary is shamelessly 'powerless'. Corruption remains polluting the country unpunished. The with great pomp announced Aceleração do Programa de Crescimento (PAC = Program to Accelerate Growth) is still mainly on the drawing board. The North and Northeast of the country remain backward areas and it looks unlikely that any additional investments will be gained. Senate and Congress are still dominated by a large number of criminals, ah yes, elected by the people. But it can’t be otherwise, as long as the people are accustomed to nothing else than corrupt politicians.

Years ago, the ABN/AMRO bank described Brazil as "the country of the future, and so it will always remain." And it is still so, despite all the progress. The big turning point came during the administration of FHC and Lula has not used his socialistic streak to expand this during his administration. Without a great own vision, he has continued indolently, what was transferred to him by the previous government.
And that disappoints me. I had expected more. The Brazilian people, after so many years of suffering earned to expect more. Take a look at Lula's election promises:

In his inaugural speech in 2002, the word "mudança" (reform, change) took centre stage. "Reform is the key word. This is the main message the Brazilians sent with the elections in October. Because of this, the Brazilian people have elected me as President of the Republic."

And he claimed that all the attention will be given to social action, literally saying: "We should not lose sight that the ultimate goal should be human well-being." After 6 years of government we have unfortunately to observe that safety in the street (robbery and assaults) has reached rock bottom, that education, housing, health care apparently are activities without the necessary glamour, that Brazil can not meet its economic prospects for growth due to a lack of public investments in infra-structure in all corners of the country.

I wish to remain optimistic, and sincerely do not hope that Lula continues to just let Brazil run its course which consequently requires a fierce price to be paid afterwards.
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Lula, the great world leader

2009-01-20T06:22:00.000-08:00

This is a translation of a post written by my fellow blogger: Wanderley Filho

One of Lula's ambitions is to be recognized as a major world leader, a leader with a recognition which equals Nelson Mandela, for example. This wish seems to be promoted constantly by his assistants. In the midst of this illusion of greatness, some nonsense takes form as ridiculous proposals and end up as a mockery of Brazil.

Lula has already proposed the “World Zero Hunger" program, which should be financed by taxes levied on international arms trade; he said also that he would re-establish the geopolitics (he loves that word) of this planet with bio-diesel; that the countries of the G-20, led by Brazil, will dethrone the countries of the G-8 at the moment of creating of a new global economy and that the victories of the leftist parties in Latin America, starting with his own, had paved the way for the election of Barack Obama in the USA. At the height of arrogance towards its destiny as a world leader, Lula revealed that even God, in transit in Brazil, had decided to remain there to help him.

With the same modesty, Lula pretends, which many diplomatic delegation of the world already had done, to resolve the discord, which is the base of the current conflict in the Gaza Strip between Islamic terrorists and Israel. The extract below was published on the website of Folha Online:

"I sent Celso Amorim [Minister of Foreign Affairs] to the Middle East in order to tell them that Brazil is interested in active participation, so that finally a path to peace can be established in that area, in that geographic area of the world. (...) The existence of two states is quite possible, that there will be diplomatic relations, that there can be development, that there is improvement and I think that the Palestinian people deserve this opportunity."

Wow! Things are so simple that no one realized how easy it is to solve that first seemed insoluble. Brazil is not even able to maintain order in its favela regions of Rio de Janeiro, dominated by drug traffickers who forced the legal government out of the region. Every year, there are 50 thousand Brazilians murdered, a number much larger than that of the war in Iraq, for example. But Lula knows how peace in the Middle East can be achieved. This borders on the ridiculous. Or rather, it's ridiculous.

[With a paraphrase of one of Lula's famous sayings:]
Never before on this planet a "world leader" was as insignificant.

Source: Lula, o grande lider mundial
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1.2 billion Condoms for Brazil's Birth Control Policy

2009-01-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

The Brazilian Ministry of Public Health has decided to invest in 2009 heavily in actions for the promotion of family planning. Among the major actions is the purchase of 1.2 billion condoms, a record in the world, and the distribution of most of the existing stock of 458 thousand 'morning-after'-pills. New purchases of conventional injectable contraceptives and contraceptive pills, of which 50 million strips were distributed last year, are expected.

Within the policy of the Ministry of Public Health it is thought that an increased use of contraceptives is synonymous with economic development. According to the most recent Pesquisa Nacional de Demografia e Saúde (National Research on Demography and Health), released in July, the percentage of women using contraceptive pills (22.1%) surpasses for the first time the demand for sterilization (21.8%).
For the director of the Strategic Actions of the Ministry, Adison França, this result is encouraging: "Ten years ago, by far the most common method was sterilization of the woman. It shows that the Brazilian society develops."

Also in connection with the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, the purchase of the condoms represents three times the 406 million items, which were distributed last year. If the new to be purchased condoms should be distributed equally among all Brazilians between 15 and 70 years, everyone will receive 22 condoms this year.
Besides increasing the purchases, the government inaugurated in 2008 the first condom factory in Xapuri, in the federal state of Acre. The first delivery of one million units took place 18 days ago.

The increase of federal investment in the family planning policy meets (of course) strong opposition from the Catholic Church. The free distribution of condoms and contraceptive pills, along with the defence of the de-criminalization of abortion, brought the tension between the clergy and the Minister of Public Health, Jose Gomes Temporão, to a climax. Following the condemnation by Pope Benedict XVI, the purchase of pills and condoms is the target of harsh criticism from the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops.

NGO’s and religious organisations, however, defy the official church policy and take an active part in the distribution. In November, an investigation by the newspaper O Globo showed that the official preaching against the use of contraception is ignored by priests, nuns and lay people engaged in pastoral activities and NGOs, and without fanfare, organize the distribution of condoms and educational books.

Despite the divergent views of the base of the Church, the bishops remain stubbornly committed to maintaining the exclusive use of natural methods of family planning, such as sexual abstinence and elevate the tone of criticism to a great height.

Another issue with which the Church collides with the Government is the controversy over the de-criminalization of abortion. Tabled by Minister Temporão in the beginning of his nomination in 2007, the battle cry is now carried by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, when he clearly stated 15 days ago that abortion is a public health problem and deserves a wide debate.

photo’s: O Globo
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Pure nature - The fragrance of the Amazon dancing in the wind

2009-01-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

The capillarity of the wooden sticks transmits the fragrance of the perfume from the Amazon region to the ambiance of the room.

15% of the world’s total of all known vegetal species (plants, trees) and 10% of all mammals are concentrated and trying to survive in the Amazon region.
This source of fresh air to the world, home to (besides man and animal) many super-fruits, medicinal plants and other useful species, will be destroyed soon. Between 2006 and 2007 11.224 km2 has been deforested - 20% less than in the period 2005-2006. Compare 2004 when one of the highest indices (27.379 km2)) in history had been registered. Hopeful? No! In the last 5 months of 2007 the devastating activities for prime wood, soy and cattle has been accelerated. Between Aug and Dec 2007 3.235 km2 has been cut down and satellite pictures show it could be twice as much.

It is no wonder that many individuals, research centre and companies are feverishly looking to the Amazon forest as a tremendous source for sustainable exploitation, which might stop the illegal activities that cause the destruction. Responsibility and sustainability are the keywords.

With the recent trends in healthy food, energy and fortification drinks, interest in Amazonian “superfruits” is growing. It’s little wonder that .......continue reading

The Largest Penguin Rescue on Record - A Success for Animal Welfare - But a Terrible Omen

2009-01-03T14:05:00.000-08:00

Some 2,500 Magellan penguins from the Argentina's Patagonia region, probably confused by the warm ocean currents stranded - dead and alive - on Brazil's northern coast in October last year. Approximately half of the penguins found on Brazilian beaches were dead, and the others were starving and in very bad shape,

Magellan penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus) live in relatively warmer climates than other penguin species, and breed and nest in burrows from October to February, in southern Chile and Argentina, in a temperate and dry climate.
Magellans, one of 17 species of penguins living in the southern hemisphere, including Antarctica, are among the largest, weighing just over four kilograms, with striking colouring: a white chest and a white band around a black back and black head.

They travel out to sea during the winter, from March to September, to follow anchovies, their favourite food, in order to fatten up. However this year apparently the anchovies went deeper into the ocean in search for cold water and the penguins couldn't reach their food and consequently stranded because they were starving, according to Valeria Ruoppolo, an emergency veterinarian with the International Federation for Animal Welfare (IFAW), in São Paulo.

This year, about 2,500 disoriented juvenile penguins travelled more than 2,500 kilometres beyond the normal point, coming ashore in Salvador, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, to the amazement of beachgoers. The penguins were rescued by IFAW and the Centre for Marine Animal Recovery, with help from other organisations and Brazilian environmental authorities.

After months of care and feeding, the 372 surviving penguins were banded and loaded onto a C-130 Hercules military plane and transported to Cassino Beach, in Pelotas, in southern Brazil.

After a night’s rest, they were released into the South Atlantic Ocean, along with a few rescued adult penguins, with the hope that the adults would guide the younger ones safely home to Punta Tombo in Patagonia.

The Magellan penguin population is fragile, as their numbers have plummeted by about 20 percent, with about one million breeding pairs today, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. The penguins are at risk due to the effects of climate change, tourism, oil leaks from tankers and shrimp nets. Particularly the ocean environment of the southern tip of Patagonia is changing, as the salinity of the water is decreasing, due to glaciers melting.

Punta Tombo is a tiny peninsula near the city of Rawson on the coast of the southern Argentine province of Chubut,. Its widest point is less than one kilometre, and it is teaming and crowded with penguins - and tourists - during breeding season. Punta Tombo, is home to the largest colony of Magellan penguins.
In 1982, the Punta Tombo colony was saved from Japanese commercial interests, intending to slaughter the birds and use their pelts to make golf gloves. The area was turned into a penguin preserve and research centre.

This an extract of an article published by IPS-Inter Press Service

Photo's by: tabernash, benune, TrekNature

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Happy New Year

2009-01-01T16:01:00.000-08:00

One of the most spectacular events of the year is the “Réveillon” fireworks at the Copacabana beach of Rio de Janeiro, with which Brazil enters the New Year.

This year again Rio de Janeiro gave prove why during this time of the year so many tourists prefer to spend their holiday season here.

During 20 minutes the public stood there agape with wonder by the beauty of the fireworks. A beautiful experience which, to the contrary of previous years, was not frustrated by growing smoke clouds.

Even Saint Peter was in a good mood as the heavy rains stopped by 23.00 hours.

According to the police some 2 million people enjoyed the spectacle.

The big surprise this year were the 'bombas filhotes', which multiply in the air.

Twenty-four tons of fireworks were fired from 8 pontoons.

The company New Fireworks realised the fireworks against a cost of R$ 1,6 million (ca. USD 600.000).

Early on the tourists as well as the cariocas (inhabitants of Rio) went to the Copacabana beach to enjoy a last dive in the ocean and secure a good place from which they could watch the fireworks. The pontoons, from which the fireworks should be launched, anchored during the afternoon in front of the beach.

Click here for a full photo reportage

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The Flying Brazilian - A Busy Bee

2008-12-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

It is a public secret that President Lula, from the very beginning of his first term in office, indicated his intention to see the world before his second term in 2010 will end. That’s why he bought, immediately after his inauguration as president, a new plane (an Airbus A319CJ ).

In 2008, the President made 33 international trips, almost the same number as in 2007 (36). It is for sure that in 2009 the ‘AeroLula ', as his plane popularly is called, will make many international flight hours.
In the year before the presidential elections and the penultimate year of his second term, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva packs his bags for many an international flight, to activate his strategy for Brazil as an active participant in the discussions on the measures to be taken to get the world economy off the ground. 2009 will be a year of intensive international discussions regarding the global economic crisis and Lula wants to use this situation to try to fortify his international prestige.
We made a photo-reportage of his most important trips in 2008.
......... continue reading and enjoy the photo reportage of Lula's travels

Economic crisis? What economic crisis?

2008-12-26T19:43:00.000-08:00

While worldwide governments design and implement financial stimulus packages, President Lula mainly limits himself to stimulate the Brazilians to continue spending money and to buy goods to support the Brazilian industry. In Brazil apparently payment of the 13th month is seen as stimulus package to rescue the economy and beat the financial crisis. In the month of December, the Brazilian economy will be "enriched", with approximately BRL 78 billion (25 billion euros) due to the payment of the 13th month.

This amount represents about 2.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and includes workers in the formal sector, including domestic servants, pensioners and beneficiaries with a state pension.

According to calculations of Dieese (Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic Studies), the BRL 78 billion will be paid to about 68 million people. Dieese didn’t take into account the self-employed and informal workers, who may also receive a kind of compensation at the end of the year, but whose details are impossible to obtain.

According to Dieese the national average paid will be BRL 1,105 (€ 354). The 13th month for Previdência (something like a general old age pension scheme) is BRR 753 (€ 241). Workers in the formal market receive BRL 1,331 (€ 427), while household staff is entitled to an average of BRL 495 (€ 158).

Beneficiaries in the capital Brasilia go home with the biggest share (taking into account all categories) i.e. BRL 2,378 (€ 762), while beneficiaries in the federal state of Piauí have to be content with BRL 662 (€ 212).

According to a survey, the vast majority of consumers (60%) plans to use the 13th month to settle debts, an increase of 3,45% compared with the previous year. According to the study conducted by Anefac during the month of October 2008, among 573 consumers from all social classes, the number of consumers that plans to use the 13th month for the purchase of gifts decreased from 20% to 15%.

In 2008, only a small number of consumers (2%) will set that money aside for the expected costs in the first month of next year. However, according to research from Anefac, the number of consumers who drew a loan in anticipation of the release of the 13th month grew with 28,57%. This quota represents 9% of the total national entitlement to the 13th month payment.

Although (thanks to the idle words of President Lula) the Brazilians believe that Brazil will be little affected by the international financial crisis, the majority of the population reviews the outlook for 2009 negative in terms of inflation, unemployment and personal income. According to a poll by Ibope commissioned by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), the majority of the Brazilian population believes that the inflation will rise, however they think the international financial crisis has reached the country, they do noy expect to be affected personally by the unrest, which started in the US market.

According to the CNI/Ibope survey the number of respondents that expect an increased unemployment rate in 2009 stepped up from 40% to 63%, while the number who expect a job increase in 2009 fell from 55% to 35%.
The expectation of people about their income also declined, albeit with lesser intensity. 38% think they have an increase next year, compared with 41% who believe that their income will not change and 13% who believe in a deterioration.

But despite all the fine words of Lula Christmas dinner became significantly more expensive.

Less than a week before Christmas, the demand for food for the traditional Christmas dinner increased substantially. With the high dollar, which made a leap from BRL 1,60 in October to BRL 2,30 in December, and the rise of inflation in the last three months, everything is more expensive, especially imported products such as fruits and vegetables. And clothing prices rose to unprecedented heights while the Brazilian traditionally needs to wear new ones for Christmas.

An analyzes of Dieese shows that products such as turkey, chester ham and cod, in this time of year very popular products, showed a price increase compared with the same period last year.
One of the most consumed products at a Christmas dinner, the frozen chicken is the only one which remained stable. A kilo costs an average of BRL 3,94 (€ 1,26).

In addition to these increases of traditional products, Christmas dinner this year will also be affected by higher prices of fruit. Some increased with more than 30%, such as the chestnut. The fresh plum increased by 31%. The Argentine apple 36% and imported pear increased by 50%. The largest increase however was for dark seedless raisins, with a peak of 67%.

The Christmas shopping did not provide significant results, although retailers are still optimistic. The expectation in Belém is a higher turnover of 10% over the previous year, although during the first two weeks of December, few shoppers could be found.
Finally on Christmas Eve the total results were not disappointing. Striking was that consumers bought and paid with cash, quite unusual in this time of the year when normally credit card companies celebrate their highest output. But with a current interest rate on your credit card of 175% annually you have to disregard that option.

Merry Christmas

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Cartoon courtesy J. Bosco/O Liberal

A Christmas Story - 5-year Deivid Sent a Letter to Papa Noel with his Dearest Wish: Shoes

2008-12-25T16:46:00.000-08:00

The Christmas letter from the small Deivid José Pereira da Silva, of only 5 years old, addressed to Papa Noel, differed strongly from the usual Christmas wish list of his classmates in the kindergarten. While other children asked toys, Deivid put a pair of (tennis) shoes on his wish list. The boy's worn shoes, with its see through holes, justified this unusual request of a child of his age.
Deivid used the same tennis shoes for three years. Already second hand when he got them, too big for his feet, acquired at a bazaar organized by the Parish of St. Anthony of Lisbon, they are the only ones the boy has.

Since last Saturday afternoon, after the daily newspaper O Liberal had Deivid's story on its front page showing a photograph of Deivid with his torn shoes, dozens of inhabitants of Belém went personally to the boy's house in the neighbourhood of Cremação presenting him the Christmas gift he had asked Papa Noel for: tennis shoes. Also throughout Sunday Deivid Jose received presents of shoes, toys and food.

"The first Christmas presents were four pairs of new shoes and toys," says the proud father, Luiz Roberto Correa da Silva, 37 years old, a professional handyman, "On Sunday, many more people came to our house to bring shoes and clothes. He has already received 40 pairs of shoes."

Now, with his dearest wish materialized, his next wish moves a little upwards. "A real motorcycle," says the boy, under the curious eyes of his little sister Deise of 4 years, who's scarcely able to grasp all the toys her brother received.

While the O Liberal reporters were visiting Deivid’s (municipal) kindergarten Caripunas the Director of the school received two calls leaving him in tears. The calls came from the municipal Department of Education (Semec), which in fact is responsible for this kindergarten for impoverished children, condemning the action of the supervisor to tell the story of Deivid to the press. To accentuate their incompetence, they prohibited the school management to speak any further with the press and ordered the press to leave the school.
"We just wanted to help the child. Those who actually have a duty to help the child condemn us now", lamented one of the crying teachers.

Anyway, Deivid steps into the New Year with new shoes at his feet.

Does the future belong to the youth ?

2008-12-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

"Literacy and the struggle against hunger are connected, closely interdependent," Nobel literature prize winner Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio said Sunday (07/12) in his Nobel lecture to the Swedish Academy. The 68-year-old Frenchman continued with: "One cannot succeed without the other. Both of them require, indeed urge, us to act."

From a president who himself had no chance to follow a proper education, you expect the portfolio of education in his government highly favoured and enjoying all the (financial) support it deserves. Indeed the future belongs to the youth and that’s certainly true for an emerging economy as Brazil. But not so in Lula’s mind. Apparently Lula believes that if he has been able to become president without education, everyone else must be able to reach the top on his own merits. The results are disastrous and will wreck the future development of this country. Shortness of skilled personnel is already the major complaint of businesses and in several cases, foreign investors pulled out, especially in those regions desperately needing investments. Thus the North!

Although elementary education is ‘enjoyed’ by 97.6% of 7-14 year old children, this figure is no synonym for quality. The majority of the Brazilian school children between 8-14 years can neither read nor write. Data from the IBGE (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística - Institute for Statistics) also show that of all the Brazilians who can not read or write 1.7% are 14 years old, although these 58.1 thousand pupils almost finished elementary school. Nearly half of that group (approx 29 thousand youngsters) is illiterate, even though they are going to school.

IBGE also points to inequality in education based on colour or race. In absolute numbers: of the approximately 14 million illiterates aged over 15 years, nearly 9 million are black or mulatto. Of the white population 6.1% can read nor write, of the black and coloured population 14%.
In relation to gender, women show a better result than men. The female population studies on average a year longer than the male part. The female presence dominates also in the higher education, 57.1% of university students are female, compared with 42.9% male. Notwithstanding this, women still occupy only a small part of the management level.

Education in Brazil has everything to do with income. Cross-linking the data shows that the Brazilians up to 17 years are the hardest hit by poverty. In this age group 46% belong to the poorest part of the population (with a monthly income of half the minimum wage (about € 70) per capita). Most children in this situation are living in the northern and north-eastern regions.

But even a higher income and sending your child to a private school is no guarantee for better education. Matheus Aguiar, 17 years, is an exception in the 4 million participants in the Exame Nacional do Ensino Medio (ENEM = National Exam for Secondary Education).
The ENEM is a voluntary test for students of the 3rd year of secondary school. The popularity of ENEM jumped since with the founding of the Programa Universidade para Todos (ProUni = University for Everyone) in 2004, the federal government distributes university scholarships to poor students. Participation in the exam is a prerequisite for anyone who hopes to start a university education. The result of the exam requires a minimum of 45 points on a scale of 100.

And in this nationwide exam Matheus Aguiar ended as fifth and is the best from the federal state of Pará. Matheus is in the third year of the (private and exclusive) College Nazareth in Belém. With 93.65 points in the general section and 100 in 'editorial’ (writing an essay) he reached an average of 96.82 and the fifth place out of four million examinees. Although Matheus studies at a private school, his results of the ENEM exam are important as private colleges and universities use the results as a parameter in the selection. Matheus wants to study 'mecatronica' at the University of Brasilia,

But unfortunately the good performance of Matheus seems to be an exception. The state which yielded the fifth best secondary school pupil in the country, ranked as a whole at the 10th place from the bottom with an average of only 36.9 points. The pupils from Pará scored 4.8 points lower than the national average. Pará belongs to the sad bottom of the northern region, of which all ended up in the 10 lowest places. A region that did not go beyond an average of 36.07 points. The lowest ranking compared with other regions.

But the results of the pupils from other federal states are not much better. At the top, the secondary school students of the Federal District (capital Brasilia) with a poor 45.39 points. Let’s not forget that the minimum requirement is 45, and that all examinees (public and private education) voluntarily participate in the exam, so that they can obtain a place with a university. The nationwide average of the exam was 40.59, which is 4.41 point below the minimum requirement.
What is supposed to be the level of the schoolchildren (the largest group), which do not go for the ENEM exam, but just quit school and try to find a job.

Secondary school students pushing a "Lula-puppet" in protest against the education policies

Of course, the financial situation of students reflects in the performance. The results show that between a public school student and a private school one there is a gap. For Pará the difference is more than 16 points. The average score of students from a public school was 33.37 points (more than 12 points below the minimum requirement), while the students from a private school scored 49.95 (only 5 points above the minimum requirement).

Should a private school guarantee a better education, in Pará (as with so many things) it is a bit different. The examinees of private schools from Pará, compared with the rest of the country, show up on the twentieth place, only seven states are worse. While public schools score the 11th place from below.

The figures from the Ministry of Education unfortunately do not show how many secondary public school students have met the minimum threshold of 45. At an average of 33.37 points, few students will be able to make the (subsidized) step towards a university, I'm afraid.

Photos: Matheus Aguiar and "Lula-protest': O Liberal
Source: O Liberal, Agência Brasil
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81149

Graduate as Santa Claus

2008-12-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

All the latest posts had a serious undertone. That’s not quite what "Brazil in Hot Pants" is all about, as it promised to involve a wink to the sometimes lofty Brazilian society with a hint of its beauties.
Hence this post about Papai Noël, as Santa Claus is called here. What have these “dirty old men” to do with Brazilian beauties? Well, Brazil should not be Brazil if Papai Noël did not have assistants, called Noeletes. Is Papai Noël required to be old and fat with a barreled belly, from the Noeletes is expected, that they are 18 years and ........ of course.
Scroll down and see for yourself.

As in several places in Brazil, Tijuca (Rio de Janeiro) is organizing a course that leads to qualified Santa Clauses. In four weeks time, the student is taught how to behave as Santa Claus.

"Ho ho ho, happy Christmas!" is the battle cry, which leaves, during this time of the year, almost certainly a beatific smile on the innocent faces of all children. But the words should sound well and a proper imitation of the famous smile of Santa Claus requires preparation. The course instructs candidates how to become 'the good old man’, to be able to work during the Christmas season in shopping malls and other areas.

The actor Silvio Ribeiro, 59 years, is responsible for one of the courses. In addition to the training for Papai Noël (Santa Claus), Mamãe Noël (Christmas mother) and of course Noeletes (assistants), he also recruits for the casting agency Claus Artistic Productions, which has 60 vacancies this year.

But it is not that simple to become a Santa Claus. There is a number of requirements. "First, he must like children. If the candidate has no patience with children, then he has no chance. He should not be chubby, but quite fat with a protruded belly, as well as lively and communicative (looks like he must be an old dirty male pseudo-pedophile). According to Ribeiro, children talk with Santa Claus as if they were old acquaintances.

During the course, the candidate Santa Claus receives tips how to tackle and circumvent idiotic questions from curious toddlers. The most difficult part of being a good Santa Claus is the hours and hours sitting in a chair, showing a slight smile, taking punches and pushes, a finger in the eye, in the mouth, pulling the beard, etc, etc, etc ... without showing any stress. Because Brazilian children are, as everywhere in the world, bloody nuisances.
Who succeeds and gets his diploma can win a temporary job. Employers offer a salary and expenses. For Papai Noël BRR 900 (USD 400), Mamâe Noël gets BRR 700 (USD 310, difference should exist) and a Noelete goes home with BRR 600 (USD 266), but for both Papai Noël and a Noelete this can rise to about BRR 3,000 (a good USD 1,330). For Mamãe Noel (logically) there is less interest.
The requirements for a Mamãe Noël are identical to Papai, so she should be chubby and lively. For a Noelete it is a bit different, she has to be at least 18 years, attractive and friendly. Many students transform into a Noelete during this month.

It is no surprise that the children are interested in Papai Noel and the fathers thereof prefer to ogle the Noeletes.

My favorite Noelete remains Sabina Sato.
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81157

Lula and the Financial Crisis

2008-11-26T11:28:00.000-08:00

Apart from other things, Lula is famous for his blundering utterances in public.

Since the financial crisis in the U.S. started to worsen, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva changed his tone.

March 30, 2008: "Bush, my son, solve your crisis."

September 17, 2008: "What crisis? Ask Bush."

September 22, 2008: "Until now, thank God, the crisis has not crossed the Atlantic."

September 29, 2008: "For Brazil, if it comes close, it will be very minimal."

One day later:
September 30, 2008: "The crisis is very serious and so intense that we do not yet know the magnitude of it."

October 4, 2008: "There [in the USA], the crisis is a tsunami. Here, if it reaches us, it will be a marolinha (high wave), not even good enough for surfing."

cartoon: J. Bosco in O Liberal

October 5, 2008: "We want this issue of the crisis presented to Congress."

November 8, 2008 opening the G20 meeting in São Paulo: ”Nobody is safe and all countries will be affected by the crisis.”

During the São Paulo G20-summit (one week before the summit of heads of state in New York), ministers of finance and presidents of the central banks, discussed measures against the financial crisis that began in the United States. The group intended to rally forces to get more influence over the direction of the global economy. In his openings speech, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said that the crisis is serious, requires coordinated actions, and that no country in the world will be spared.
Lula also said that the G7 countries - the United States, France, Italy, Germany, UK, Canada and Japan - no longer are in a position to lead the direction of the world economy solely. He called for more participation by emerging countries arguing that in 2007 these countries accounted for 75% of the growth of the world economy.

’The crisis is global and requires global solutions also. It is time for a pact between governments for the creation of a new global financial architecture.” he said.

For the world press assembled in São Paulo the G20-summit was a nightmare. Due to a failure of the press service, journalists from around the world could not hear Lula’s speech.
While the president gave his speech at the Hilton Hotel, the journalists were confined in a room of the Hyat Hotel, at a short distance of the Hilton, where the meeting took place. All should be watching the speech by Lula via a tv-screen, but the screen did not work.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the transmission system of the NBR failed and the journalists were unable to follow Lula’s speech.
”It is a shame, it is a shame,” shouted the foreign journalists accompanying the meeting of the G20.
Nevertheless the summit was the perfect moment for all who, often only preaching to empty pews, resisted the "neo-liberal" free market economic model highflying in the past few decades. Politicians, economists and social activists want to take advantage of the current financial crisis to bury this model once and for all, together with all forms of speculation.

Since the beginning of the crisis, President Lula gradually changed the tone regarding the crisis in the global financial system and its consequences in Brazil. Apparently the crisis came unexpected, with a huge foreign capital outflow that took both the government and the private sector by surprise. It generated mistrust between banks which stopped lending money.
In a clear change of behaviour, the government and its economic team finally began to realise the seriousness of the problem, that Brazilian companies had with derivatives - bets on the recovery (over-valorisation) of the real - and the over-optimism of President Lula, who came to say that the crisis of Bush would not reach the country.

Some internal contradictions within governments, especially between Central Banks and Economy Ministries, are becoming more acute. In Brazil, the dominance of the monetary authority (the Central Bank) suffered a blow when emergency measures were needed to avoid a greater economic slowdown.

The G20 summit in São Paulo - Minister of Finance Guido Mantega and President Lula

The disagreement between Brazilian Minister of Finance Guido Mantega over the conservative policies of the Central Bank, which advocates high interest rates and an unrestricted floating exchange rate, was already common knowledge. But the crisis and the recommendations of the G20 strengthened Mantega's position. As chairman and spokesman of the meeting, he emphasised the need for anti-recession measures.
The president of the Central Bank, Henrique Meirelles, tried to soft-pedal this approach, underlining instead the concerns over inflation that were also expressed in the meeting’s final communiqué, and the special characteristics of each country.

The G20 summit in São Paulo - president Lula and the CB president Henrique Meirelles

Walking and talking between two fires Lula said that despite the financial crisis Brazil will maintain all works in progress of the Programa de Aceleração de Crescimento (PAC = Program for Accelerated Growth). The president said that the global financial crisis not caught Brazil unprepared and promised that the government will not allow that the country's economic growth will be hampered. "My government and the people have made sacrifices and are now beginning to reap the rewards ... with our expanded home market, which protects us partly of the international crisis," said Lula. "The government will not allow our growth compromised," added the president.

Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso criticized the way Lula’s government was facing the economic crisis and was ironic, calling Lula a "great economist", in reference to the statements Lula made by calling the crisis a marolinha when coming to Brazil.

“No need to be aggressive with anyone personally, but we have to say that not everything the master is saying, is right, because it is not. We have to say the king is naked here, there, and yonder. Put your clothes on, Mr. President. Do not talk nonsense, Mr. President. Be more consistent with your history. Don’t be as fast in your judgments as the others. Note that a nation is made in the course of generations. Don’t be so pretentious. Be a little more humble,” completed Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

The former president said that people realize when things are not going well.
”I understand that the president have to animate the country. But the country is not silly. The country understands when things change. Things have changed in the world, changed for the worse. It is cyclical? It is momentary? Yeah, but we have to be able to view the future to leave the ruinous situation we are in and don’t continue saying that it is not ruinous. It is ruinous."

But after all nothing really changes. All governments in the world are implementing stimulus programs, not so in Brazil. Apparently the Lula’s statement that all-works-in-progress of the Programa de Aceleração de Crescimento (PAC = Program for Accelerated Growth) will continue is, in Lula’s opinion, sufficient enough alongside the high level interest rates and (disputable) interventions of the Central Bank in the exchange market, selling its stock of dollars to keep the real over-valorised, in favour of the banks, disgracing the products manufacturing segment.

President Lula planting an aroeira tree

sources: UltimoSegundo, O Globo, IPSNews, J. Bosco/O Liberal

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Seven Federal States and the Federal District Concentrate 80% of the GDP

2008-11-15T08:44:00.000-08:00

And nevertheless Pará is the champion of economic activity.

About 80% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Brazil is generated by only eight of the 27 states of the Federation, concentrated in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Bahia, Santa Catarina and the Federal District.

The concentration of the GDP in eight regions reduced by 1% (from 79.7% to 78.7%, equivalent to R$ 23.7 billion (USD 10.8 billion) between 2002 and 2006, while the Northern Region increased by 0.4%.. São Paulo alone realizes some 34% of the Brazilian GDP.

The survey of the IBGE also shows the per capita GDP in the regions. At this moment, the Federal District still has the highest GDP per capita (USD 17,090), almost three times the national average (USD 5,767) and well ahead of São Paulo with USD 8,885 and Rio de Janeiro with USD 8,043.

Pará, with all its minerals (iron ore, gold, diamonds, bauxite and whatever you want) letting his soil be robbed for a pittance, Pará with its obviously inexhaustible stock of hardwood illegally cut down and disappearing, Pará with its abundance of fish in its inner waters but ransacked scot-free, Pará does not belong to the above mentioned list of Prime Producers, Pará has just officially an insignificant share in Brazil’s GDP.

Nevertheless Pará is the undisputable leader. A sad leadership. Ranking No. 1 at the list of slave labour.

Pará remains at the top of the list of slave labour in Brazil. According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MTE), just this year, the Special Group for Mobile Labour Inspection held 28 operations throughout the state, during which 592 workers who were in conditions similar to slavery were “freed”. Above that a 1.000 bookings for misconduct were issued and for more than R$ 1.6 million (USD 730,000) payments for compensation and arrears of wages cashed.

The MTE calls attention to the growing rates of slave labour in states that until then, did not appear on that list. Among them, Goiás and Alagoas.

According MTE, this scenario is directly linked to the expansion of the sugar cane industry, a major protagonist in the international market for bio-fuels. And in the southern region of the country, an increase in the number of enslaved labourers is detected in fazendas which grow pine, a species widely used for reforestation. In both cases, the indecency is that slave labour is being used to support activities theoretically sustainable, for which the basic principles as respect for the environment and concern for the social aspect should be fundamental.

'Methanol is a 'clean' energy in regard to the environment. But we need it also to be clean in the sense of respect for those who work in the production of it", said the president of the Sindicato Nacional dos Auditores do Trabalho (National Association of Labour Prosecutors), Rosa Campos Jorge.

To prosecutor Jonas Moreno, the increase in the number of ‘freed’ labourers reflects the intention of the Brazilian government to step up the enforcement actions to repress this rank injustice.

In other words there are still a lot of slaves out there to be ‘freed’.

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What Is Washington Up To In Cité Soleil?

2008-10-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

"Military experts” might argue that there are no ships available for the 4th Fleet, the actual situation in Haiti proves otherwise and the Latin American countries don’t recognise the US offerings as chocolate ice cream, but exactly as what it is: a bucket of bullshit.

According to the chief of the Southern Command, Adm. James Stavridis, the 4th Fleet will accomplish specific peaceful missions, among others humanitarian operations and medical aid and continues to say that the largest vessel to operate in the region is a hospital ship (U.S.N.S. Comfort).
In September Military Sealift Command hospital ship U.S.N.S. Comfort (see photo: Thony Belizaire/AFP-Getty Images) could been seen at anchorage off the coast of Haiti near Port-au-Prince, while (officially) on a four-month humanitarian deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean providing medical treatment in a dozen countries.

So the argument of Busch/Cheney, voiced by Adm. James Stavridis, is true? Well, doubtful. The problem with the hospital vessel is that it is not unloading humanitarian or medical aid, it is unloading (building) material for something else .........

The 4th Fleet is not on a humanitarian mission and the Latin America countries have a good reason to mistrust the reactivation of the 4th Fleet, as the US government is expropriating and demolishing the homes of thousands of Haiti's most impoverished by expanding the U.N. military occupation force's outpost in the giant Port-au-Prince shantytown of Cité Soleil.

The infamous US government contractor DynCorp, a quasi-official arm of the Pentagon and the CIA, is responsible for expanding the base named "Konbit pou lape" (Get Together for Peace), which houses the American soldiers of the U.N. Mission to Stabilize Haiti (MINUSTAH) that began with US Special Forces kidnapping President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his wife from their home and flying them into exile on Feb. 29, 2004.

According to Cité Soleil mayor Charles Joseph and a DynCorp foreman at the site, funding for the base expansion is provided by the State Department's US Agency for International Development (USAID). A very unorthodox use of development aid.

Lawyer Evel Fanfan, the president of the Association of University Graduates Motivated for a Haiti With Rights (AUMOHD), says that about 155 buildings would be razed if the base expansion goes forward.
"They started working without saying a word to the people living there," Evel Fanfan said. "The authorities have not told them what is being done, if they will be relocated, how much they will be compensated or even if they will be compensated."
Most of the buildings targeted are homes, but one is a church.

"They have begun to build a wall around the area to be razed," explained Eddy Michel, 37, an assistant to Pastor Isaac Lebon who heads the Christian Church of the Apostle's Foundation, which serves some 300 parishioners. "They have already built a 10-foot-high L-shaped wall, which cuts us off from the road. Once they complete the rest of the wall, the remaining 'L', we will be completely enclosed and we fear the destruction will begin."
Alarmed residents of the area formed the Committee for Houses Being Demolished (KODEL), which contacted AUMOHD. Evel Fanfan put out a press release and KODEL held a press conference. MINUSTAH soldiers came (stealthily) to the press conference and told the residents to get a lawyer to talk to the American Embassy as the American Embassy is responsible for the work.

"Legally, the Haitian government has not authorized anybody to do anything," said Evel Fanfan. "The Cité Soleil mayor [Charles Joseph] supposedly, between quotation marks, authorized the construction, but there is no paper, no decree, no order which authorizes it."

The involvement of DynCorp is particularly telling. DynCorp International (offering, as its Web site states, "Global Integrated Solutions") belongs to a select group of behemoth corporations like Blackwater, Brown & Root, and Halliburton that exist mainly to carry out US government strategic projects and programs.

Founded in 1946 and based in Reston, Va., near CIA headquarters in Langley, DynCorp was the principal contractor deployed in Colombia to carry out Washington's supposed war on drugs called "Plan Colombia" in 2000. It conducted aerial dusting of supposed coca fields, a practice that resulted in 10,000 Ecuadorian farmers lodging a class-action lawsuit against then DynCorp CEO Paul V. Lombardi in 2001. Lombardi tried to intimidate the plaintiffs, warning them that the "politically charged litigation" was inappropriate after the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
DynCorp has been an important "private" player in other US wars around the globe, including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yugoslavia.

In 2002 Uri Dowbenko wrote in his book "Dirty Tricks, Inc.: The DynCorp-Government Connection": "DynCorp (…) has garnered a reputation as a shadowy company with a spooky pedigree, rumored to be a CIA 'cut-out,' or front company, for the Agency's dirty tricks." ... "Using high-level government insider connections, DynCorp provides a range of 'services' one would expect to facilitate fraud and money laundry activities, acting like a virtual conduit between the corporate (private) and government (public) worlds. According to DynCorp, the US Government is its biggest client, accounting for more than 95% of its revenues."

But why the interest of the US government and DynCorp in Cité Soleil?
Of course you guess right!

First, as Port-au-Prince's largest, poorest, and most pro-Aristide slum, it has been a hotbed of anti-occupation resistance for the past four years. Although most of the popular organizations carrying out armed struggle were dismantled in early 2007, unrest continues there, particularly with Haiti's and the world's worsening economic crisis. Hence, military domination of this important northern flank of Haiti's capital is supposed to be critical.

Furthermore, Haiti's bourgeoisie and Washington's strategists have for some years coveted the prime real estate on which Cité Soleil sits. The quadrant has a port, is close to the airport, sits on the main road to the north, and is ringed by factories and the old Haitian American Sugar Company complex (HASCO). Rumours are continually afoot that Haitian and American economic and political powers want to level this shantytown of 300,000 to replace it with more factories, office buildings, and other business development.

As Haiti reels under the devastation brought by Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna as well as ever-deepening hunger, it is ironic that Washington is spending money to expand a foreign military base and uproot Haiti's poorest of the poor, using the MINUSTAH peace mission as cover for their insatiable hunger for more profit.

The US government’s expansion of MINUSTAH's base, outsourced to DynCorp, seems more likely to rile Cité Soleil's citizenry than pacify it. Ergo, it is expanding Latin America’s mistrust to the USA.
Once again, as in its other misadventures around the globe, Washington seems to have, as the Kreyol (Creole) proverb says, "byen konte, mal kalkile": Well counted, but badly calculated.

This is an edited story based upon a September 9, 2008 article by Kim Ives of Haiti Liberté

Source: Haitianalysis
80510

Why are the Russians present in Latin American waters?

2008-09-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

In one of my previous diaries I wrote about the Bolivian crisis and Bolivia and Venezuela booting out the respective US ambassadors. This post is about what happened in the previous months, leading to the hateful relationship with the USA en the subsequent presence of the Russian fleet in the Latin American waters.

Having the US administration of Busch and Cheney in mind, the Latin American countries see in them the embodiment of the famous words of Frederick Douglas (1818 - 1895):
“There is not a nation of the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour.”

US decision to reactivate the 4th Fleet is a matter of concern
The decision of the United States Navy ‘out of the blue’ to re-establish the 4th Fleet in order to have a higher profile in Latin American and the Caribbean waters raised concern in the hemisphere. The 4th Fleet emerged in 1943 during World War II, with the aim of protecting navigation and fighting Nazi submarines. It was deactivated in 1950, after being considered unnecessary by the US military sector.

The Venezuelan and Bolivian governments condemned the US announcement that warships will set sail on Latin American and Caribbean waters as of July 1 and termed it an insult to regional sovereignty. In their opinion, the reactivation of the 4th Fleet may provoke chaos, disorder and violence, and divide nations.

And they were not the only ones, who saw the dangers. Among others President of the NGO France-Libertés Danielle Mitterrand warned against US coup plans. In a letter published by local media, the former first lady, widow of late French President Francois Mitterrand, demanded the current US government to adopt a clear position regarding the Latin American countries.

But spokespersons for the US Navy insisted on saying that the move "is administrative in nature" and does not imply a bigger military presence. While Washington claims that this new navy component will not have "a military purpose, but one of cooperation."

As from July 1, the 4th Fleet will be based in Mayport, Fla., while it will be responsible for more than 30 countries, covering 15.6 million square miles, focusing on the waters adjacent to Central and South America, the Caribbean Sea, its islands, the Gulf of Mexico and an area of the Atlantic Ocean.

Rumours claim that the 4th Fleet has appointed the new George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier and several submarines. The chief of the Southern Command, Adm. James Stavridis, reasserted that the unit "will have never an offensive possibility. It is a promise." (But we all know the value of a Busch/Cheney or for that matter a McCain/Palin promise)

According to the Southern Command, the 4th Fleet renewed operations accomplish five specific missions: responsiveness in the event of natural disasters, humanitarian operations, medical aid, antinarcotics efforts, and cooperation in environmental and technology matters.

However, Venezuelan authorities have doubts about the underlying intention of the move. They think that the United States government seeks to "scare" Latin American countries, as they move to the left, particularly Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Cuba, and more cautiously Brazil and Chile.

In Latin American view, the revival of the navy component is a threat, because the administration of President Bush uses humanitarian tasks to get valuable information in the theatre of operations, such as recognition, communications testing, and salinity testing.

Such assumptions have been dismissed by Adm. James Stavridis, who feels that "hardcore populism" does not endanger his country. "I think that in this region there are different ideas in terms of politics and economy. For the United States, they are democracy, free market, freedom, and human rights. There are other ideas in the region that compete with those, but they are not threats," he said in a recent interview with the Argentinean daily La Nación.

But the treats are there, fresh in everybody’s memory.
The by the USA in conjunction with Spain orchestrated coup d’état in 2002 against the democratic elected president Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and the recent (diplomatic) intervention in the election of Fernando Lugo as president of Paraguay and the “physical” intervention in the crisis in Bolivia, are sufficient reasons for the Latin American countries to look for some ‘heavy’ friend. You can’t blame them that they turn to Russia (and China) at a moment they obviously can’t trust their neighbour any more. Latin America might be seen in the USA as its back-yard, but as the US doesn’t take care of it properly and with honour, the owners of that ‘back-yard’ have to call upon a faraway ‘barrel-chested friend’.

And here we sit with the consequences of the reactivating of the 4th Fleet.

A new Cold War in Latin American waters?
Two Russian strategic bombers, Tupolev TU-160, landed a week ago 60 kilometres outside the Venezuelan capital Caracas, at the Libertador Air Base, to "carry out training flights" in the region, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence.
A few days before the arrival of the bombers Russia announced that it will dispatch a naval squadron to the Caribbean Sea and a spokesman for its navy, Igor Digalo, said that the vessels "will make a series of exercises, including joint manoeuvres, search and rescue operations, as well as telecommunication tests ", with its Venezuelan ally. The vessels would be the nuclear-powered cruiser "Piotr Veliki" (Peter the Great) and the anti-submarine frigate Admiral Chabanenko and probably anti-submarine aircraft."
"We want to calibrate our defence capacity with our strategic allies, and Russia is such an ally," Chavez said when the TU-160 arrived. Venezuelan Rear Admiral Salbatore Cammarata Bastidas said Venezuelan aircraft and submarines would be involved in manoeuvres with the Russians. "This is of great importance because it is the first time it is being done [in the Americas]," he said in a statement quoted by the AFP news agency and local media

Confirming the plans, Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said it was not aimed against any third country.
(A same statement as the Americans have made. Who can we trust Bush/Cheney, McCain/Palin or Medvedev/Putin? Let's hope there is an Obama/Biden alternative, so the choice is hopefully more obvious).

Although Argentine and Brazil expressed their concern, Brazil downplayed the announcement, but denoted later that:
The Brazilian Navy will practise a fictitious war to protect the "Blue Amazon"
After discovering huge reserves of fossil oil before the Brazilian east coast, which might make Brazil the number one oil-country in the world, out manoeuvring Saudi Arabia, the Brazilian government, without doubt the reactivating of the US 4th Fleet in mind, launched vast military operations in the so-called "Blue Amazon", the 4.5 million square kilometres of Brazilian sea.

The combined navy and army manoeuvres simulate a war for control of the oil fields, pipelines and refineries on the coast of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo.
With more than 10 thousand operational armed forces and 17 vessels, 40 aircraft and just over 300 military vehicles, the officers expect that the exercises guarantee the security of the riches of the Brazilian sea.
"The 'Blue Amazon’ is as important as the ‘Green Amazon’. No more important, but as important," said Admiral Edlander Santos, commander of the manoeuvres.

During the manoeuvres, the "green country" - composed of Rio de Janeiro, north of Sao Paulo and parts of Minas Gerais and Goiás - will attack the "yellow country" - Bahia and Espirito Santo - to get control over the mega-rich oil fields of Petrover, a fictitious state-owned company of the "green country". The location of the manoeuvres is not random.

According to Admiral Edlander Santos, the manoeuvres also bring answers to any questions involving the defence of the area.
"Will we have the vessels and means to protect the 4.5 million square kilometres?" He asked. "Well let's find out."

The initiative to the presence of Russia in the Latin American waters is as a matter of fact the consequence of a US ‘invitation’.
For Thomas Gomart, analyst with the French Institute of International Relations, the sending of Russian military units "is a double investment for Moscow: increasingly questioning the hegemony of the United States and support for nationalization in the areas of energy”.

What were Busch and Cheney thinking when they ordered ‘out of the blue’ the reactivation of the 4th Fleet, without giving any information to its neighbours, not even its most solid ally, Brazil? What did they expect? Any reasonable thinking person could prophesise the reaction!

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The Owner Doesn't Care Much

2008-09-20T15:48:00.000-07:00

There is still no strategy to defend the Amazônia
In just one month, the deforestation of the Amazônia exploded. The National Institute for Spacial Research (Inpe) reported data on deforestation in the Amazônia Legal, for the month of April. According to the Deter system (Detecção do Desmatamento em Tempo Real = Deforestation Detection in Real-Time) there was an increase of 774.48% in deforestation in the region, eight times more. In March 2008, 145 km ² was cut down, while the number in April rose to 1,123 km ². Unfortunately Deter is only able to detect deforestation polygons of areas larger than 25 hectares due to the resolution of the space sensors.

And the owner of the Amazônia?
Unfortunately it occurs that the Amazônia has a not-properly-caring owner. Approximately 62% of the Amazônia delta with its rain forests belongs to Brazil, but the numbers of deforestation are alarming. Just in the first five years of Lula’s government, it was 100 thousand km2 (2½ x the Netherlands).

The Brazilian economic columnist Míriam Leitão stated in Bom Dia Brasil: “The argumentation that the world has no right to claim the protection of the Amazônia because rich countries pollute or have already destroyed their forests, is not quite correct. If the Amazônia is ours, we have to preserve it. ........ If Brazil protects its biodiversity, they have to use its wealth for the production of medicines, cosmetics, timber in a sustainable way and industrial production of various items.”

That’s why the Brazilian Academy of Sciences proposes to invest heavily in universities, technological institutes, training of scientists in the Amazônia, to activate research in the region to find the best model of exploitation of its wealth. Today, it is only being occupied by ‘grilagem’ (unlawful claiming of rain forest areas), deforestation and even criminal slave labour.
This is not development.

The main task of the extraordinary minister of Strategic Affairs, Roberto Mangabeira Unger, as coordinator of the Plano Amazônia Sustentável (PAS = Program for a Sustainable Amazônia) is to develop "a strategy of zoning the Amazônia, one with forest and another one without forest." As quoted by his own words.

"Let’s stop talking about the fiction that there is a war between environmentalists and developers. This is not the problem. The problem is that we have not yet formulated the necessary measures neither to defend the forest, nor to develop the Amazônia," he assessed.

The coordinator of the PAS believes (what others are saying for years on end) in a correlation between the unemployment rate and the (illegal) deforestation of native forests: "The Amazônia is not just a collection of trees, it is also a group of people, and if the Brazilians who live there do not have economic opportunities they will be inexorably led to illegal deforestation activities."

But from whom is the Amazônia, after all?
A story published in the American newspaper The New York Times suggests that global leaders argue that the Amazônia is not a unique heritage of any country, which is causing concern in Brazil. And continues: "a chorus of international leaders are more openly declaring the Amazônia as part of a much larger heritage then the only nations that share its territory."

The newspaper quotes the former US vice-president Al Gore, who in 1989 said that "contrary to what the Brazilians believe, the Amazônia is not owned by them, it belongs to us all."

In the meantime the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tries to pass a law to restrict access to the Amazônia Forest, imposing a licensing scheme for both foreigners and Brazilians.

"But many experts say that the Amazônia in the proposed restrictions conflict with his own efforts (of President Lula) to give Brazil a greater voice in the negotiations on global climate change - an implicit recognition that the Amazônia is critical to the world as a whole," the article reads.

"It's a fight that shall only become more complicated in the coming years in the light of two conflicting trends: a growing demand for energy resources and a growing concern with climate change and pollution."

But President Lula is adamant: "The Amazônia has an owner and that’s us, Brazilians."
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, attending the 20th National Forum in May that "the world needs to understand that the Amazônia has an owner and that we, Brazilians, are that owner."

He questioned the conditions of developed countries, the biggest polluters, to discuss this issue. "The countries which are responsible for 70% of the world’s pollution are talking now about the Amazônia," he said. Lula advocated the preservation, but also the development of the Amazônia. "It will be a discussion for the next two decades," he said.

“But don’t cry out prematurely”, the "Economist" is right after all
Although most Brazilians do not like it when someone, particular a gringo, wants to "put a finger" in the Amazônia, as President Lula called it, the truth is that the British "The Economist" had it spot on, when it stated that it is almost impossible to put rules in the region,” writes the Brazilian journalist Ricardo Kotscho in one of his columns. And he follows with:

In its story "Welcome to our shrinking jungle" the Economist states bluntly that it is very difficult for the Brazilian government to control the exploitation and deforestation of the Amazônia forest "because there is no control over the ownership of land in the region."

Nobody has control - and hardly somebody will one day. I say this with sadness. In Amazônia region everything is too grand, too immense, too vast, too dense and far too huge for anyone to even dream to place the forest under some form of order.

You can see it with the naked eye: the pastures progressing in cleared areas owned by nobody, where the law has not yet arrived and the State is a distant mirage for the owners of cattle that are multiplying in geometric progression.
Some alarming data show how the burst of cattle raising is devastating the forest:

• In 1964, Amazônia had a flock of about one million cattle and less than 1% of the area had been deforested for pastures.
• In just thirteen years, between 1990 and 2003, the Amazônia herd rose from 26,6 million to 63 million heads, an increase of 6,7% per year, ten times the increase in Brazilian population.
• Today, the pastures shelter more than 70 million heads of livestock, one third of the entire cattle herd in the country. Since the Amazônia has a population of 23 million people there is an average of three heads of cattle per capita (including babies and old people).
• To open the pastures 16% of the forest area has been deforested, which is more than 70 million hectares, equivalent to Spain and Portugal together.
• The Amazônia continues losing 24.000 km2 of native forest per year, an area equivalent to two thirds of the territory of Belgium. As 1% of the forest turns into grass each year, and the current progress of livestock in the region is kept, in 2050, half of the forest will have been cut to house a corral of 285 million head of cattle.
• The main reason for this burst in cattle raising is the low or even non-existent price of land by pure and simple invasion of public areas, the popular ‘grilagem’. It is cheaper to cut trees (USD 200 to USD 300 per hectare) than to recover land from areas already deforested and degraded and turned into ‘juquira’ (USD 700 to USD 750 a hectare). Juquiras are deforested areas which are claimed back by nature with the springing up of small trees and an abundance of weeds. As sugarcane took the place of pastures in the fever for ethanol and soybean moved to the centre west of the country, cattle farms were pushed into the Amazônia in search of new pastures.

A study carried out by Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia (Imazon = Institute of Man and Environment of the Amazônia), and commissioned by the World Bank, brought to light that 42 million hectares - an area corresponding to 8,5% of the Amazônia (an area the size of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium together) is in illegal possession and totally outside the control of the government.

"This is, in practice, a free privatization of the forest. They never paid for the land and continue without paying taxes," said the coordinator of the research, forestry engineer Paulo Barreto. The process is always the same: the ‘grileiro’ "lends" the land to a timber friend to "clear the area", that is, overthrow the forest, and then plant grass, moving forward without limits and without any control, because, here a title deed is a fiction, even if it were existing.

In this context, some initiatives announced by the federal government to stop the destruction of the rain forest after the world started to protest against the progressive deforestation, sound romantic. But the government actions are entirely insufficient and even laughable and can only be considered as serious and might even revert the situation, if and when the federal government sends the Brazilian Armed Forces with all available equipment including helicopters and planes to the Amazônia.

The worst thing is that this time, we are obliged to accept that the English magazine is correct to say: "In practice, it is almost impossible for the Brazilian government to impose its will within the limits of its empire, even if it wanted."

If Lula claims: "the Amazônia is ours." Why can he only launche a grand-scale manoeuvre with the armed forces, including the navy and air forces, to defend the Amazônia Azul (Blue Amazon, in my next post I shall explain the Blue Amazon) and not do the same for the Green Amazon. Well, frustratingly, the answer is simple, as always: the Amazônia Azul has all to do with oil, while the Amazônia Verde has, as it is, only to do with the environment and global climate change.

source: IG Ultimo Segundo, Ricardo Kotscho
80612

Laugh: Obama in Brazil

2008-09-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

The US is not the only one having elections this year, as we, here in Brazil, have some too in October. Ok, it is less important and world shocking but for the local people the election for mayor and the municipal council are of utmost importance.
And so ... Obama inspires and candidates in Brazil “borrow” his name

The candidate for the presidency of the United States Barack Obama enthused and inspired candidates for prefeito (mayor) and vereador (councilman) in Brazil, adopting his name in the municipal elections in October. There are candidates for mayor and councilman taking a ride on the fame of the US Democrat presidential nominee and decided to couple the name of Obama in their quest for success in the polls. No candidate in Brazil is using the name of John McCain.

The Brazilian law allows candidates to use nicknames during election campaigns and in their identifications. The adoption of the name “Barack Obama” is non-partisan and occurs in various regions of the country

The candidates said they appreciate the life story of the American and want to represent change in their municipalities, one of the banners of the real Obama campaign in the US presidential elections. They also said that the racial issue weighed in their decisions.

(photo above) "I am the first black candidate for mayor of my city," said “Claudio Henrique Barack Obama" who disputes on a PTB-ticket (Labour Party of Brazil) a seat in the municipal council of Belford Roxo, in the federal state of Rio de Janeiro. Officially: Claudio Henrique dos Anjos, is a consultant in information technology and is optimistic. He said that he occupies the third place in polls and consequently has a chance to go to the second round. (In Brazil there is a multi-party system and a candidate needs to be elected by an absolute majority (50% and one vote), if candidates not reach this absolute majority in the first election day, there is a second election day (second round) 14 days later between the top two or three candidates only.

Jovelino Selis (Labour Party), a mathematics teacher at the city's public college and a union leader, does not deny the reason for using the nickname of "Barack Obama" to compete for municipal councilman of Ubiratã in the federal state of Paraná. He didn’t have a choice. Not having the 20 thousand reais (12,000 USD), the opposition has, to activate a campaign, he decided to appeal to Obama’s popularity. "It was a marketing move. The idea caught. People are talking about you,” he observes.
Despite the satisfaction with the successful campaign, the candidate regrets the problems generated by the personal choice of his nickname. "They are calling my youngest son Obaminha (Little Obama)," he said, “ridiculing him in school.”

The Brazilian Obamas suffer the same prejudices as the real Barack Obama. Selis said that a few days ago he heard a rumour that he was using an Arabic name by now because of his links with terrorists. "They said that now I have links with the people in the Middle East. I have to do a teacher’s job to show that this is a lie."

Alexandre Jacinto Nunes (centro-democrats), "Alexandre Barack Obama," fears that the anti-American sentiments [rapidly expanded during the Busch/Cheney administration] are a backlash in his campaign for councilman in Petrolina, in the rural savannah like area in the federal state of Pernambuco. In some conversations with voters, Jacinto prefers to omit the nickname he chose for the campaign. Still, the salesman of air conditioners says he does not regret having adopted the name of the US presidential candidate.
Jacinto battles to achieve his dream. With few (financial) resources, he tries to convince the voters of Petrolina that he will improve the sanitation of the city and help revitalize the river San Francisco. "My difficulties are huge. I have to beg for shoes, as mine were only holes and I walk much. It is ugly," he says. "I campaign on foot, by bicycle and motorcycle when someone is funding the fuel."

For the full list: Meet the Brazilian "Obamas" click here
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Meet the Brazilian "Obamas" (updated as from 01 Sept. 2008)

Alexandre Jacinto Nunes (centro-democrats), Alexandre Barack Obama, competes for a chair as city councillor in Petrolina, in the sertão (savannah) of Pernambuco. He is a salesman of air conditioners.

Claudio Henrique, (Labour Party of Brazil) candidate for mayor of Belford Roxo. Former parliamentary adviser to Minister Edson Santos (Secretary of Racial Equality) competes for the first time for public office.

David Cardoso, the Obama of Assentomento, competes for the second time for public office in Pompeu (Minas Gerais). He is candidate for city councillor for the Labour Party of Brazil. Is farmer, married, raised his own and other children, in total eight. He is 41 years and finished high school. Lives in a settlement with (just) 146 other families and did not know Barack Obama, till he got called by that name by others. He aims to fight for "the people who are suffering most."

Epaminondas Bernades Birth is the candidate for city councillor in Barretos (state of São Paulo) and registered for elections with the name: Epaminondas Epa Obama Brasileiro.

Fabio Alonso Jose de Melo, or Fabio Melo Barack Obama, is candidate for the municipal council in Marialva (Paraná). Compete for the PPS (Socialist Peoples Party). He is a law student at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Maringa, is 27 years and single. He adopted the nickname after seeing "the picture of the blessed on the Internet."

Jovelino Sellis, candidate for councillor in Ubiratã, Paraná, for the PT (Labour Party). He is a mathematics teacher with the High school and College education network in the state of Paraná. He is married with four children, evangelical, and is said to be a fan of Obama.

Marlúcio Pereira runs in this election for mayor of Aparecida de Goiania (Goianas), a city of 500 thousand inhabitants. He won the nickname “Barack Obama of the Savannah”, but did not register the name with the Election Board. He is black, evangelical and admits to the media that if the US senator takes off favourably, he certainly will embark on the wave until the elections here in October.

Natalino Braz, who simply is registered as Obama, is candidate for the council of Mendes (Rio de Janeiro) for the third time. He is a DEM (democrat) who joined the coalition with the Partida Communista do Brasil. He is a construction worker, is 60 years old and did not finish preliminary school. He is married and adopted the nickname Obama "to see if he was lucky this time."

sources: Revista Epoca, Noticias Terra
80935
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Bolivia in crisis. Booting out the US Ambassador

2008-09-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Recently some conflicts between Latin American countries and the USA have been escalating due to the (omnipresent) fear for US intervention in the Latin America area, the ‘back yard of the USA’. As you certainly know, the USA has always seen Latin America as its ‘back yard’. And it is the people in this back yard that is very scared at this moment, but also expectant in regard to the US presidential elections.

Without doubt you can say that Latin America in the recent years moved to the left. Socialism, if you like to call it that. But socialism is still a dirty word in de US and obviously little is known about its definition. But don't forget that socialism in Latin America is not more than something between the centre and the left-wing of the democrats in the US. It has nothing to do with communism, it is just a movement centring on the wellbeing of ordinary people. Giving the people, after so many years of corruption and exploitation a piece of the cake.

I will not talk about historical US (bloody) interventions in Latin America, such as Chile, Panama, Columbia, Grenada and many others. No, I just want to stipulate the (recent) interventions during the reign of the Busch/Cheney administration.

Let’s start with Bolivia, at this moment the centre of the conflict.
Bolivia, South America’s poorest country, is basically divided between the western highlands, home to the impoverished indigenous majority, and the rich eastern lowlands, where much of the population is made up of people of predominantly European (primarily Spanish) descent and where all the international corporations are sitting.

The support base of President Evo Morales, the country’s first-ever indigenous president, is largely found in the western altiplano. Meanwhile, several eastern provinces have been demanding autonomy and greater control over the rich farmland and natural gas reserves concentrated in that part of the country, and are staunchly opposed to any agrarian reform.
In the east, 90% of all land is owned by 10% of the large landowners, while in the western highlands, 90% of the indigenous campesinos (peasant farmers) own just 10% of the arable land.

The president wants to give more power to indigenous and poor communities, by carrying out land reform and redistributing gas revenues. That’s painful for the rich landowners and (mainly) Corporate America, which are bleeding the country. The answer to the intention of President Evo Morales is a movement (supported by the landowners and Big Oil) to declare the eastern states autonomous.
The opposition bloc tries to force the government to agree to the restitution to the provinces of a portion of the natural gas tax - 49 million USD - that the Morales administration has diverted to the payment of a universal pension of 26 USD a month to people over 60.

The governors of the lowlands provinces of Santa Cruz in the east, Beni in the northeast, Pando in the north, and Tarija and Chuquisaca to the south have made this one of the key demands in their opposition to Morales.
In response, the government argues that the funds diverted from the provinces for the universal pension are insignificant compared to the more than two billion USD that will be transferred to the provincial governments this year, a sum that is double the 952 million USD transferred in 2005.

The president of Bolivia’s Private Business Confederation, Gabriel Dabdoub, argues that a lack of government policies to foment private sector activity and attract investment has kept away 400 million USD a year in private (foreign) investment.
However, exporters are counting on a new record in sales of industrialised products and commodities, which according to the government will amount to more than 6 billion USD this year, compared to 4.78 billion USD in 2007.

A climate favourable to trade, with heavy foreign demand for commodities like natural gas - of which Bolivia has South America’s second-largest reserves, after Venezuela - oil, minerals and agri products accompanied by high international prices, has led to an increase in foreign exchange earnings in a country whose gross domestic product (GDP) stands at 14.7 billion USD. (Note: ExxonMobil’s annual revenue (similar to the GDP of a country) was USD 405 billion in 2007)

Gas revenues soared from 188 million USD in late 2001 to 1.57 billion USD in 2007, after the Morales administration, which took office in January 2006, forced foreign oil companies to renegotiate the terms of their contracts, thus increasing the royalties and taxes paid by the companies.

Over the past year, the leftwing Morales administration has accused the US embassy in Bolivia of offering its backing to provincial governments in Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Tarija and Chuquisaca in their crusade for radical autonomy.
The decision to expel US ambassador Philip Goldberg came after major confrontations, such as the Bolivian Foreign Ministry's report that the US ambassador had held a private meeting on Aug. 25 with the rightwing governor of Santa Cruz, President Morales' main political opponent.
The following day, Ambassador Goldberg was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and asked for an explanation. Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca also asked Goldberg to be cautious in his contacts with opposition governors. Nevertheless Goldberg later paid a visit to the opposition governor of Chuquisaca, Savina Cuellar, on Sept. 4, further fuelling the government's annoyance.

So it is no surprise, that Bolivian President Evo Morales has declared the US Ambassador Philip Goldberg "persona non grata", after accusing him of aiding and abetting pro-autonomy opposition groups that are blocking highways and occupying government buildings, reducing the supply of natural gas to Brazil.
"I am not afraid of anyone, not even the empire (the United States)," Morales said when he instructed his Foreign Minister to inform the US ambassador in writing that he was no longer welcome in the country.

But indeed Latin America has all reasons to fear an intervention and even an aggressive active role plaid by the US to create a crisis. May I remind the reader the interference of US diplomats in the coup d’état in 2002 against Hugo Chavez and the attempts to frustrate the last presidential election in Argentina.

According to the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner Argentinean Adolfo Perez Esquivel the autonomy movement is just the landowners and corporations pretext to try to stop a far reaching revolutionary process in this Andean nation. The same is true for Venezuela with Hugo Chavez, Ecuador with Rafael Correa and more recently Paraguay with Fernando Lugo, where US attacks are growing, but fortunately "Latin American people have begun to speak with their own voices," he added.

Latin America has been expecting an American military intervention for some time during this presidential election. At the end it was Georgia, where Busch/Cheney found their confederate, stupid enough to provoke Russia in an attempt to help the GOP to reign another 4 years. But, as said, Latin America, and particularly Venezuela, Bolivia and Paraguay, were and still are expecting American aggression to be in their area to steamroll the Dems, as all the signs are there.

This is in a nutshell the recent crisis and the reason to ‘boot out’ the US ambassadors of Bolivia as well as Venezuela.
But there is more. The recent presence of Russia in the Latin America area is due to the Busch/Cheney foreign policy of the last few months and the scary (for Latin America) sudden re-installment (after 60 years) of the 4th US Navy Fleet in this area.
Let me talk about this in my next post.

Facts in this post are based upon articles on the websites: WorldPress (a very reliable source regarding the relations between the US and Latin America) as well as Prensa Latina
80510

Brazil and its ‘green’ bio-diesel

2008-09-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

We all know that Brazil champions bio-fuels and as I wrote in a previous post, President Lula promotes worldwide the use (and thus Brazilian export) of ethanol from sugar-cane. You should think puffing out his chest Brazil is the prime example of clean air.

But as Míriam Leitão writes in her column “Economic Panorama” in O Globo, inhaling Brazilian air causes a frontal attack on your nose and your health.
People have to breathe to survive, but when you breathe in Brazil’s large cities, you are bound to inhale the sulphur rich fuel exhausts, mainly diesel. In the United States, Europe, Taiwan and Mexico, the sulphur content in diesel has already fallen. Seven years ago, a resolution determined clean fuel in Brazil. Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned petroleum giant said that it will commit to this resolution in 2009. Not meeting these requirements will cost more human lives.

The resolution 315 from 2002 published by Conama, the National Environment Institute, established that Brazilian diesel should have 50 parts of sulphur per million (i.e. a maximum of 0,005% of sulphur). Diesel is a composition basically consisted of carbon, hydrogen, and concentrations of sulphur, nitrogen and oxygen. There is a worldwide movement to reduce the share of sulphur as it is responsible for the existence of acid rain. Compared to the product in other countries, diesel in Brazil, a country that champions bio-diesel, is just a shame. For years ago the United States reached the level of 50 parts per million (ppm). At this moment the USA target for 15 parts per million. In Europe, the goal today is 10 ppm. In Brazil, diesel has 500 parts of sulphur per million in the large cities and 2.000 in the rural areas. Petrol (gasoline) has 1.000 ppm. But diesel raises more concern as it is a heavier compound with emitted particles more harmful to human health.

If the regulation of Conama, finally, comes into force in the coming year, the level of sulphur will fall to 50 ppm for diesel in both large cities and rural areas. Even when we get there, we are still far behind countries like Mexico, which today has 50 ppm and will go to 15 ppm next year. Taiwan reached 50 ppm 4 years ago. Canada, which has a heavy oil, had 340 ppm, but moved to 30 ppm. There are several large and medium-sized countries which are already reaching levels causing less pollution and less harm.

Why is this country with its abundance of ‘green’ bio-diesel one of the worst polluters in the world? Because it is typical Brazil, it contains all the signs of the various and many defects in Brazil: the excessive power of Petrobras (the Kingdom within a Republic), the inefficiency of the regulatory bodies, particularly the Agência Nacional do Petróleo (National Agency for Petroleum), the neglect of and the disinterest in the health of the citizens, and last but not least the lobby of the auto industry. Conama submitted to a long term period in which its resolution should be met, but the National Agency for Petroleum (ANP), which had to detail the technical specifications of fuels, let the time running out. Finally in October last year and after much pressure from entities such as the movement “Our São Paulo”, the OAB, the Department of Environment of São Paulo, among others, the ANP reported the specifications.
And then a lobby started to delay the enforcement of the resolution, whose implementation was scheduled for January 2009. The authorities reacted. The Ministry of Environment announced not to be inclined to accept postponements. Minister Carlos Minc of the Ministry of Environment reiterated this, saying that he shall require compensation from Petrobras and Anfavea (the Association of Brazilian Car Manufacturers) if they do not meet the deadline. Petrobras divulged in a bulletin that "the Company shall provide the 50 ppm diesel to be used by vehicles with technology P-6. This product is also available for tests by the auto industry."

Heavy sulphur loaded diesel is the main culprit for the pollution generated by traffic. The pollution causes various respiratory diseases and even lung cancer, 5% of the cases are caused by pollution. Two million people die each year worldwide from diseases caused by air pollution.

Professor Paulo Saldiva of the Laboratory for Atmospheric Pollution of the University of São Paulo, made a calculation regarding the effects on the economically active population, between 20 and 60 years in the metropolitan region of São Paulo; he arrived at a cost of 1,5 billion USD per year because of problems caused by pollution. While only 10% of the fleet is diesel, the fuel is responsible for 50% of the emissions of fine particles, which forms the black smoke, responsible for deaths and respiratory diseases. According to Paulo Saldiva, pollution causes some 400 deaths per year in the city of São Paulo only.

Petrobras, in its memo, said it is gradually removing the sulphur content of diesel and gasoline since the early 90’s and states that it invested 1,6 billion USD from 2000 to 2007 to improve the quality of fuels.
There is no reason for further postponements, the technology to reduce sulphur content is readily available and public health should be at the top of the list of priorities of the socialistic administration of President Lula.

But there is hope, although we have to wait a long time. Yesterday the Ministry of Environment proposed a plan to reduce the share of sulphur to 10 ppm in 2012. Nice, but various sources are reporting that the proposed resolution will not be imposed before 2017. Nine years from now, just to go from 50 ppm to 10 ppm, a level many a country has reached already nowadays. Nine years more to see Brazil change from a lavish green to a dry savannah.

80801

An irreversible trend - It's the economy, stupid!

2008-09-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

In Brazil energy products derived from sugar cane were responsible for 16% of the total energy supply in 2007, holding the second position in the total of consumed energy, surpassing for the first time hydraulic power, which supplied 14,7% last year, according to preliminary data released in the balance by the Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE), Brazilian’s Energy Research Company. The fossil-oil and derivatives remained in first place as an energy source, with a 36,7% stake.

The energy consumption rose with 13,5 million tonnes and of this more than 70% was from renewable sources. Once again, renewable energy of sugar cane grew most with 41,4%. The share of renewable energy in the matrix of Brazilian energy increased from 44,9% in 2006 to 46,4% in 2007.

The number of vehicles using bio-fuel exceeded five million in April 2008.

According to the chairman of EPE, the domestic consumption of energy, which takes into account any final energy consumption by individuals, companies and processing, grew 5,9%, more than the GDP, which advanced 5,4%. Of that total, according to him, there was an increase of fuel consumption with a 7,3%, against a 5,4% increase of electric energy, compared with 2006.

“For the first time energy supply from cane sugar exceeded hydro electric energy and became the second source of the Brazilian energy matrix, after fossil oil. I believe it is an irreversible trend” the president of EPE stated. At the end of the presentation of the energy balance of 2007 he defended the production of Brazilian ethanol, saying: “In Brazil, we have sufficient soil to increase the production of ethanol without affecting the production of food”, when asked about the criticism that the production of ethanol affects the prices of food in the world market.

Obviously so far so good. Brazil is a world example for renewable (green) energy resources, thanks to President Lula’s cuddling of his darling pet, promoting his fads and fancies with pride and little essential knowledge during all his official international visits with potential buying countries. Stubbornly fighting off his critics as even his Latin American colleagues call him a traitor.

It is a fact, the country’s emergence is partly accelerated by bio-fuels as bio-fuels have become the vanguard of the green-tech revolution. For politicians and corporations the trendy way to go as most of the damage created by bio-fuels is less direct and less obvious.
Indeed only a tiny portion of the Amazônia region is being torn down to grow the sugarcane that fuels most Brazilian cars. The shocking explosion of deforestation is a result a subtle chain reaction: Farmers in the USA are selling one-fifth of their corn to ethanol production, so US soybean farmers are switching to corn, as a result Brazilian soybean farmers are expanding into cattle pastures, so Brazilian cattlemen are displaced to the Amazônia.

Amazônia rain forest pushed back by large areas of soybean fields in the state of Mato Grosso

So far Lula’s ‘green’ positioning on bio-fuels is correct. Sugar growers here have a greener story to tell than do any other bio-fuel producers. They provide 45% of Brazil's fuel (all cars in the country are able to run on ethanol) on only 1% of its arable land. They've reduced fertilizer use while increasing yields and they convert leftover bio-mass into electricity. With the slogan: "Grain is good for bread, not for cars. But sugar is different." their trade group expects production to double by 2015 with little effect on the Amazônia.

So far, they are right. Corn ethanol and soy bio-diesel produce about twice the emissions of gasoline. Sugarcane ethanol is much cleaner, and bio-fuels created from waste products that don't gobble up land have real potential. So, obviously the Amazônia region is safe.

But take a look at the Cerrado, south of the Amazônia region, an ecological jewel in its own right.

Map of the Cerrado eco-region. The limits of the eco-region are marked in yellow.

Photo: NASA

The Amazônia gets the ink, but the Cerrado is the world's most bio-diverse savannah, with 10.000 species of plants, nearly half of which are found nowhere else on earth, and more mammals than the African bush. You can watch toucans and macaws, find puma tracks and admire a carnivorous flower. The Cerrado's trees aren't as tall or dense as the Amazônia ones, so they don't store as much carbon, but the region of some 2 million km2 (50 times the Netherlands) stores its share. Or should we say ‘stored’ its share, as it is transforming by the march of progress - first into pastures, then into sugarcane fields.

Caracteristic vegetation in the Cerrado

But also in another way sugarcane is a shady business. Sugarcane is a typical product from the slave era and that is exactly what it still is.

In 2007, the federal government freed 3.131 “sugar cane” slaves. In the same period the Brazilian Bank for Development released 3,6 billion USD for projects of the sector.

The Cerrado near "The three lakes" - Mato Grosso do Sul

Almost daily there are stories in the news papers about rescue of sugarcane labour (including children) working under - what is now euphemistically called – a “degrading situation”, but in fact is just pure and simple slavery.
But let us just have a look at one:

In March 2008 the papers headlined, after the Ministry of Labour and Employment visited the premises of a company called Brenco (Brazil Renewable Energy Company, note that this Brazilian company has an English name and you will see why):
- Workers of Brenco are living in precarious housing
- Investigating Brenco ends with 17 labourers freed and 140 “slave” contracts terminated

Brenco is commanded by the former president of Petrobras, Brazil’s giant state-owned petroleum company, Henri Phillipe Reischtul.
Brenco has, among its shareholders, the former US President Bill Clinton, James Wolfensohn, former World Bank chairman, Steve Case, former America Online (AOL)-Time Warner, and Vinod Khosla, multimillionaire Indian rooted in the United States who founded the Sun Microsystems. Not by any means the ordinary slave driver you should expect.

But the story does not end here. In August 2008 Brenco reached the headlines of the news papers another time:
The BNDES (Brazilian’s Bank for Development) releases 1,2 billion USD to deploy four units of sugar cane processing in Mato Grosso, Goias and Mato Grosso do Sul (all Cerrado states). In all, the units will install 15 million tonnes of sugar cane grinding capacity per season, producing 1,4 billion litres of alcohol. And the market could sell up to 220 MW of energy through cogeneration. The project has an estimated investment of 1,8 billion USD, with the BNDES entering with 2/3, although, the BNDESPar should get only some 15% to 20% of the shares of the venture. According to the bank, the venture will generate 8.400 jobs and will run a fully mechanized harvesting.

In regard to the “progressive social policy” of a President who was a militant union leader first, do you understand this? No? Neither do I.
But Clinton himself gave us the answer to this apparent contradiction when he was campaigning for US president in 1992: "It's the economy, stupid!"

Note:
For this post I used some text extracts from the article in Time Magazine “The Clean Energy Scam” by Michael Grunwald published March 27, 2008. The story and facts relating to slavery I took from the websites of Leonardo Sakamoto and Repórter Brasil. Both websites are worth visiting, although unfortunately they are only in Portuguese.

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Sorry

2008-09-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I have not updated my websites for the last three months.
This summer season was very hectic and I had to upload my spirits also.
From now on, you can read (and enjoy) my regular posts again.
Anton

Chaiten Volcano in Chile Erupts

2008-05-07T15:23:00.000-07:00

During heavy storms in the middle of the night on May 3, 2008 the Chaiten volcano in Chile erupted, for the first time in what scientists believe to be 9,370 years. The Chaiten volcano, classified as dormant and therefore left with little attention from scientists, is some 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) high and is located about 1,300 km (808 miles) south of Santiago de Chile. The eruption has forced thousands to flee the surrounding area. With storms continuing, the area has been covered in a blanket of ash. Farmers left some 40,000 head of livestock behind, and officials fear that many of them could die.

Tuesday thereafter the Chaiten volcano spewed lava and blasted ash more than 12 miles (20 km) into the sky, prompting a total evacuation of the provincial capital and other settlements. Wind-blown ash travelled hundreds of kilometres as far as Argentina's Chubut province, where town authorities issued health emergencies, closing down schools, airports and main roads, and distributing drinking water to some areas.

President Michelle Bachelet of Chile interrupted a speech to announce that "the volcano is exploding so a total evacuation of the town of Chaiten has been ordered." Later in the day she visited the area.

Rains following the eruption have carpeted surrounding areas in ash and mud. Hardest hit is Chaiten, a small provincial capital of wooden houses and cobblestone streets just 10 km (6 miles) from the volcano in southern Chile.

"There's no historical record on this volcano, so we have no way of knowing if the ash emissions will continue for weeks or even months," Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma told reporters a day after the Chaiten volcano blew its top.

Chile is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world. It sits on the edge of the South American tectonic plate at a point where it forces the neighbouring Nazca plate, which holds the Pacific Ocean basin, into the earth’s mantle. This creates a weak point in the crust, allowing magma to force its way up. Experts believe that magma has been trickling through the crust into a chamber beneath Chaiten, increasing the pressure as more of the liquid rock and gas filled the void.

This week’s eruption was caused by magma forcing its way up through the crust beneath the volcano. Scientists in Chile are now frantically collecting data in an attempt to measure how much magma has built up under the volcano.
Chaiten is a caldera volcano, which can explode in a cataclysmic eruption, emptying the magma chamber and causing the dome and surrounding land to collapse into the void beneath.

Charles Stern, a volcanologist at the University of Colorado-Boulder who studied Chaiten, said the nearby town could end up buried, much like the Roman city of Pompeii following Mount Vesuvius' eruption in 79 A.D. Volcanic material from Chaiten's last eruption measured up to 5 feet.

So far, Chaiten has emitted only a few thousand tons of sulphur dioxide, "which is very small," said Simon Carn, a University of Maryland-Baltimore volcanologist who uses satellites to measure volcanic gases.
“In general, a volcano must spew at least 1 million tons of sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere to have a global effect on climate,” said Alan Robock, a Rutgers University professor. After eruptions of unusual size, sulphur dioxide, converted into sulphuric acid, can form a thin white cloud in the atmosphere that reflects sunlight away from Earth.
But Robock said this volcano is so close to the South Pole that any cooling would likely be limited to the Southern Hemisphere.

As always natural disasters are reason to the most beautiful and spectacular photographs. It is no different here. Enjoy the spectacle without forgetting the human tragedy.

source: Associated Press

if not stated otherwise, photographs with the courtesy of Reuters
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