Corruption under PAC

When the Brazilian government's Growth Acceleration Program or the PAC launched in 2007, during the second term of ex-president Luis Inácio “Lula” da Silva, the goal was to work on major social, urban, logistical and energy infrastructure in the country, to contribute to sustainable development.

In 2011, under the government of president Dilma Rousseff, the PAC entered its second phase. More work and more resources were made available. The idea was simple: more demand for jobs, more jobs, more money in the economy, higher consumption and more infrastructure – a domino effect for the good of the country.

IV Brazil Marching Against Corruption. Photo of the Brazil Movement Against Corruption. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The contractor Fernando Cavandish increased his revenue from 67 million Reais to 3 billion Reais in nine years, being one of the largest increases ever seen in the country. But in this growth, not only large buildings and soccer stadiums were a part; over billing and high fees contributed to the increase.

When PAC was launched the promise [pt] was:

um conjunto de medidas destinado a gerar mais emprego e renda, desonerar e incentivar o investimento privado, aumentar o investimento público e aperfeiçoar a política fiscal.

a set of measures designed to generate more jobs and income, reduce taxes and increase private investment and improve fiscal policy.

Already in its second phase, among its ten largest works, most of which are in the energy sector, are the Hydroelectric plants of Belo Monte and Santo Antônio, both criticized for the impact that they will bring upon the indigenous populations. The government wishes to invest, between 2011 and 2014, R$ 955 billion.
Mocking the name of the government program, a PAC-Man-inspired game “Roba Roba” (“Steal Steal”) [pt] has even been created, in which players are corrupt politicians and must take as much money as possible to get through the levels.

Roba-Roba. Image Posted on the Website Tech Tudo – “Be a corrupt politician in Roba-Roba” HOW TO PLAY Top Left: The Press – They try to investivate politicians but are easily distracted. Top Right: Justice Department – Is blind and slow. Goes randomly across the map arresting the wrong people. Bottom Left: The people – FILM ME! Don't have their own opinion. Follow the press and follow the politician. Depends on who is nearby. Bottom Right: Federal Police – Is the smartest among them and generally have political motivations. They mean business. Watch out!

Deviations beyond PAC

According to a study by FIESP (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), conducted in 2010, and published on the website Desviômetro [pt], that seeks to calculate the value of misappropriated funds due to: corruption, embezzlement, scams, trafficking, and trickery:

[o] custo médio da corrupção no Brasil [é] de 2,3% do PIB, isto é, R$ 69.1 bilhões ano base 2008. Este percentual parece modesto, tendo em vista que as pessoas cuja renda familiar per capita é superior a cinco salários mínimos, 27,8% concordam que o problema mais grave é a corrupção.

[The] average cost of corruption in Brazil [is] from 2.3% of the GDP, this is, R$ 69.1 billion based on the year 2008. This percentage appears modest, taking into account that people whose family income per capita is higher than five minimum wage salaries, 27.8% agree that the most serious problem is corruption.

Desviômetro calculates that from its inception this year until the present day, (and constantly increasing) already more than seven billion Reais have been misappropriated, enough to contract 991,491 high school teachers and build 41,789 affordable homes.

Screenshot of the website Desviômetro: “This is a projection of how much money might have been misappropriated from 01/01/2013 until this exact moment because of embezzlement, scams, trafficking, trickery and corruption.”

According to the organization Transparency International, in 2012, Brazil ranked 73rd among the 182 most corrupt countries in the world. However, not only politicians and the public sphere are responsible for the fraud and corruption scandals. As seen from the grand works of PAC, private business and individuals outside the government are also involved; after all corruption is an illegal and illegitimate form of business that involves as much the private sector as the public sector.

Among the many cases of corruption, the famous mensalão case [pt] is a different story. Considered one of the biggest corruption scandals in Brazil,  the magazine GPS Brasília explains [pt]:

O mensalão foi um esquema montado no governo Lula para comprar apoio de parlamentares e para saldar dívidas de campanha com dinheiro não contabilizado, o chamado caixa 2. Os acusadores entenderam que pelo menos quatro partidos – PT, PP, PL (hoje PR) e PTB – beneficiaram-se do esquema, além da contrapartida para empresários e funcionários de instituições financeiras.

The mensalão scandal was a scheme put together under the government of Lula to buy parliamentary support and to pay off campaign debts with unaccounted for money, the so called caixa 2 (slush fund). The accusers understand that at the very least four political parties – PT, PP, PL (today PR) and PTB -benefited from the scheme, beyond taking into account entrepreneurs and employees of financial institutions.

First reported in 2005, the case was tried at the end of last year.  With an historic result, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) [pt] convicted a large majority of the 38 defendants, including  José Dirceu, ex-ministerial Chief of Staff, Delúbio Soares, Treasurer of the Workers Party (PT), and the  businessman Marcos Valério.

Historical Conviction

Ceremony held by the Minister Joaquim Barbosa. Photo by the Senate Agency (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Despite new cases of corruption that continue to be revealed in Brazil,  much of the population holds a widespread sentiment that impunity prevails among those involved. Convictions such as those of the mensalão case, highlighting the figure of the Justice Minister of STF, Joaquim Barbosa, signal that times may be changing. Even a campaign for the presidential nomination of the Minister has been launched.

With the aim to end impunity, the Brazilian Association Against Corruption and Impunity [pt] was established. In it's mission statement [pt], the association states:

em nosso país a corrupção tende a ser considerada natural, como se fosse crônica e incurável, com a qual estamos obrigados a conviver, embora a maioria do povo brasileiro não aceite a corrupção e mesmo se revolte com o que vê e ouve. (…) É nessa cultura que se apóiam os atos de corrupção que é preciso eliminar da prática administrativa, política e empresarial e da vida cotidiana em nosso país, desde a prática individual de cidadãos isolados até as atuações organizadas de corporações e governos a qualquer nível.

in our country corruption tends to be taken for granted, as if it were chronic and incurable, with which we are obligated to live with, however a majority of the brazilian people don't accept corrpution and in return are revolted by what they see and hear. (…) It is this culture that supports acts of corruption that need to be eliminated from administrative, political and business practices and from everyday life in our country, from the individual actions of individual citizens to the organized actions of corporations and governments at whatever level.

Along the same lines, movements for open governance and transparent administration have emerged in various parts of the country. Brazil, for example, is one of eight countries to found Open Government Partnership, a global effort to improve governments worldwide. The Ethos Institute [pt] also launched a portal Clean Games to monitor the level of transparency of the host cities for the World Cup in 2014. A majority of the municipalities exhibit a very low level.

The challenge that change presents is great.  However, everyone's participation is essential to ensure that new scandals are in fact scandals, and not just daily news.

Written by Fernando Sapelli · Translated by Lisa Clark · View original post [pt] · comments (3)
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The fire started around 2:30 am when the band Gurizada Fandangueira was playing on stage, during a party called “Agromerados”, organized by students of the Federal University of Santa (UFSM). The lead singer of the band set off fireworks and sparks hit the ceiling. The flames spread quickly. Security guards and band members tried to put out the fire with extinguishers, without success.

At the yell of “fire” the turmoil began; a short circuit cut out the lights and without exit signs, many could not find their way out. Some ended up in the bathroom. The nightclub did not have an emergency exit: only one access point, that served as an entrance and exit. The first people to arrive at this only door encountered another barrier – the security guards, that prevented passage of the public for lack of payment.  Even after the exit was opened, firemen and volunteers had to break down the walls of the nightclub to widen the passage and release some of the smoke from inside.

Club Kiss after the fire. Image shared on the blog Sobre Isso.

An article in Veja magazine [pt] cites the “frightening” testimony of a survivor, on Facebook. Ezequiel Real [pt] said:

Acompanhei o início do fogo que veio das faíscas do sparkles e se propagou pelo teto nas esponjas do isolamento acústico. Não me apavorei porque não achei que poderia lidar com a situação, mas vi muita gente entrar em pânico, cair e desmaiar umas por cima das outras, era um mar de gente descontrolada. Vi que muita gente em crise acessou a porta mais próxima, que era a do banheiro e se alojaram lá dentro. Vi o pessoal que trabalhava se escondendo até dentro de freezers! Quando vi que não tinha mais jeito de sair pela saída principal dei a volta na área Vip e sai pela lateral empurrando e pisando por cima de muita gente, acredito que não sairia se não fosse pela força que utilizei para passar pelas pessoas, ao sair olhava para baixo e via que pisava e cruzava por cima de mulheres e homens desmaiados.

I watched the start of the fire that came from the sparks of the fireworks and spread to the ceiling on the foam of the soundproofing. I didn't freak out because I thought I could handle the situation, but I saw many people panicking, falling and fainting on top of one another, it was a sea of people out of control. I saw many people in crisis go through the closest door, which was the bathroom and stay inside. I saw people working to hide themselves even inside the freezers! Once I saw I could no longer leave through the main exit I looked around the VIP area and left through the side, pushing and stepping on a lot of people, I believe I never would have gotten out if it weren't for the force I used to get through the crowd, upon exiting I looked down and saw that I had stepped on and crossed over fainted women and men.

Image posted on the Facebook page Salve o Planeta (Save the Planet)! (shared 13,256 times). Volunteers breaking walls with pickaxes to help during the disaster (Published with permission)

The narrow road and parked cars hindered the rescue. When they tried to enter, firemen encountered a barrier of bodies right inside the door – those of the victims who tried to get out. Soldiers had to clear a path in the middle of corpses to try to reach people that were still suffering. Many cell phones rang at the same time – they were family and friends seeking information.

After the drama at the club, the desperation was transferred to the Municipal Sports Center, where the bodies of the victims were taken. With a voice choked with emotion, Carlos Walau, a volunteer who helped in the task of identifying the bodies, said to the newspaper Zero Hora [pt]:

Transportei o corpo de uma menina que estava com um celular que não parava de tocar. Deu sinal de mensagem, li e era a mãe dela perguntando onde ela estava

I transported the body of a girl whose cell phone did not stop ringing. It gave the alert of a text message, I read it and it was her mother asking where she was.

The online newspaper Meio Bit made a critique of social networks through the post:  Tragedy in Santa Maria – where is the power of social media? [pt] and reports the lack of sensitivity and human solidarity, as well as the quantity of “garbage” and “noise” found in a situation where the most important thing was to pass on information about what happened and how to help in the best way possible:

(…) Sempre encontramos pessoas dispostas a ajudar, divulgando links, telefones, fazendo doações e algumas se voluntariando in loco (algo que não é possível para a maioria, por questões geográficas). Mas a tal da revolução silenciosa das redes sociais passa despercebida diante da enxurrada de bobagem que circula pelas redes. Em questão de minutos, o Facebook estava inundado de montagens religiosas, de pessoas culpando e condenando o dono da boate, dizendo que a polícia agiu errado, fazendo afirmações levianas sobre um assunto que desconheciam, motivadas sabe-se lá pelo quê. Se você pretende ajudar de alguma forma, neste link estão reunidas todas as informações necessárias.

(…) There are always people willing to help, disseminating links, phones, making donations, and some volunteering on the spot (something that is not possible for most, because of geographic reasons). But the so-silent revolution of the social media goes unnoticed before the flood of nonsense that circulates through the networks. In a matter of minutes, Facebook was inundated with religious montages, of people blaming and condemning the owner of the club, saying that the police acted wrongly, making frivolous claims about a subject they knew nothing about, motivated by who knows what. If you intend to help in any way, this link [pt] contains all the necessary information.

Drawing by Jean Galvão for the newspaper Folha. Shared on Instagram, #santamaria (printed with permission)

It was found that the club's permit from the Fire Department had been expired since August of 2012. The website Direito e Trabalho (Law and Labor) published a post entitled Santa Maria or the Game of Death [pt], which points out very serious problems such as the negligence of those involved, the lack of oversight and impunity among other things:

(…) com certeza muitos serão indiciados, muitos condenados pela opinião pública, mas poucos pela Justiça. A culpada pela tragédia é a cultura do “jeitinho”, a cultura do “amanhã eu faço”, a cultura do “vamos do jeito que dá”, do “o que eu vou ganhar com isso?”, do “o que eu vou perder com isso?” E, principalmente, a nossa cultura jurídico-administrativa. A administrativa que não fiscaliza, a jurídica que não pune. (…) Agora, diante da tragédia, o que podem esperar os responsáveis? (…) O máximo que poderemos ter, após muito tempo é um processo criminal por crime culposo and a sentencing e a condenação em cestas básicas. (…)

(…) without a doubt many will be indicted, many condemned by public opinion, but few by the courts. The blame for the tragedy is on the culture of the “jeitinho”, a culture of “I'll do it tomorrow”, a culture of “let's do what we can”, of “what will I get out of it?”, of “what will I lose from this?” And most of all our legal and administrative culture. The administration that does not investigate, the law that does not punish. (…) Now, faced with this tragedy, what can we expect for those responsible? (…) The most we could have, after a long time is a criminal offence for manslaughter and a sentencing in the distribution of staple food baskets to the poor. (…)

Avaaz launched a petition [pt] to create legislation that would completely abolish the use of pyrotechnics in enclosed spaces such as nightclubs and music venues.

The World Cup and the Olympics were cited on the BBC website [pt]. On the site, the network editor in São Paulo, Gary Duffy, says that the events should put more pressure on the Brazilian government to increase safety and supervision of public spaces.

Written by Inês Pontes · Translated by Lisa Clark · View original post [pt] · comments (1)
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Having inhabited the Marãiwatsédé territory in the north of the state of Mato Grosso for centuries, natives of the Xavante ethnic group face occupation and threats from farmers who are trying to evict them from their homeland. The land, which was returned to them 14 years ago, has been invaded almost entirely by settlers and landowners. On December 6, 2012, following a Supreme Court decision made on October 17, the justice department in Mato Grosso ordered the delivery of subpoenas for the removal of illegal occupants of ancestral lands. One and a half month after the beginning of the removal, the process is now almost finalized [pt].

Journalist Felipe Milanez, specializing in indigenous matters, wrote [pt]:

O território xavante, chamado Marãiwatséde, está no centro de um eixo de escoamento de soja e gado, onde o governo federal quer asfalta a BR-158. O traçado ficaria fora da reserva, e da Ferrovia Centro-Oeste, que liga as cidades de Campinorte (GO) e Lucas do Rio Verde (MT).

A disputa por este território expõe a dificuldade do governo em controlar os conflitos fundiários na Amazônia. Os pequenos posseiros, tradicionais inimigos dos índios na região, deram lugares aos grandes ruralistas – que se negam a deixar o território. A pressão externa tem provocado divisões internas dos Xavantes, que colocam em risco a vida das principais lideranças.

The Xavante territory, called Marãiwatséde, is in the middle of a trade route for soy and cattle, where the federal government wants to pave the BR-158. The route would be outside the reservation and the Mid-East Pipeline that links the cities of Campinorte (GO) and Lucas do Rio Verde (MT).

The dispute over this territory exposes the difficulty the government has in controlling fundamental conflicts in the Amazon. Small landowners, traditional enemies of the indigenous people of the region, gave places to grand ruralists – who refuse to leave the territory. The external pressure has provoked internal divisions within the Xavantes that endangers the lives of their top leaders.

Xavante Village. Photo by Adriano Gambarini/OPAN, used with permission.

Also, according to Milanez, the problems started in 1966, with the expulsion of the indigenous population of the region, who were transported in FAB (Brazilian Air Force) planes to another Xavante territory 400km away. They became victims of a measles epidemic that killed at least 150 indigenous people which forced the community to spread out into other indigenous territories in a sort of “internal exile in the country”. With the arrival of Ariosto da Riva, an entrepreneur from Sao Paulo who bought the Marãiwatsédé territory, the region has become known as Suiá-Missu, an estate with 1.8 million hectares. The land then passed through the hands of various businesses until the Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, when the Italian company who at the time possessed the land – Agip Petrolli – decided to return the land to the indigenous people.

As it turns out, the land was returned only to be invaded by farmers and settlers that have now been expelled by the judicial decision [pt] in favor of the indigenous people. About this process, initiated December 10, Greenpeace reported [pt]:

Este é um momento crucial para a desintrusão da terra dos Xavante, processo liderado pela Funai (Fundação Nacional do Índio) e que conta com respaldo de forças policiais.

This is a crucial moment for the removal of invaders from the Xavante land, a process led by Funai (National Indian Foundation) that depends on support from police forces.

Indigenous Xavantes. Photo by Felipe Milanez, printed with permission.

The trespassing of invading settlers does not come, however, in peaceful form [pt]. Road blocks were constructed by squatters and include threats of violence, as Journalist Andreia Fanzeres (@Andreiafanzeres) tweeted on September 2012:

Jornais de MT noticiam hj que invasores de #maraiwatsede bloquearam BR 158 e só vão sair “qdo a justiça suspender a decisão de retirá-los”

Newspapers in Mato Grosso reported today that tresspassers #maraiwatsede have blocked BR 158 and will only leave “when the judge suspends the decision to remove them”

The NGO Repórter Brasil wrote a long report [pt] which summarizes the situation until mid-December, indicating that “some groups have decided not to comply with the judicial decision and have sought to destabilize the process forcing conflict with troops.”  They also take stock of what happened during the first days of occupation, when “national forces retreated shooting rubber bullets and gas bombs:

Os manifestantes apareceram na Fazenda Jordão, onde a operação teve início, no momento em que as forças de segurança realizavam as primeiras abordagens. Segundo a listagem de propriedades do governo, a propriedade onde a confusão aconteceu pertence a Antonio Mamed Jordão, ex-vice-prefeito de Alto Boa Vista, que detém uma das maiores áreas invadidas dentro da Terra Indígena, um latifúndio com mais de 6 mil hectares. Em 2008, Jordão declarou patrimônio de R$ 4,5 milhões. Além dele, outros políticos donos de extensas porções da terra indígena são, ainda de acordo com as listas oficiais do governo, Mohmad Khalil Zaher, vereador em Rondonópolis (MT), Sebastião Ferreira Prado, Sebastião Ferreira Mendes, entre outros. Os latifundiários, representados pela Confederação Nacional da Agricultura e Pecuária (CNA), reclamam da desintrusão e chegam a questionar se as terras são mesmo indígenas (leia nota divulgada nesta terça-feira, 11).

Protestors appeared on the Jordão farm, where the operation began, at the moment when security forces made their first approach. According to the government listing of properties, the property where the turmoil happened, belongs to Antonio Mamed Jordão, ex-vice-mayor of Alto Boa Vista, who owns one of the largest invaded areas within indigenous land, an estate with more than 6,000 hectares. In 2008, Jordão declared assets of 4.5 million Reais [pt]. In addition to him, other politicians who own extensive portions of indigenous land are, according to official government records, Mohmad Khalil Zaher, city councilman in Rondonópolis (MT), Sebastião Ferreira Prado, and Sebastião Ferreira Mendes, among others. The landowners, represented by the National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), complain of the removal and have begun to question if the land is indeed indigenous (read a statement released Thursday, December 11) [pt].

Already during the first attempt at eviction on December 10, National Forces clashed with farmers, leaving many injured.

The former bishop of São Félix do Araguaia, Catalan Dom Pere Casaldàliga (known as Pedro Casaldáliga), who is 84 years-old and suffering from Parkinson's, received death threats for the support he gave to the indigenous people and was forced to be evacuated from his home by federal police in order to guarantee his safety. News regarding threats to the bishop were largely reported by the Spanish [es] and Catalan [ca] media, encountering, in general, silence from the Brazilian media.

Journalist Altamiro Borges explained [pt]:

Segundo o Conselho Indigenista Missionário (Cimi), um grupo de jagunços anunciou abertamente que Dom Casaldáliga “era o problema” da tensa região e que “faria uma visita para ele”. A própria Polícia Federal recomendou a imediata retirada do religioso da cidade devido à vulnerabilidade da humilde residência em que ele vivia há muitos anos. A PF alegou temer por sua segurança, já que a casa nem sequer possui muros e o bispo emérito com a sua saúde debilitada, em decorrência de sofrer do “mal de Parkinson”.

According to the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi), a group of gang members announced openly that “they would pay him a visit.” The Federal Police has recommended the immediate removal of the religious man from the city due to the vulnerability of the humble home in which he has lived for many years. The Federal Police claimed to fear for his safety, as the house did not have walls coupled with the former bishop's weakened health as a result of suffering from “Parkinson's Disease”.

The journalist continued explaining that Casaldàliga has a long history of resistance against the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1985) and support of threatened indigenous groups and the homeless, and is faced once again disdain from those in power for his bravery and courage:

Ele sempre esteve ligado às lutas das camadas mais carentes da sociedade. Com a guinada conservadora no Vaticano a partir dos anos 1990, o bispo emérito sofreu forte pressão da cúpula da Igreja Católica. Em 2005, ele se aposentou, mas continuou residindo em São Félix do Araguaia e participando dos bons combates na região. Dedicava-se, especialmente, à defesa das comunidades indígenas, perseguidas pelos latifundiários.

He has always been linked to the struggles of the poorer classes of society. With the conservative shift in the vatican beginning in the 1990s, the former bishop suffered strong pressure from the top tier of the Catholic church. In 2005, he announced his retirement but continued to live in São Félix do Araguaia participating in the good fight in the region. He dedicated himself, in particular, to the defense of indigenous communities, persecuted by landowners.

Various organizations released a letter [pt] in solidarity with Casaldàliga.

The indigenous land of Marãiwatsédé was sanctioned in 1998 by presidential decree. Since then, various instances of jusice have been won for the indigenous cause that, however are not respected [pt]. About 800 Xavantes occupy 10% of the territory. The remaining 90% is occupied by landowners and squatters.

Cacique Xavante Damião Paridzane. Photo by Felipe Milanez, published with permission.

In a rebellious tone, Journalist Felipe Milanez (@Felipedjeguaka) [pt] tweeted:

Invadem terra indigena, desmatam a Amazonia, ameaçam de morte um Bispo de 84 anos, fazendas com milhares de ha, descumprem ordem judicial!

[They] invade indigneous land, cause deforestation of the Amazon, threaten to kill a 84 years old bishop, farms with thousands of hectares, [they] violate court order!

The Xavante people of Marãiwatsédé published an open letter [pt], signed by chief Damião Paridzane, which explains the situation and asks for respect (excerpts published below):

Nesse território, os ancestrais, nossos bisavós viviam em cima da terra. Esse território é origem do povo de Marãiwatsédé. Nessa terra amada foi criado o povo de Marãiwatsédé.

Agora a desintrusão já começou. Os anciões esperaram muito tempo para tirar os não-índios da terra. Sofreram muito. A vida inteira sofrendo, esperando tirar os fazendeiros grandes.

Quem ocupava a terra eram nossos pais, nossos avós, nossos bisavós, que nasceram aqui, cresceram aqui, fizeram festa para adolescente. Lutaram muito, faziam ritual dentro do território de Marãiwatsédé. Nem fazendeiro e nem posseiro viviam aqui antes de 1960.Quem destruiu, foi o índio ou foi o branco? A gente sabe mesmo, foi o branco que destruiu a floresta, essa não é a nossa vida. Nossa vida é preservar a terra, a natureza, os rios, os lagos. É assim que a gente vive, nosso povo respeita nossa mãe e nossa mãe é a natureza. Esperamos tranqüilos a nossa vitória. Dormimos tranqüilos, sonhamos bonito com a vitória da nossa terra.

Antes da retirada de nossa terra, mataram muitos xavantes. Os fazendeiros daquele tempo é muito bandido. Mataram com tiro. Morreu Tseretemé, Tserenhitomo, Tsitomowê, Pa’rada, Tseredzaró, tudo morto com tiro. Não vamos trair o espírito deles.

Essa terra é nossa origem. Os Xingus também protegiam nossa terra, os antepassados dos Kalapapos eram amigos dos antepassados dos xavantes de Marãiwatsédé.Os animais não podem sofrer mais com tanta destruição da natureza. Quando a terra for devolvida para o nosso povo, a floresta vai viver novamente, vão voltar os animais e plantas. Nossa mãe vai ficar muito forte e muito bonita, como sempre foi. É assim que tem que ser.

In this territory, the ancestors, our great grandfathers lived on the land. This territory is the homeland of the Marãiwatsédé people. On this beloved land the Marãiwatsédé people were born.

Now the invasion has begun. The elders have waited a long time to remove the non-indians from the land. They have suffered a lot. Their whole lives suffering, waiting to remove the Ranchers.

Those who occupied the land were our fathers, our grandfathers, our great grandfathers, that were born here, grew up here, came of age here. They fought a lot, did rituals within the Marãiwatsédé territory. No farmer or settler lived here before 1960. Who destroyed, the indian or the white man. We all know it was the white man that destroyed the forest, this is not our way of life. Our way of life is to preserve the earth, the environment, the rivers, and the lakes. This is the way we live, our people respect our mother and our mother is nature. We wait patiently for our victory.  We sleep peacefully, and have beautiful dreams of the victory of our land.

Before the withdrawal from our land, many Xavantes were killed. The farmers of that time were very villainous. They killed with gunfire. Tseretemé, Tserenhitomo, Tsitomowê, Pa’rada, and Tseredzaró died, all dead from gunfire. We will not betray their spirit.

This land is our origin. The Xingu people also protected our land, the ancestors of the Kalapapos were friends of the ancestors of the Xavantes de Marãiwatsédé. The animals could not suffer more from such destruction of nature. When the land is returned to our people, the forest will live again, the plants and animals will return. Our mother will become very stront and very beautiful, as it always was. This is the way it must be.

Written by Raphael Tsavkko Garcia · Translated by Lisa Clark · View original post [pt] · comments (1)
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