Global Voices » Brazil

Brazil: Famous Singer Pays Homage to her Iconic Mother

Yohana de Andrade — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:10:46 +0000

Thirty years after the death of Elis Regina, one of the most iconic performers within the Brazilian music scene, her daughter Maria Rita, a successful singer in her own right, took to the stage to sing her mother's songs for the first time in her career. Maria Rita already has a ten year long singing career behind her, selling more than one millon copies of her first album. The ‘Viva Elis’ or ‘Long Live Elis’ tour of free concerts covered the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre, Recife, Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, finishing, symbolically, on May 13, 2012, Mothers' Day. The tour became a trending topic on Twitter [pt] both in Brazil and worldwide.

Elis Regina, known as ‘Pimentinha’ or ‘Little Pepper’ because of her fiery temper, had an intense, powerful stage presence which became her trademark. The singer first became known with the song ‘Arrastão’ which won the prestigious Brazilian Popular Music Festival [pt] in 1965.

Due to her prominence in the Brazilian music scene, following her death Elis left behind many fans who missed her voice. Comparisons between her and her daughter were inevitable when Maria Rita arrived on the scene with a similar sound. However, the daughter chose to make a career outside of her mother's influence, never performing songs that her mother had sung. Until now.

Maria Rita performing in São Paulo, May 5, 2012 by Instagram user @rocharonald, used with permission

Jéssica Rodrigues, from Portal Maria Rita blog, describes [pt] the fervent reaction of the audience in Belo Horizonte on April 8, 2012:

A platéia se divide ao longo do show em participar ativamente, cantando, vibrando e empolgando e em outros momentos, a serem meros espectadores, silenciando para contemplar as obras como sinal de devoção, tamanha a genialidade e emoção.

Throughout the show the audience changes between active participation, singing, humming and swaying and, at other times, silent contemplation during the songs as a mark of devotion. These are very emotional moments.

The shows enabled a meeting of generations through the audience of fans of Elis Regina and Maria Rita. In São Paulo, Maria Rita told the crowd [pt] that she could get to know her mother better through her music, since Rita was only four years old when Elis died. Fans of Maria Rita also got to know Elis' work through her daughter's voice, as twitter user Carla Santos tweeted [pt] to Maria Rita:

Seu objetivo foi alcançado. Hoje na fila aqui em BH [Belo Horizonte], tinha fãs seus,que estão conhecendo melhor sua mãe. Graças a você. Parabéns!

You achieved your goal. Today in the queue at Belo Horizonte were fans of your music who are now getting to know your mother better. Thanks to you. Congratulations!

Fefeu, from the Clube da MPB blog, describes [pt] how the same thing happened in São Paulo:

A diversidade do público presente tornou o ambiente ainda mais bonito e agradável. Fãs de Elis, pertencentes a antigas gerações, os quais tiveram importantes passagens de suas histórias marcadas por canções alegres ou tristes interpretadas por ela, sentiram-se ainda mais emocionados quando Maria Rita entrou em cena explicitando expressões corporais, trejeitos, coreografia e timbre muito próximos aos de sua mãe. Foi como voltar no tempo.

The diversity of the audience made the atmosphere even more beautiful and pleasing. Fans of Elis from older generations who have had important moments of their lives marked by her songs were thrilled when Maria Rita came on stage sounding and looking so much like her mother, even moving and dancing in the same way. It was like stepping back in time.

Photos taken by fans flooded the social networks following the concerts. Twitter user Dudinha Sales [pt] shared an image of the crowd at the concert in Recife:

Crowd at Maria Rita Concert, Recife, April 1, 2012, by Twitter user @mdudasales, used with permission

Carol Mendonça captured [pt] the energy of the concert in São Paulo:

Maria Rita sings Elis in São Paulo, May 5, 2012. Photo by Flickr user Carol Mendonça, used with permission

As well as sending texts and taking photos, fans of Maria Rita and Elis Regina also recorded videos of the tour. A search with the words ‘Maria Rita Elis Regina’ returned dozens of recordings. YouTube user ‘smaila’ posted a video of Maria Rita speaking of her relationship with the songs of Elis Regina.

This post was sub-edited by Jane Ellis.

Brazil: A Comic Book and its Soundtrack

Luis Henrique — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:13:31 +0000

Brazilian blogger Francielle Costa reviews [pt] Achados e Perdidos (Lost and Found), a comic book in which each chapter counts on an original soundtrack produced especially for the story. The project was crowdfunded. Chapter 1, and its soundtrack, is available here [pt].

Brazil: ‘Hands That Cure, Words That Heal'

Paula Góes — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:13:13 +0000

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted]

With their herbs, gestures, prayers and comforting words, the “doctors of the people” are an important element of Brazilian popular culture and religious syncretism. Folk healers are found throughout the country, but play a special role in remote areas, where medical professionals are scarce and allopathic medicine is inaccessible.

In a post called ‘Hands that cure, words that heal', Ricardo Câmara recalls the history of faith healing and highlights the work of benzedeiras (women who pray for and bless the ill), usually a free and voluntary activity that has spread throughout Brazil as an alternative to traditional medicine since the sixteenth century:

Terço e folhas nas mãos, oração na ponta da língua e muita fé em Deus. As benzedeiras e benzedores que surgiram no Brasil com a chegada dos Jesuítas, no século XVI, são figuras presentes na cultura popular até os dias de hoje.
A benzeção, como várias outras práticas religiosas e médicas populares, aflorou-se com intensidade no período Colonial Brasileiro e os fatores que propiciaram o desenvolvimento da prática da benzeção, com certeza, remetem à precariedade da vida material, destacada pela raridade de médicos, de cirurgiões, de produtos farmacêuticos, e ao sincretismo dos povos em geral, que também contribuíram, e muito, para que a prática da benzeção se propagasse ainda mais.

Rosaries and leaves at hand, prayers on the lips and much faith in God. Folk healers, who emerged in Brazil with the arrival of the Jesuits in the sixteenth century, are present in popular culture up to now.
Blessing, like many other popular religious and medical practices, surfaced with intensity in the Brazilian colonial period and the factors leading to the development of the practice refer, of course, to the precariousness of material life, highlighted by the scarcity of doctors, surgeons, pharmaceutical products, and by the syncretism of the population in general, which in turn contributed to spread the practice of blessing even further.

Blessing woman Dona Izabel. Photo by Fredox Carvalho, for Agência de Notícias Cavaleiro de Jorge (used with permission).

The training of folk healers, individuals who according to Maria Luiza Benitez are usually “predestined and born with a special gift of power, talent or knowledge”, requires great dedication:

O estudo do curandeiro difere grandemente dos estudos e práticas da medicina convencional. Não há livros de medicina, nem notas de aprovação. Mas é preciso vencer todos os testes e provações. E é exclusivamente por meio da dor, do sofrimento, da doença e da própria morte que o curador adquire acesso ao universo das realidades extraordinárias. O mundo do além é o terreno onde se pode obter o conhecimento, a experiência, as qualificações e o poder para auxiliar os demais.
O chamado costuma vir em sonhos ou por intermédio de um acidente, doença, injúria sofrida, ameaça de morte eminente, da morte e mesmo morte clínica temporária.

Studying to become a healer differs greatly from the study and practice of conventional medicine. There are no medical books or passing grades, but you have to overcome all tests and trials. Additionally, it is only through pain, suffering, disease, and death itself that the healer gets access to the world of extraordinary realities. The world beyond is the land where you can obtain the knowledge, experience, skills and power to help others.
The call usually comes in dreams or through an accident, illness, injury, suffering, threat of imminent death, even death itself, and temporary clinical death.

Shaman in a Pataxó indigenous tribe in Bahia. Photo by Flickr user Mario Niveo (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Teacher Glauco Ricciele Ribeiro reveals how women become folk healers:

Benzedeiras senhoras de coração puro, servem ao próximo sem interesses ou cobiça. O dom adquirido por elas são passados de geração a geração. Mas em nosso mundo atual, tal prática cada vez mais desaparece e junto dela a fé popular perde suas características. […]
Mas poucos sabem como uma benzedeira inicia seu “sacerdócio”. Tradicionalmente a Sexta-feira Santa é a única data onde se ordena o Dom de ser Benzedeira a uma mulher de bom coração e sem impedimentos. Esta pessoal deve ajudar através das rezas todo tipo de necessitado sem distinção de classe ou credo.

Folk healers are women with pure hearts, who serve others without self-interest or greed. The gift they acquire is passed from generation to generation. But in our world today, such practices are increasingly disappearing and, together with them, the popular faith loses its characteristics. […]
But few people know how a healer began her “ministry”. Traditionally, Good Friday is the only day in which the gift of healing is given to a woman of good heart and without hindrances. Through all kinds of prayers, she ought to help people in need without distinction of class or creed.

The Blessing Culture. Photo from the Etnia Brasil website by Livia Zaruty (CC BY-NC-ND).

Journalism student Angélica Weise disagrees that the art of healing is disappearing:

Elas fazem parte da cultura popular. A maioria é de uma generosidade incrível. Por mais antiga que seja a tradição, as benzedeiras se encontram mais vivas do que nunca. Basta ter vocação e força de vontade. Mesmo com a medicina avançada, muitas pessoas recorrem a elas para os diversos tipos de cura. […]
Para encontrá-las não há endereço. Basta perguntar nas ruas que logo alguém conhece ou já ouviu falar delas. Na maioria são velhas e simples. É olhando para o rosto e contando suas rugas que encontramos a idade delas. Quem acredita em benzedeira, jura que elas fazem milagres.

They are part of popular culture. Most are incredible generous. No matter how old the tradition is, folk healers are more alive than ever. It only takes calling and will. Even with the advancement of medicine, many people turn to folk healers for various types of healing. […]
To find them, you need not to have an address. Just ask in the streets and you will find someone who knows or has heard of them. Most are elderly and humble. It is looking at their faces and counting their wrinkles that we find out their age. Those who believe in spiritual healing, swear that they promote miracle cures.

Conventional doctors are not so convinced of the miraculous power of spiritual healing and are concerned about the practice, considering that “the scientific safety should not be set aside”.

Meanwhile, traditional healers of two cities in the Brazilian state of Paraná, Rebouças and São João do Triunfo, have seen their activity recently recognized by pioneering municipal laws in Brazil. This resulted in a project of Social Mapping of Folk Healers, whose unprecedented legislation was celebrated as a victory by the local network of traditional communities and peoples:

Num processo de continua luta e organização social das benzedeiras articuladas no Movimento Aprendizes da Sabedoria (MASA) em 22/02/2012 o Presidente da Câmara Municipal de São João do Triunfo promulgou a lei municipal nº 1.370/11, a qual reconhece a identidade coletiva das benzedeiras de Triunfo, regulariza o livre acesso as plantas medicinais por parte dos detentores de ofícios tradicionais de cura e propõe a construção de política municipal especifica de acolhimento das práticas tradicionais de cura nos sistema formal de saúde.

After a process of continuous struggle and social organization of folk healers from the Learners of Wisdom Movement (MASA), the president of São João do Triunfo's City Council passed City Ordinance No. 1,370/11 on on February 22, 2012, a law which recognises the collective identity of the folk healers of Triunfo, regulates free access to medicinal plants by the holders of traditional healing craft, and proposes the elaboration of municipal policy specifically to bring traditional healing practices in the formal health system.

City ordinance recognises the work of folk healers of Triunfo. Photo by Rede Puxirão de Povos e Comunidades Tradicionais published by Flickr user Cultura Viva (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Regardless of whether the cures are a reality or the result of a placebo effect, the act of healing through non-traditional means is considered an intangible heritage of Brazilian culture by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) [en], which belongs to the federal government of Brazil as part of the Ministry of Culture.

In addition to bringing spiritual comfort, folk healers inspire artists, like the writer Sinval Santos da Silveira, who tells us the story and secret of a woman who lived in a very humble house, with no electricity or running water:

Mulher de idade avançada, magrinha, mal alimentada,
e de um coração cheio de bondade…
Sobre uma pequena mesa, a imagem da Santa, em
quem deposita sua fé e a sua vida.
Benze, em nome da Santinha, curando torcicolo, arca
caida, dor de dente, dor nas costas, dor de olhos, de
garganta, de cabeça, mal olhado, inveja, etc.
Seus pacientes ou clientes, pelo trabalho milagroso,
nada pagam, nada devem.
O prazer de poder ajudar alguém, que lhe procura,
está acima de qualquer outro valor.
Só agora entendo, que o poder de cura daquela mulher,
sempre residiu numa única coisa, que tinha em excesso,
em sua humilde casinha: muito amor…

Elderly, skinny, malnourished woman,
whose heart was full of goodness…
On a small table, there is an image of the Saint in
whose care she places her faith and life.
She blesses, on behalf of the sweet Saint, healing stiff neck,
lumbago, toothache, backache, sore eyes and throat,
headache, evil eye, envy, so on.
Her patients or clients pay nothing, nothing owed
for the miraculous work.
The pleasure of helping someone who looks for her
is valuable above anything else.
Only now I understand that the healing power of that woman
was always based on the only one thing that her humble house
had in excess: lots of love…

Brazil: Street Dwellers Share Their Voice on Newspaper

João Miguel D. de A. Lima — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:17:34 +0000

A Laje newspaper features complaints and stories of “street dwellers demanding respect” in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Produced by the National Movement of Street Dwellers (MNPR) in partnership with students of the group Communication and Education for People at the Federal University of Paraná, the newspaper intends to reach readers also on the blogosphere [pt] and on Facebook [pt].

Brazil: Homeless Movement in Belo Horizonte Surrounded by Police

Sara Moreira — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:21:26 +0000

“Ocupação Eliana Silva” [pt], a camping site of around 300 families in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which had been occupied mostly by homeless workers [pt] on April 21, in protest against lack of housing conditions, was sieged by the military police today, May 11. Journalist Adriano Ventura (@adrianoventura) is tweeting photos that illustrate the tension between the population and the police.

Bolivia: Development at What Cost? New Conflict Over TIPNIS Road

Pablo Andres Rivero — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:01:39 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage International Relations & Security.

A proposed road project in Bolivia that plans to cross right through the middle of Indigenous Territory and National Park Isiboro Sécure (TIPNIS for its initials in Spanish) is once again generating conflict and protest. Indigenous organizations, TIPNIS inhabitants and their supporters began a new long march on April 27, 2012, from Trinidad to La Paz demanding an end to the road project.

Plans for the 306 kilometer road are the result of an $415 million agreement [es] signed by the Presidents of Bolivia and Brazil in August 2009. The Brazilian company OAS was initially awarded a turnkey contract [es] to build the road in 40 months with financing from the Brazilian National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES).

TIPNIS march arrives in La Paz in October 2011. By Szymon Kochański on flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

In October 2011, after a large march of indigenous peoples and protestors arrived in La Paz, President Evo Morales passed a bill declaring the TIPNIS “intangible” or “untouchable”, which was understood by environmental campaigners and indigenous organizations as the final word on the issue.

However, in February 2012, Bolivia's government gathered pro-road supporters and supported a different march that proposed a new law calling for “prior consultation” that would allow indigenous peoples a greater say. Indigenous inhabitants of the TIPNIS - supported by the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia (CIDOB) claim that such constitutional mechanisms should have been conducted before any agreement or contract was signed.

Morales eventually announced the cancellation of the contract for the road with the Brazilian company OAS at the beginning of April, but protestors still reject the terms and conditions of the proposed consultation.

A large number of indigenous organizations and citizens acknowledge that Evo Morales - an indigenous and coca grower's leader himself - has improved their situation. Still, indigenous organizations emphasize that their protest is about their right to be consulted [es] before policies concerning their territories are implemented.

This video shows interviews with indigenous TIPNIS residents and their views on the road project.

The environmental impact of the road is another issue sparking protests [es], particularly among Bolivia’s urban and middle classes.

Nevertheless, Bolivia's government insists on the benefits of a road that would link the central zone of the country, beginning from where most illegal coca is produced and where Evo Morales garners grassroots support. Coca-grower organizations are openly supporting the road as it may provide opportunities to expand production into the TIPNIS National Park. Inevitably, this generates further suspicion among environmentalists, international organizations and public opinion.

Debates also continue on social media platforms, particularly on Twitter (under the hashtag #TIPNIS). One of the questions simply asks “are you in favor or against the road #TIPNIS?”

Among the replies was:

“I think the country must be integrated, if [it] is…best to go through the TIPNIS, so be it, the road should go through where is the best for Bolivia.”

Criticisms are also leveled at the relationship between the road project and the Brazilian-supported Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA), a development plan to link South America's economies through new energy, transportation and telecommunication projects.

According to researcher Gustavo Soto's post on the CEADESC [es] blog:

The 2010-2015 MAS (Evo Morales' political party) program aligns the Bolivian economy to the emerging global capitalist interests of the 21st Century… expressed in mega-energy… road and extractive projects mostly encapsulated in the IIRSA II that inevitably lead to the violation of indigenous rights.

This post and its translations to Spanish, Arabic and French were commissioned by International Security Network (ISN) as part of a partnership to seek out citizen voices on international relations and security issues worldwide.

Visit the ISN blog and see more related stories.

Brazil: Blog Countersues Newspaper Over Web Domain

Sara Moreira — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:58:52 +0000

Another chapter in the legal dispute between the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo and the satirical blog Falha of São Paulo is being written. However, this time Falha is the one who decided to file a lawsuit against the newspaper.

Towards the end of September 2010, Falha's website was taken down after an injunction was issued by the Brazilian courts. The site's main purpose was to satirize the newspaper Folha de São Paulo, and in order to do so it used photo-montages of false, often ironic newspaper headlines [pt] and a “generator of headlines” with the layout of Folha de Sao Paulo. Folha took the matter to court, seeking an injunction as well as claiming financial compensation for moral damages.

The first lawsuit, which resulted in a “tie” in September 2011, was, in the opinion [pt] of the journalist Rodrigo Vianna “a lesson [from the judge] on what is freedom of expression.”

Lino Bocchini protesting in front of Folha de São Paulo

Falha de São Paulo is now seeking the unfreezing of its domain, falhadespaulo.com.br, which had been frozen by the court, through a second injunction against Registro.br (the Brazilian agency that manages all domains ending in. br). Journalist Lino Bocchini, the creator of Falha, announced in late March 2012, that he was going to go ahead with a new lawsuit. He explained why he was doing so:

Terminou com uma espécie de empate a disputa jurídica em primeira instância entre Folha e Falha, e agora está começando a segunda. Já protocolamos nosso recurso junto ao Tribunal de Justiça (TJ-SP) pedindo a derrubada da censura da Folha à Falha e a volta do domínio www.falhadespaulo.com.br. A sentença do juiz da 29ª Vara Cível de São Paulo informa que o juiz acolheu “parcialmente” o pedido da Folha, determinando o “congelamento” do domínio “falhadespaulo.com.br”, mas rejeitou todo o resto.

The legal dispute in a first instance between Folha and Falha has ended with a sort of tie, and now the second round is starting. We have filed our appeal [pdf] to the Court of Justice (TJ-SP) seeking the overturning of the censorship of Folha towards Falha and the return of the domain www.falhadespaulo.com.br. The judge's ruling [pdf] of the 29th Civil Court of Sao Paulo reports that the judge had “partially” granted Folha's request, causing the “freezing” of the domain “falhadespaulo.com.br”, but rejected all the rest.

Given that the registering of even other similar domains have been prevented, it is through the alternative domain “Desculpe a nossa Falha” (Sorry our fault) that the Bocchini brothers are giving publicity to their cause, raising support and, where possible, picking on [pt] the newspaper using humor, as is characteristic of the pair.

According to Bocchini brothers, the website Folha Gospel is one of the sites that uses a similar logo clearly inspired on Folha de São Paulo

While the authors of Falha allege political persecution by Folha (with the intention to silence the direct critics of their editorial policy), Folha on the other hand, says that the problem is the misuse of their brand. In order to sustain its defense, Falha has published a series of “evidence” [pt] from websites that use similar logos from Folha (or other Brazilian online platforms) and which haven't been sued.

Journalist Lúcia Rodrigues, da from Rede Brasil Atual, briefly explains [pt] the case:

O jornalista Lino Ito Bocchini trava uma batalha judicial com a Folha de São Paulo para ter o direito de manter o domínio sobre o site Falha de São Paulo, criado por ele e seu irmão, Mario Ito Bocchini. O site é uma paródia ao jornal da família Frias e foi censurado pela justiça, a pedido da Folha, no final de 2010. Na última quinta-feira, 5, Lino organizou um debate que discutiu o papel da Folha no financiamento do golpe militar e da tortura durante a ditadura [vídeo e resumo do debate “Relações da mídia com a ditadura“]. A expectativa é que a ação contra a Folha seja julgada este ano pelos desembargadores do Tribunal de Justiça de São Paulo.

The journalist Lino Ito Bocchini is waging a legal battle with Folha de Sao Paulo to have the right to hold the domain of the site Falha de São Paulo, created by him and his brother Mario Ito Bocchini. The site is a parody of the Frias family newspaper and was censured by the justice, at the request of Folha by the end of 2010. On last Thursday, the 5 [of April], Lino organized a debate that discussed the role of Folha in funding the military coup and torture during the dictatorship [video summary of the debate “Media Relations with the Dictatorship“]. The expectation is that the suit against Folha will be taken to court this year by the judges of the Court of São Paulo.

Folha's vehicle that used to be lent to the regime, was burned by left wing demonstrators

The case is one of a kind, and it may put a mark on freedom of expression in Brazilian blogsphere, as Leopoldo Loureiro and Luís Borrelli Neto, the lawyers of Falha, stated [pt].

While making the announcement of the “second round” of the legal dispute, Bocchini brothers declared [pt]:

Enfim, é sempre bom lembrar, estamos falando de uma briga um tanto desigual. De um lado são dois irmãos “avulsos”, independentes, sendo defendidos “pro-bono” (pagando apenas as custas do processo) por advogados bacanas identificados com a causa –aliás, estamos de advogado novo nessa segunda fase. Do outro está o maior jornal do país, com um gigantesco escritório de advocacia fungando nas nossas costas. O que ajuda a equilibrar o jogo é o apoio gigantesco que estamos recebendo de toda blogosfera, que entendeu que esse caso, por seu absurdo e pelo seu ineditismo, é de interesse coletivo. E não dá pra deixar barato o maior jornal do país, que vive pregando liberdade de expressão e democracia, promovendo uma censura dessas contra dois blogueiros.

Anyway, it's always good to remember we're talking about a fight somewhat uneven. On one side are two “loose” independent brothers, who are been advocated “pro bono” (paying only the costs of the proceedings) by cool lawyers who identify themselves with the cause-in fact, we have a new lawyer in this second phase. On the other [side] is the largest newspaper of the country with a huge law firm sniffing down our back. What helps balance the game is the massive support we are receiving from across the blogosphere, who understood that this case, for its absurdity and its uniqueness, is of collective interest. And you can not just ignore the country's largest newspaper, who lives preaching freedom of expression and democracy, promoting a censorship like this against two bloggers.

All images were taken from the blog Desculpe Nossa Falha and are being used with permission.

Brazil Approves Racial Quotas in Higher Education

Debora Baldelli — Sat, 05 May 2012 14:21:55 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted]

On April 26, 2012, in a plenary session of the Supreme Court of Brazil, the adoption of racial quota policies in higher education institutions across the country was unanimously approved. With this approval, universities, colleges and educational institutions are legally allowed to devote a specific percentage of places for students of African and/or indigenous origin.

The approval of the policy brings up again the controversial debate [en] on racial discrimination and racial inequality in the country, promoting important reflections and divided opinions.

Commemoration of the judgment of the Supreme Court on affirmative action. Photo of Emily Silberstein (CC BY 2.0).

The measure is a reflection of affirmative action policies being constitutional in the country since democratization in 1988. Diana Costa, on her blog, says that the “discriminatory process [that] affects people negatively are marked by stereotypes that consolidate them as socially inferior, incapable, degenerated, etc., allocating them in situations of sub-citizenship and civil risk.”

She also explains what affirmative actions are:

É um conjunto de políticas que compreendem que, na prática, as pessoas não são tratadas igualmente e, consequentemente, não possuem as mesmas oportunidades, o que impede o acesso destas a locais de produção de conhecimento e de negociação de poder.

It is a set of policies that, in practice, say that people are not treated equally and therefore do not have the same opportunities, preventing them the access to the production of knowledge and power of negotiation.

The blog Religiões Afro Brasileiras e Política (Afro Brazilian Religions and Policy) says that the result of affirmative action policies in the country through the quota system has already shown results of “a notorious growth in the proportion of graduated blacks and pardos [approximate translation: brown, coloured]”, between 1999-2009, according to IBGE data (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).

The University of Brasilia (UNB) was the first educational institution to adopt the measure when, in 2004, it started reserving 20% of its university places exclusively for blacks, and some other amount for Indians, without the entry requirement of taking the regular university exam. The Democrats Political Party (DEM) started a lawsuit against UNB in 2009 for considering the racial quota system a kind of racial court (to judge people's race by the colour of their skin). But since UNB adopted the measure, several other higher education institutions also started adopting the quota system.

To make the search process easier, the NGO Educafro provides on its website a complete list of institutions offering quotas for public school students, black students, indigenous students or students with disabilities.

#CotasSim vs. #CotasNao (#YesQuotas vs. #NoQuotas)

Many people celebrated the unanimous approval of the adoption of the quota policy. During the vote, the Supreme Court ministers themselves were very positive about the decision. According to Minister Joaquim Barbosa, the only black among those who voted, “these measures are intended not only to combat manifestations of blatant discrimination, but discrimination in fact, that is absolutely rooted in society, and so ingrained, people do not perceive it”, reported G1.

Photo #YesQuotas from @PriscilaPila on Twitter.

Journalist and teacher Jeso Carneiro also celebrated the decision. In his blog, he said that:

O STF (…) honrou sua importante missão de defender a supremacia da Constituição. A decisão da corte máxima do país é uma vitória de toda a sociedade brasileira, especialmente do movimento negro, que, desde a década de 1980, vem defendendo com firmeza a aplicação de ações afirmativas para combater o racismo e a exclusão social dos negros neste país.

The Supreme Court (…) honored its important mission of defending the supremacy of the Constitution. The top court's decision is a victory for the Brazilian society, especially the black movement, that since the 1980s, has advocated strongly in the use of affirmative action to combat racism and social exclusion of blacks in this country.

On Twitter, through the hashtag #CotasSim, statements of support were intense.

Musician Sany Pitbull (‏@SanyPitbull) wrote:

A elite Branca brasileira tem uma divida à ser paga aos negros, aos pobres, aos índios e aos nordestinos desse país #cotassim

The Brazilian white elite has a debt to pay to black people, the poor, the Indians and northeastern in this country #yesquotas

Blogger and historian Conceição Oliveira ‏ (@maria_fro) added:

Cotas não inventa a racialização bando de hipócritas, a racialização já existe em um país racista que segrega jovens negros #CotasSim

The quotas did not invent racism [you] bunch of hypocrites, the racism already exists in a racist country that segregates young blacks #YesQuotas

However, not everyone agrees with the decision of the Supreme Court. Videoblogger Daniel Fraga argues in this video that in a country such as Brazil, where racial mixing is very high, it would be difficult to correctly define who really is black or white. This decision would be made based on a “visual criteria,” and mentions UNB's case of two twin brothers, one considered white and the other black, the latter gaining a quota place at the university.

Others argue that the quotas would only be an easy way out for the poor public primary and secondary education system, a claim refuted in an article published by the Federal University of Minas Gerais, which says that “it is a big mistake to think that in the field of democratic public policies, advances are produced by sequential steps: first, improve basic education, and then democratize the university. Both challenges are urgent and need to be taken emphatically and simultaneously.”

The approval also generated racist statements. On April 29, a shop in front of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) had a wall spray-painted with the words: “UFMG will turn black.”

Blog Brasil Escola explains the importance of a better understanding of racism in Brazil for understanding affirmative action policies in the country:

(…) a miscigenação não exclui os preconceitos. Nossa última constituição coloca a discriminação racial como um crime inafiançável. Entre nossas discussões proferimos, ao mesmo tempo, horror ao racismo e admitimos publicamente que o Brasil é um país racista. Tal contradição indica que nosso racismo é velado e, nem por isso, pulsante. Queremos ter um discurso sobre o negro, mas não vemos a urgência de algum tipo de mobilização a favor da resolução desse problema. Ultimamente, os sistemas de cotas e a criação de um ministério voltado para essa única questão demonstram o tamanho do nosso problema. Ainda aceitamos distinguir o negro do moreno, em uma aquarela de tons onde o último ocupa uma situação melhor que a do primeiro. Desta maneira, criamos a estranha situação onde “todos os outros podem ser racistas, menos eu… é claro!”. Isso nos indica que o alcance da democracia é um assunto tão difícil e complexo como a nossa relação com o negro no Brasil.

(…) racial mixing does not exclude prejudice. Our Constitution places racial discrimination as a non-bailable crime. From our discussions, we utter, at the same time, a horror of racism and admit publicly that Brazil is a racist country. This contradiction shows that our racism is veiled and, nevertheless, pulsating. We want to make a speech about the black, but do not see the urgency of some kind of mobilization for the resolution of this problem. Lately, quota systems and the creation of a single ministry to this issue shows the size of our problem. We still accept distinguish the black from the moreno [brown], in a scale of watercolour tones where the latter occupies a better situation than the prior one. Thus, we created the odd situation where “all others can be racist, except me, of course…”. This tells us that the scope of democracy is a subject as difficult and complex as our relationship with black people in Brazil.

The discussion will continue in the coming weeks since, besides this action, the Supreme Court is yet to decide the constitutionality of racial quotas when applied to a student who attended public school. It is worth noting that quotas are not mandatory - every educational institution may choose to adopt the policy or not. The University of São Paulo (USP), the largest higher education institution in Brazil, for example, does not use it.

This post is part of our special coverage Indigenous Rights.

This article was written in collaboration with Debora Baldelli.

Brazil: Blogging Carnival on the New Forestry Code

Sara Moreira — Fri, 04 May 2012 14:48:20 +0000

Global Voices in Portuguese launched today, May 4, a blogging carnival [pt] about the new Forestry Code, recently approved by the Brazilian Senate. While some claim that agribusiness is hindered by the existing Code and Brazil is missing out on opportunities for economic development, environmental activists demand for a “zero deforestation” bill.

Brazil: Activists Protest in Memory of Military Dictatorship

Melissa Mann — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:42:03 +0000

Earlier this month, a number of cities throughout the country held both real and virtual events to remember Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985).

Brazil's president recently sanctioned the law to create a Truth Committee to oversee the opening of the dictatorship's secret files (reported by Global Voices in March 2011), to reveal the location of the bodies of dozens of political prisoners and guerilla fighters and to shed light on the country's somber past.

"Impunity" - a Twitpic cartoon by Carlos Latuff

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS) recently pressured Brazil to revise the country's Amnesty Law, a law instated by the then military regime to provide amnesty for its various crimes, such as torture, kidnapping, concealing bodies and murdering opponents.

Amidst the polemics involved in reviewing the Amnesty Law and the Truth Committee, activists decided to hold protests and to voice opinions on the need to punish the Dictatorship's criminals and to fully open the still classified files.

Protest in Rio and the Cordão da Mentira (Fool's Block)

Projection of the image of reporter Vladimir Herzog, killed by the Dictatorship in 1975, on the façade of the Military Club. Photo by Moana Maywall during protests organized by Beatriz Seigner, Moana Mayall, Thiago Dezan, Luis Felipe and the group Fora do Eixo. Photo reprinted with permission.

On March 29, a group of at least 300 protesters gathered in front of the Military Club in downtown Rio de Janeiro where a group of reserve soldiers and wistful politicians from the so-called Lead Years had also gathered to “commemorate” the military coup of 1964. The actual date of the coup was April 1 of that year, but soldiers and officers have attempted to rewrite history on account of the actual date's corresponding to April Fool's Day.

Cartoonish Carlos Latuff posted a video evidencing police violence against the protestors, siding with the soldiers and officers who defended the military's decades of torture and assassinations. He writes [pt]:

A polícia militar, como de costume, fez farta distribuição de gás lacrimogêneo, spray de pimenta e muita truculência. Ex-militares como o tenente-coronel Lício Maciel, que participou de operações no Araguaia, e o general Nilton Cerqueira, responsável pela execução de Carlos Lamarca, foram escorraçados pelos manifestantes

As is custom, the military police made extensive use of tear gas, pepper spray and brutality. Former soldiers, such as Lieutenant Coronel Lício Maciel, who had participated in operations in Araguaia, and General Nilton Cerqueira, responsible for the execution of Carlos Lamarca, were driven away by the protestors.

The youth who protested were beaten and wounded [pt] by the police, and many are receiving death threats [pt] from soldiers and officers, as exposed by Felipe Garcez in a post reproduced [pt] in the magazine Vírus Planetário, on Facebook.

On April 1, nearly 400 citizens protested [pt] the commemoration of the coup:

O Cordão da Mentira vem por meio desta repudiar o evento de celebração do golpe militar de 1964, realizado no Círculo Militar do RJ, e a ação violenta da Polícia Militar do RJ contra os manifestantes no dia 29/3/12. O Cordão classifica tais acontecimentos como, no mínimo, lamentáveis.

The Cordão da Mentira hereby renounces the celebration of the military coup of 1964, held at the Círculo Militar do RJ, and the violent actions of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro against protestors on March 29, 2012. The Cordão considers these occurrences lamentable, to say the least.

In his blog, Professor Chico Bicudo summarizes [pt] the motives of the protest:

Comemorar o golpe e a ditadura militar significa também comemorar a censura, as prisões, os assassinatos, os desaparecimentos, a tortura, a barbárie.

To commemorate the military dictatorship also means to celebrate censorship, prisons, assassinations, disappearances, torture and barbarity.

Photo of the protest. In the forefront are the Mothers of May, who headed the parade. Photo by the author. Unrestricted use.

The protest lasted throughout Sunday afternoon and referenced a number of symbols and landmarks related to the military dictatorship, as professor Pádua Fernandes explains [pt] in his blog:

A multidão desceu a Rua da Consolação, entrou na Maria Antônia, onde foi feita uma homenagem ao estudante José Guimarães, morto pelo CCC (Comando de Caça aos Comunistas) em 1968; desceu até a imagem da Nossa Senhora que a TFP [Tradição, Família e Propriedade, grupo de extrema-direita católico e base ideológica para o golpe - Nota GV] preserva na Rua Martim Francisco. Em seguida, na Rua Fortunato, outra homenagem, ao militante da ALN Marco Antonio Braz (…).
Depois de parar na frente de um jornal paulista [Folha de São Paulo - Nota GV], (…), a multidão seguiu e chegou ao prédio do antigo DOPS, hoje Estação Pinacoteca (que abriga o Memorial da Resistência), quase às dezoito horas.

The protestors headed down Rua da Consolação and turned onto Maria Antônia, where homage was paid to student José Guimarães, who had been killed by the Communist Hunting Commando (CCC in Portuguese) in 1968; the protest then proceeded to Rua Martim Francisco, to the image of Our Lady maintained by the group Tradition, Family and Property (TFP in Portuguese) - an extremely right-wing Catholic group and the ideological basis for the coup. Following that, the protesters headed to Rua Fortunato to pay homage to ALM militant Marco Antonio Braz. Farther along, the group stopped in front of the offices of a major São Paulo newspaper (Folha de São Paulo) and later on, at nearly 6:00 p.m., in front of the offices of the former Department of Social and Political Order (DOPS in Portuguese), now the Pinacoteca Museum (which houses the Memorial to the Resistance).

Exposé

On March 26, a group consisting of militants from a variety of social movements and collectively called the Popular Youth Insurrection [pt] held a protest in a number of cities throughout Brazil [pt] against former military officers associated with torture, disappearances and assassinations during Brazil's Military Dictatorship. The goals of the movement is to reveal the addresses of these former officers and soldiers now accused of crimes against humanity and who remain unpunished on account of the Amnesty Law.

Reporter and blogger Rodrigo Vianna accompanied [pt] the protest in São Paulo in front of the company owned by Davi dos Santos Araújo, known as “Captain Lisbon”:

Photo of protests in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Unrestricted use.

Davi, na verdade, nunca foi capitão. Era delegado de polícia, trabalhou no DOI-CODI em São Paulo e é acusado de torturas, assassinatos e abusos sexuais durante a ditadura.

Actually, Davi was never a captain. He was a ranking officer who worked in the Department of Information Operations - Center for Internal Defense Operations [DOI-CODI in Portuguese] in São Paulo and who has been accused of engaging in torture, assassinations and sexual abuse during the Dictatorship.

Saturday, April 7 is officially Coroners Day, and the home of coroner and former director of the Coronial Institute, Harry Shibata, in São Paulo's Vila Madalena neighborhood was chosen as the gathering place for a protest attended by nearly 100 people. Blogger and professor Leonardo Sakamoto explains [pt]:

Ele é acusado de ser responsável por falsos atestados de óbito usados para acobertar assassinatos de opositores pela ditadura militar, ignorando marcas deixadas por sessões de tortura e produzindo laudos de acordo com as necessidades dos militares.

He has been accused of being responsible for having falsified death certificates to cover up the military dictatorship's assassination of opponents, having ignored the physical marks of torture sessions and having produced medical reports to meet the dubious needs of the Dictatorship's soldiers and military officers.

Graffiti and protests in front of Shibata's house. Photo by Leonardo Sakamoto. Unrestricted use.

Posters were also put up [pt] throughout the region renouncing the coroner for the atrocities he committed. Members of the Popular Insurrection have been threatened, and a petition has been going around [pt] as a show of solidarity with the movement. Hundreds of people have also posted photos on a number of social networks [pt] with posters and banners in support of the movement.

A video recorded by the alternative newspaper Brasil de Fato:

Concurrently, the blogosphere and Twittersphere saw the 5th collective blogging - #DesarquivandoBR (OpeningTheBrazilianFiles) [pt], with a total of 52 posts by different bloggers. “The main theme [of the blogs] was outrage against the torture, disappearances and impunity,” which lead to the rash of tweets marked with the hashtag #desarquivandoBR (OpeningTheBrazilianFiles) on the evening of March 31 and April 1.

Accused of Molesting Children, Iranian Diplomat Leaves Brazil

Fred Petrossian — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:53:37 +0000

An Iranian diplomat based in the capital of Brazil, Brasilia, was accused of molesting underage girls at a swimming pool on April 14, 2012. The Iranian official was questioned by police following complaints from parents, and was eventually released after invoking diplomatic immunity. While Iran's embassy denied the allegations, and said they were the result of a “cultural misunderstanding”, netizens both from Iran and Brazil didn't take long to react.

According to a video report [pt] on Brazilian TV, witnesses said that the diplomat had been pretending to swim around the pool in a “duck-diving” manner. While underwater he allegedly fondled four girls between the ages of nine and fifteen, police said. Some of the girls began screaming and their parents confronted the man. After being questioned by police, the diplomat left the country.

Screenshot from a Brazilian TV report.

Iranians were astonished to hear the news and criticized the Islamic regime for imposing a strict gender separation in the country, while diplomats of the country enjoy swimming in a mixed swimming pool. They also ridiculed the excuse of “cultural misunderstanding”.

Azarakan writes with irony about “cultural misunderstanidng” and says [fa]:

I think the islamic republic is right about cultural difference because this regime has raped its own people for many years without shame… have you heard that one of the Islamic regime's representatives was caught for his dirty activities? Can the regime escape the pressure of international public opinion this time?

In Brazil reactions came up on Twitter. Magalhães A.S, questioned [pt]:

@tovaga: Justiça e grande justiça, para que servem? É justo que o diplomata iraniano com “imunidade diplomática” abuse de crianças do DF? Só no Irã

@tovaga: Justice and great justice, what for? Is it fair that the Iranian diplomat with “diplomatic immunity” abuses children in DF [Federal District]? Only in Iran

"Grandfather says how many times I told you not to swim in this pool, there is a diplomat here". Cartoon by Mana Neyestani in Mardomak (used with permission)

Conservative journalist Reinaldo Azevedo, on his blog, also critized [pt] the allegation of “cultural differences” in the note from the Embassy - wondering how such an incident would be solved in Iran - and added:

É muito atrevimento a embaixada de um país que vive sob uma ditadura religiosa, que trata a divergência na base da bala e do porrete, que discrimina as mulheres, que as condena ainda ao apedrejamento, criticar a imprensa de um país livre.

It is very bold for an embassy of a country living under religious dictatorship, which responds to divergence with bullets and sticks, that discriminates against women, that condemns them to being stoned, criticizes the press in a free country.

From Iran, Jomhouriat writes [fa]:

The Brazil scandal displays the fall of the Iranian regime's morality. This disaster is just a window for the world to learn about behaviour of representatives of the regime… in our prisons there are many cases of torture and rape.

This post was co-authored by Sara Moreira

Brazil: Journalist and Blogger Executed in São Luís, Maranhão

Raphael Tsavkko Garcia — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:40:45 +0000

[All external links in Portuguese except when otherwise stated]

On Monday night, April 23, 2012, Brazilian journalist and blogger Décio Sá was executed by at least two shots to his head inside a bar in one of the most crowded parts of the city of São Luis, in the northeastern state of Maranhão. Blogger Candido Cunha explains:

Segundo testemunhas, ele estava sentado quando um homem caminhando apontou uma arma e atirou duas vezes contra a cabeça do jornalista, que morreu na hora. Depois, o matador saiu caminhando e fugiu.

Witnesses said he was sitting when a man walking pointed a gun and shot twice against the head of the journalist, who died instantly. Then the killer walked away and fled.

Print of Décio's personal blog, with his last post

And adds:

Décio Sá era repórter do jornal O Estado do Maranhão. No seu blog pessoal, colecionava milhares de acessos e algumas polêmicas pelo estilo crítico dos seus textos e dos assuntos que explorava. Ele dedicava o trabalho a cobrir a política do Maranhão e seu blog era o mais acessado no estado.

Décio Sá was a reporter for the newspaper O Estado do Maranhão. In his personal blog, he collected thousands of hits and some polemics by the critical style of his texts and subjects explored. He dedicated his work to cover the policy of Maranhão and his blog was the most accessed in the state.

Sources differ, some say he was shot twice, other that he was shot three times and also up to six shots, four in the head and two in the back.

He was at the Avenida Litorânea (Coastal Highway), one of the most important and crowded arteries in the city of São Luis, which is described by blogger and journalist Rogério Tomaz Jr, on Twitter:

@rogeriotomazjr: Litorânea é um dos principais espaços de lazer de São Luís. (em tese) Há viaturas da polícia circulando o tempo todo! Execução lá é surreal!

@rogeriotomazjr: Litorânea [Avenue] is a major leisure facilitie in São Luís. (in theory) There are police cars circling the whole time! An execution there is surreal!

The execution itself, in a crowded place, with clear political content, is worrying enough says the police officer Caetano Pacheco. However, online debate also addressed Décio Sá's ties with the Sarney family, which has ruled the state for decades: José Sarney [en], head of the family is currently the president of the Senate, in Brasília, and his daughter, Roseana Sarney [en], is the governor of Maranhão.

Twitter user Arthur Santos from São Luis, recalls:

@arthurxside: nesse ponto é importante lembrar que Décio Sá era profundamente ligado à família Sarney.

@arthurxside: At this point is important to remember that Décio Sá was deeply attached to the Sarney family.

Though he believes it is unlikely that the Sarneys would have been connected to Décio Sá's death, he developed an alternative theory and posted it on Twitter.

Décio worked for O Estado newspaper of the Mirante Group - a communication network owned by Sarney family encompassing radio and TV stations affiliated with Globo Network [en]. He blogged on the Blog do Décio and constantly attacked powerful political figures in his state.

Rogério Tomaz Jr adds:

@rogeriotomazjr: Crime organizado do Maranhão, que deve a Sarney sua perpetuação há décadas, faz mais uma vítima. Desta vez, um jornalista.

@rogeriotomazjr: Organized crime in Maranhao, which owes its perpetuation to Sarney for decades, has another victim. This time, a journalist.

Historian from Maranhão, Wagner Cabral (@wagner_cabral), says that “violence and murder against rural workers is a commonplace in Maranhão… As is the violation of human rights” and adds:

@wagner_cabral: Agora a violência alcança novo patamar quando blogueiro ligado à oligarquia é assassinado na capital… a sensibilidade da sociedade explode

@wagner_cabral: Now the violence has reached new heights when a blogger linked to the oligarchy is murdered in the capital … the sensitivity of society explodes

Journalist Ricardo Noblat posted on Twitter and on his blog a picture of Decio's body just after the execution, and the same was done by the Mirante group, who posted a picture of his body on its homepage. The initiatives to link or put the picture of the journalist's body on the homepage of a site/blog were heavily criticized on the Internet.

Journalist Rogério Tomaz Jr challenged Noblat to “list ONE convincing argument to justify posting photos of corpses of people executed on his blog” and asked Décio's family to sue him.

According to Noblat's Twitter account, the gun used for the execution was .40 caliber, for the exclusive use of the police.

International NGO Reporters Without Borders, puts Brazil in 99th position in the ranking of press freedom

Brazil: Passer by Injured and Arrested by Police in Demonstration

Raphael Tsavkko Garcia — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:03:34 +0000

Brazilian blogger Conceição Oliveira reproduces [pt] a Facebook note [pt] from Pedro Urizzi (an actor from São Paulo), who denounces that he was injured and arrested by the Military Police when he was passing by a demonstration against corruption on April 21, 2012, on his way for dinner. The detention came after he made a call for caution, when he noticed there were children near an armed policeman.

Brazil: Aquarium Project Sparks Transparency Debate

João Miguel D. de A. Lima — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:25:23 +0000

In Fortaleza, the fifth largest city in Brazil, the recent start of construction on an aquarium has prompted discussions over public resources, state government priorities and the city's future, as well as some creative forms of protest.

Estimated to cost 250 million Brazilian reais (approximately 136 million US dollars), the project promises to become the world's third biggest aquarium. On January 30, 2012, the State of Ceará tourism secretary shared a preview of what Acquario Ceará will offer to the public once concluded:

As promising as the project might seem, its high cost has been subject to criticism, mainly by citizens who believe the budget should be deployed in the areas of education, security, and health, in which the state of Ceará features several deficiencies.

Harboring similar doubts about the project, artist Enrico Rocha published a photo [pt] on Facebook on February 5, 2012 of the planned construction site, ready for construction, and subsequently triggered a debate which extended to 150 comments.

"As long as the Acquario remains a model, there will be time". Illustration by Yuri Leonardo, used with permission.

Ten days after Enrico Rocha's photograph, the Facebook page for the movement opposing the aquarium, Quem dera ser um peixe (I wish I were a fish) [pt], was created. The group is named in reference to the song Borbulhas de amor [pt], by Ceará-born singer and composer Fagner, whose verses “Quem dera ser um peixe/Para em teu límpido/Aquário mergulhar” (I wish I were a fish/To dive in your/Limpid aquarium) go hand-in-hand with the movement's criticisms.

The blog page Why We Question It [pt] features reasons to oppose the aquarium, specifically the lack of transparency surrounding it.

Among the objections, there is no evidence that the companies Imagic [pt], which designed the aquarium, and the North American ICM Reynolds, which is building it, were hired through public bidding. Critics question the irregular building permit granted to the project, given that “mandatory archaeological reports, which must be analyzed and approved by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan)” had not been conducted.

Furthermore, the bill of such enterprise will go “beyond the debt, with a monthly cost estimated at 1,5 million Brazilian reais (815,000 US dollars)”, and clings to a business plan that remains unknown:

Não foi apresentado um plano de negócios que mostre, detalhadamente, como iremos saldar a dívida que teremos com o banco norte-americano Ex Im Bank of United States, com quem o Governo do Estado está negociando empréstimo de aproximadamente US$ 105 milhões. O restante dos gastos sairia diretamente dos cofres públicos no valor de US$ 45 milhões.

No business plan was submitted to show in detail how will we pay off the debt we'll acquire with the Ex Im Bank of United States, the bank with which the state government is negotiating a loan worth 105 million US dollar. The complement of the required amount would come directly from public resources: 45 million US dollars.

Carnival parade and weekly meetings

On February 22, revelers during Carnival who shared a critical view toward the project came together in a small parade called Unidos Contra o Acquario (United Against the Aquarium), which snaked throughout the streets of the Benfica neighborhood alongside the traditional parade, known as Sanatório Geral. Revelers dressed up as fish and walked under a vast blue cloth mimicking the sea.

Bloco Unidos do Acquário (Aquarium United Block). Photo by Quem dera ser um peixe, used with permission.

In previous years, the Sanatório Geral parade had already played a carnival march called Fortaleza Aquática (Aquatic Fortaleza) [pt], which mocks the project and mentions previous controversies regarding Governor Cid Gomes' administration.

Another kind of mobilization taking place are meetings known as Inundação (Flooding), shared under the hashtags #OcupePI (Ocuppy Praia de Iracema) and #DesocupeAcquario (Desert Acquario) and organized and attended on Saturdays by supporters of the Quem dera ser um peixe movement, in the Praia de Iracema neighborhood, which is set to host the aquarium. The first meeting occured on March 10, and gathered citizens opposed to the project as well as residents of Poço da Draga, a century-old community that will face forced evictions to open space for a parking lot for the aquarium's visitors.

#OcupePI. Photo published with permission of Quem dera ser um peixe.

The State government's reaction followed shortly after the first meeting. The then recently created institutional Twitter profile @acquario_ceara responded [pt] to the controversy not with facts, but with accusations instead:

@acquario_ceara: Quem está contra o #AcquarioCeara trabalha contra o desenvolvimento do Ceará. Parece que são pessoas a serviço de outros estados.

@acquario_ceara: Those against #AcquarioCeara are working against the development of Ceará. They seem to be at the service of other [Brazilian] states.

Also on Twitter, student Débora Vaz linked to [pt] the video shared by the historian Andréa Saraiva on the blog Chafurdo Mental [pt], denouncing the start of the construction before such a permit was granted. She said:

@deboravaz: Enquanto isso, aqui em Fortaleza, a estúpida obra do Acquário começa sem alvará, além de ter sido contestada pelo Iphan http://youtu.be/PUtNBHg27FQ

@deboravaz: Meanwhile, here in Fortaleza, the stupid Acquario project starts without a construction permit, besides being questioned by Iphan http://youtu.be/PUtNBHg27FQ

Lack of transparency

The Quem dera ser um peixe movement published [pt] documents denouncing irregularities in the project's bidding on April 11:

Dentre os nossos pedidos está o de cancelar imediatamente o processo de contratos já efetuados. Veremos que na surdina o governo tem contratado e licitado ao arrepio da lei e que já está superando o numero milionário de R$ 250 milhoes iniciais.

Veremos também que já foi pago R$ 876 mil reais que ninguém sabe pra quem e nem pra quê, pois o governo não publicou os termos como seria de sua obrigação.

Among our requests is the immediate revocation of contracts already in effect. We will see that on the sly the government has authorized and hired disregarding the law, so far exceeding the original millionaire sum of 250 million Brazilian reais.

We will see that 876,000 reais have been deployed to pay no one knows who and nobody knows the reason, since the government hasn't published the terms of the transaction, as it was supposed to.

Facebook user Alexandre Ruoso shared his comments on the news, writing [pt]:

‎#AquarioIlegal #GovernoFazdeconta
Se isso acontece em obras como esta, que tem toda a visibilidade, imagina nas obras menos importantes.

#Illegal aquarium #Government of make-believe
If such practice occurs in projects like this, which is under the spotlight, I wonder what happens in less important projects.

The attack of the Aquarium Men. Illustration by Yuri Leonardo, used with permission.

Considering the government's lack of transparency in mobilizing 250 million reais to build the Acquario Ceará, many have questioned the arguments used by Governor Cid Gomes during recent strikes by military police officers and teachers, occasions in which he refused to comply with workers' demands.

Protests have taken place in other cities of Ceará as well, not only Fortaleza, as Professor Tiago Coutinho reported [pt] on his Facebook page on April 2:

Neste momento estudantes da Urca ocupam as ruas do Crato e cantam “é ou não é piada de salão, tem dinheiro pro aquário mas não tem pra educação?”.

At this moment, URCA [Regional University of Cariri] students occupy the streets of Crato singing “is it or isn't it a joke, there is money for the aquarium and none for education?”.

Andréa Saraiva questioned [pt] the model of tourism reinforced by the Acquario on her blog, arguing that it ignores cheaper and more interesting alternatives for the communities:

O turismo é uma atividade econômica como outra qualquer, portanto ela não é neutra. Aqui no Ceará várias comunidades sofrem pelo turismo predatório, grande aliado da especulação imobiliária, das empreiteiras e do turismo sexual que vem sendo aplicado em sucessivos governos que investem em modelos que só favorecem a industria do turismo. A concepção Tasso-Cidista [referência ao ex-governador Tasso e o governador Cid] de desenvolvimento no Ceará baseado na industrialização se mostrou fracassada e só melhorou a vida de grandes empresários, o número de miseráveis só aumentou. Há outros modelos de turismo exitosos no mundo e até aqui no Ceará que é referência internacional em turismo comunitário. Mas não há investimento porque estes não financiam campanha, esse tipo de turismo não é ‘montado no cimento’.

Tourism is an economic activity like many others, therefore it isn't neutral. In Ceará, several communities suffer the effects of predatory tourism, a great ally of land speculation, contractors, and sexual tourism, and has been applied by the latest state administrations in models that favor the tourism industry. This concept of development carried out both by Governors Tasso [Jereissati] and Cid [Gomes] in Ceará is based on a failed industrialization that has only made the lives of businessmen better, because the number of those living in misery has gone up. There are other successful models of tourism in the world and in Ceará, which is an international reference in community tourism. However these initiatives receive no investment since they don't finance political campaigns; this kind of tourism isn't ‘based on concrete'.

The project's sustainability has sparked questions [pt] as well, mainly after reports of cultural centers in town being in disrepair, such as the Centro Dragão do Mar de Arte e Cultura.

Local mainstream media coverage has proven itself to be ambiguous, but an article [pt] written by journalist Adísia Sá highlighted the need of a public consultation on the project. She said:

Volto a insistir: a população tem o direito de ser não só informada como consultada. E não venham me dizer que deputados e vereadores sabem de tudo e que eles, sim, são a opinião pública. Todos foram eleitos com os nossos votos, sim, mas não lhes foi dada carta de alforria para falar, agir e decidir por nós – em qualquer assunto. Há limite na representação popular. E, pelo visto, isto não está sendo considerado.

I insist: people have the right to be informed and heard. And don't you dare tell me that state representatives and city councilmen know everything and they are the sole public opinion. They have been elected with votes, indeed, but they haven't been given a letter of manumission to speak, act and decide on our behalf - in any given matter. Political representation has a limit. And apparently this hasn't been taken into account.

João Miguel Lima collaborated with this post.

Brazil: Homage to the Victims of the Amazon in Washington, D.C.

Georgi McCarthy — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 11:59:47 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.

On Monday 9 April, 2012, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff made an official visit to the United States capital Washington, D.C. At approximately 10am local time, around 100 people gathered in front of the Brazilian embassy bearing images and messages in an act of solidarity with the Amazonian casualties.

The activists wanted to draw international attention to the Brazilians who were killed and who are being persecuted for their work to protect the Amazon rainforest, and promise Brazil further criticism [pt]. We invite you to learn a little more about these Brazilians and their causes.

Zé Cláudio, Maria do Espírito Santo and Laísa, “with a bullet in the head”

A Zé Cláudio poster. Photo by Felipe Milanez (used with permission).

The Brazilian journalist Felipe Milanez was in Washington and shared photos of the preparations and the protest itself on his Twitter account (@felipedjeguaka). Milanez has been one of the most active voices in giving visibility to those victims in the Amazon region.

He has often been compared to the conservationist and environmentalist José Cláudio da Silva, who was murdered with his wife, Maria do Espírito Santo, on 24th May 2011 near the city of Nova Ipixuna, Pará. Six months previously Zé Cláudio, as he was known, explained during a presentation on TEDx Amazônia that illegal loggers were causing a threat in the region and that he was living “with a bullet in the head”- he could be murdered at any time.

In November 2011, Milanez and Vice magazine released the documentary Toxic: Amazônia, about both the defence of the rainforest and the abundance of illegal loggers in Nova Ipixuna.

On 9 February, Maria's sister, teacher Laísa Santos Sampaio, was at the United Nations in New York to receive a posthumous tribute to the couple in a ceremony that closed the International Year of Forests. Laísa returned to live in the settlement Praialta Piranheira, in Nova Ipixuna, despite receiving death threats.

Felipe Milanez issued [pt] a petition on 12 February on Twitter demanding the authorities protect Laísa:

Laisa chega hoje a noite em Maraba. E teme ser morta! Abaixo-assinado pela proteção imediata de Laisa Sampaio http://t.co/qAvLBScw

Laísa arrives in Maraba tonight. And she fears being killed! Petition for the immediate protection of Laísa Sampaio http://t.co/qAvLBScw

Among the posters displayed in the protest, all produced by the artist César Maxit, was one saying Laísa: “I want to live.”.

"The Amazon and its people want to live". Posters with photos of Maria do Espírito Santo, Zé Cláudio da Silva and Chico Mendes, an environmentalist murdered in Acre in 1988. Photo by Felipe Milanez (used with permission).

Nilcilene de Lima, Dinhana Dink and the threat of gunmen

Nilcilene: I want to live. Photo by Felipe Milanez (used with permission).

Nilcilene Miguel de Lima was also not forgotten. After receiving death threats from land grabbers and illegal loggers since 2009 from the city of Lábrea, Amazonas, she now has protection from the National Public Security Force. In retaliation for her complaints of land invasions and tree thefts, Nilcilene was beaten and her house was burned.

In a Global Voices post from March 2012, the link between deaths and the agrarian economy in the country was discussed.

On 30 March, 27-year-old Dinhana Dink, who worked closely with Nilcilene, was murdered in a village in Nova Califórnia, Rondônia, where her family had recently moved. According to report agency A Pública [pt], Dinhana had informed on gunmen who raided, attacked and killed farmers in the region.She was with one of her three children, six-year-old Tiago, when she was shot in the chest in the early hours of the morning.

Several families who are close to Nilcilene left Lábrea, since the Amazonian town has no policing. It is the illegal loggers and their gunmen who exercise de facto power.

Belo Monte hydroelectric plant and Rio+20

There are also criticisms of the hydroelectric plant in Belo Monte, which is still under construction on the river Xingu, in Pará, which is set to have the 3rd largest capacity in the world. In 2011, indigenous and riverside communities in the region of Volta Grande do Xingu, as well as other cities both in Brazil and the rest of the world, said ‘no' to the plant [pt] because of its social and environmental impact.

"Protest in front of the Brazilian embassy, in Washington: Stop Belo Monte; Enough Violence! " Photo by Felipe Milanez (used with permission).

Recently, on 29 March, construction was halted following the death of a worker. On 4 April, riot control was called to force the workers to continue the construction but some of them resisted, according to the site [pt] Xingu Vivo.

"Rio-20: where human rights become 'green capitalism'?". Photo by Felipe Milanez (used with permission).

There were also questions raised regarding the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, scheduled for this June in Rio de Janeiro.

Maria do Espírito Santo and Zé Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva. Photo by Felipe Milanez (used with permission).

Threats to the Guarani-Kaiowá's land

On 8 April, anthropologist Tonico Benites' report [pt] was shared on Facebook several times. It recounts the harassment he suffered while trying to drive to the village of Irajuí, in the municipality of Paranhos, Mato Grosso do Sul, with his wife and children. Benites tells how the man who stopped him in the road knew that he was investigating the Guarani-Kaiowá and he said:

“Você tem filhos e esposa, né? Gosta dela e de teus filhos? hein?! fala?” Respondi que sim.

Então ele passou [a] me ameaçar: “Você vai perder tudo, ela que você ama e [os] filhos que gosta, vai perder, Vai perder carro. Vai perder dinheiro. Tudo você vai perder. Você quer perder tudo? Você quer perder tudo?”, ele repetiu várias vezes essas pergunta.

“You have a wife and children, right? You like them, huh? Say something.” I said yes.
Then he started to threaten me. “You'll lose everything, the woman and children you love, you're going to lose them. You'll lose your car. Your money. You'll lose everything. Do you want to lose everything? Do you?” He repeated this question a number of times.

As previously reported on Global Voices, the lands of the Guarani-Kaiowá attract greed from cane sugar and soy farmers. On 18 November, 2011, 42 men entered the Tekoha Guaviry camp in Amambaí, Mato Grosso do Sul, and killed the chief Nísio Gomes, a woman and a child, and kidnapped others.

This post is part of our special coverage Forest Focus: Amazon.