Talking about the weather may be mere elevator chit-chat but, come rain or shine, there is no honest conversation that does not make some reference to the weather. With the recent droughts in the southern region, floods in the southeast region and atypical weather in the Northeast, terms like El Nino, La Nina and convergence zone have made their way into our everyday vocabulary and become the topic of many conversations.

Obviously the online community could not remain silent on the issue. Especially not in the face of Brazil's readying for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20.

But what do Internet users actually think about these recurring ecological disasters and atypical climate changes? Is the conversation a mere reflection of the fact that we now have access to weather occurrences throughout the world and are aware of disasters occurring at micro- and macro-regional levels, or are we indeed in the midst of a worldwide climate change with disastrous consequences?

Storm approaching in Marau, Rio Grande do Sul, 2009. Photo by Mateus Waechter on Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

As reported in an article [en] published on Global Voices in 2009 concerning the effects of heavy rains in Salvador that were mitigated on account of information circulated among the online community, while some claimed that the heavier rains were due to climate changes, João Miguel Lima left a comment claiming that:

Para os climatólogos, ainda não quer dizer que o volume de chuvas seja mudança climática. Seria necessário um intervalo de tempo maior para se perceber um padrão novo para afirmar isso; até agora é uma instabilidade do clima.

Now that three years have passed, has it been long enough for us to draw more solid conclusions? Some Internet users believe so.

“Is the weather in your city wacky?“

The question was posed on a Yahoo! Answers forum by a user who triggered an online version of the ever prosaic elevator conversation:

Eu moro em Guarulhos-SP [São Paulo] e o tempo aqui cada vez está mais estranho, uma hora faz calor, outra o tempo fica nublado e friento, e outra chove e depois para de chover e faz bastante calor e depois frio. Tá uma doideira o tempo em Guarulhos, e na sua cidade?

The same question has reverberated in many online discussions; and there are few answers to the many questions raised. According to some specialists, climate change is real. A study published by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE according to its Brazilian acronym) in June 2010, for example, points out that floods are occurring with more frequency in the city of São Paulo.

As mudanças no clima (…) indicam aumento de dias com chuvas intensas e mais freqüentes e as projeções de crescimento da população na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, que deverá dobrar de tamanho nos próximos 20 anos, especialmente nas periferias.

Climate changes, combined with urban growth and rural development lacking adequate planning to ensure protection, lead to even greater social and economic consequences in both cities and suburbs.

The site Climate Changes is entirely dedicated to encouraging understanding and information-sharing regarding this phenomenon. In an article published on the site in 2009, the head of the Climate Change and Energy Program for the WWF-Brazil, Carlos Ritti, states that “climate change is the greatest environmental and development challenge of the 21st century.”

Uma série de eventos climáticos muito intensos ocorridos nesta última década já indicava que o clima do planeta está passando por uma transformação significativa.

Nonetheless, between clouds and torrential rains, many people end up not knowing the difference between climate and weather, and they end up not understanding the true dimensions of this phenomenon. According to Gabriel Cabral, in an article written for the site Education World:

O tempo refere-se ao estado momentâneo que ocorre em um determinado local a partir do ar atmosférico que pode ocorrer de maneira lenta ou rápida. Em diferença, o clima refere-se ao conjunto de condições atmosféricas que ocorrem em determinados locais de forma marcante.

Rio+20 for change?

Rio+20, the United National Conference on Sustainable Development, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, 20 years after the city also hosted the Earth Summit [en], where the concept of sustainable development was first endorsed, has already included climate change and the worldwide effects of climate change in its agenda. The UN itself already has a Convention on Climate Change [en], most recently held in Durban in November and December 2011.

According to the organization, “the Convention on Climate Change sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change.  It recognizes that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.”

Smog in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro. Photo by Pierre-Yves Dansereau on Flickr. (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Despite the objectives of Rio+20 including:

um comprometimento político renovado com o desenvolvimento sustentável, avaliar o progresso feito até o momento e as lacunas que ainda existem na implementação dos resultados dos principais encontros sobre desenvolvimento sustentável, além de abordar os novos desafios emergentes,

some specialists have noted that the conference does not have a clear and specific agenda. Marina Silva, the former presidential candidate, stated in an interview granted to the newspaper Folha de São Paulo and published on the site The Echo that the draft published by the organization, containing the zero draft of the Rio+20 outcome document:

é insuficiente. Genérico, não faz uma crítica ao modelo de desenvolvimento atual e dos padrões de produção e consumo. (…) Tudo parece apontar para aquele conhecido roteiro: decepção e paralisia dos governos, enquanto a crise socioambiental só se agrava -foi assim na COP 15, 16, 17…

One need not be a specialist to realize that something is changing and that the repercussions go beyond the confines of the elevator. This is no longer an isolated fact affecting merely one city, but rather a combination of various elements that bring to light the impact of these climate changes. Instead of questions, however, we need to focus on the answers.

Written by Fernando Sapelli · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (0)
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[All links in this post lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted.]

On the eve of the New Year's festivities, the population in the state of Ceará, Brazil, was taken by surprise with a strike by the military police and firefighters. Propagating both facts and rumors surrounding the violence, the hashtag #CaosEmFortaleza (ChaosInFortaleza) has brought together general grumbling, formal complaints, ironic musings and misinformation on the social and political atmosphere in the capital city of Fortaleza.

On the evening of December 29, 2011, military police and firefighters assembled in the barracks of the military police's Company 6 of the 5th Battalion, located in Fortaleza's Antonio Bezerra neighborhood, and formally commenced the strike. They occupied the locale and called for professional compensation in terms of both education/training as well as higher salaries.

Fearing violence, Governor Cid Gomes declared a state of emergency and called in the Army and the National Guard to patrol Fortaleza. The governor is currently in the capital city, but he has not made any public appearance or statements to date. Negotiations have taken place between the representative of the Association of Public Security Professionals (APROSPEC in Portuguese), the federal attorney general, the state attorney general and the president of the Ceará Chapter of the Brazilian Bar Association.

Panic escalates with the spread of facts and rumors

On January 2 and 3, 2012, Trending Topics Brazil registered the following top hashtags/expressions from the citizens of Fortaleza: #CaosEmFortaleza (ChaosInFortaleza), #aculpaedogovernador (itsthegovernorsfault), and the expression ‘Cid Gomes.' Throughout January 2, reports shared on social networks and the media referred to attacks on restaurants and stores, and to looting along the main avenues and in the downtown area. There are still questions being raised as to the extent of the situation since some of the images and information that has been shared have proven to be false.

Student Débora Vaz (@deboravaz) tweeted a message pleading caution:

Todo cuidado é pouco na hora de separar o que está acontecendo de verdade e o que é histeria coletiva. #CaosEmFortaleza

A photo of thieves on motorcycles, guns in hand, was widely circulated on Facebook, with claims that the photo had been taken somewhere in the depressed outskirts of Fortaleza. Hours later, the truth emerged: the photo had been taken in August 2010 in Rio de Janeiro during a clash between the police and drug traffickers.

Twitterer Thallis Cantizani (@tcantizani) drove through the Barra do Ceará neighborhood with a friend to investigate the alleged situation of shootings and attacks in the area. She found a very different situation and satirically reported her findings via video:

Galera, eu rodei por Fortaleza/Barra e não vi isso tudo que vocês estão dizendo, me desculpem #CaosEmFortaleza t.co/pK4m0qz5

Satirical responses to the situation include remarks by @Rezenha_de_Gil, who ironically tweeted that #Chaos InFortaleza was likely a name for a music band playing the local musical genre of forró, and by Gustavo (@gustavo_ns) joking about Twitter traffic with the governor's name, which remained a trending topic for nearly an hour. He made a reference to the rumor that had surfaced in 2010 regarding the expression ‘Cala Boca Galvão' (Shut Up Galvão), also reported [en] on Global Voices:

Cid Gomes is a rare bird of the interior of Ceará at risk of extinction.

On the morning of January 3, filmmaker Juliana Ribeiro (@Juju_Ribeiro) complained:

Gente, sério: galera faz piada, mas o quão absurdo é a cidade inteira parada c/ medo d assalto s/ nenhuma notícia d negociação p/ resolver?

Reporter Fábio Campos (@fabiocamposm) questioned the governor's lack of engagement:

O governador erra ao não se pronunciar. Prevalece um vácuo de autoridade.

Student Camila Mont'Alverne (@camilambpp) condemned the government of  Cid Gomes, which was criticized in 2011 for its reaction to the teachers' strike and also for its policy of removing communities in expectation of the 2014 World Cup.

Twitterer Bárbara Alencar (@BabiAlencarCE) related the situation to the apocalyptic theories surrounding 2012:

Dizem que o mundo acaba em 2012…tinha que começar logo em Fortaleza? :( #CaosEmFortaleza

January 3, the day Fortaleza stood still

Facebook users are posting a photo montage of the game Grand Theft Auto Fortaleza

If many reports were proved false, many public figures provided first hand reports that served to misinform the public and create more panic. TV reporter and anchorwoman Maísa Vasconcelos (@maisanablogo) tweeted:

Assalto, tiros e terror na Frei Mansueto, Varjota #Fortaleza. Eu vivi.

Writer Socorro Acioli (@AcioliSocorro) tweeted what she had seen from her apartament:

Arrastão na via expressa. bandidos param os carros com pedradas, mandam descer. Não é boato,estou vendo da minha janela.

Stores in the city's downtown area closed after reports of looting and attacks. The area, which is generally packed with people and street vendors, was empty, as seen in the photo tweeted by Jarbas Oliveira (@jarbas_oliveira):

Photo shared on Twitter by @jarbas_oliveira: "Pedro Pereira Street in downtown Fortaleza today at 2:28 p.m. It looks like the days everyone takes off when Brazil plays in the World Cup."

Facebook user Sabryna Esmeraldo tried to raise awareness after everything she had seen and heard from friends:

De boa, quem estiver dizendo que é só boatos e terror deve estar em casa, tranquilo. Várias lojas fechadas no centro, quase todas na Dom Manoel fechadas, ruas desertas, helicopteros e policia para o arrastao do Mercado Central, ônibus ameaçando parar (isso quem me disse foi um motorista de onibus), arrastao no HGF, tentativa no Cesar Cals, Shopping Via Sul fechado, lojas da aldeota fechadas, antonio sales e domingos olimpio tb. Essas todas ou eu vi ou pessoas realmente proximas me disseram. Não sei o quanto mais das outras coisas é boato, mas realmente to preferindo acreditar…

Effemberg (@Effemberg) tweeted the public's general impressions of January 3:

03/01/2012 o dia que Fortaleza parou #CaosEmFortaleza

Sociologist Márlia Paiva (@MarliaMaloca) stressed that, with the people bunkering down in their homes, the general 6:00 p.m. traffic simply ceased to exist:

Faltam 15min p/ às 18h e não existe nenhum congestionamento em Fortaleza.Conseguiram acabar com o caos do trânsito em Fortaleza.Como foi? =P

Márlia Paiva also posted on Facebook a photo she had taken on her cell phone of an army vehicle on Domingos Olímpio Avenue.

The  repercussions of violence on everyday living

Given the threat of violence, post offices and some health clinics chose to stop operating for the day. The number of busses on the street decreased as of January 2, with bus drivers citing a lack of security on their routes and through neighborhoods marked as dangerous.

On January 2, the State Department of Justice declared the strike unconstitutional and ordered everyone back to work, levying a R$500 fine upon anyone who chose to defy the order. Nevertheless, the strike continued.

Early in the afternoon on January 3, the Ceará Chapter of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB-CE) publicized a note clarifying the strike. The note stressed the legitimacy of the claims put forward by the police officers although it criticized participation by all officers on account of having caused trouble and bringing danger upon the city's citizens. While the impasse continues, the population remains reclusive, afraid of going out in the streets.

Written by João Miguel D. de A. Lima · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (0)
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The military police  launched a blitz operation at the University of São Paulo (USP) after approaching three students smoking marijuana Thursday night (October 27, 2011) at the School Philosophy, Languages and Humanities (FFLCH). Dozens of police cars surrounded one of the school's buildings, where hundreds of people were protesting the incarceration of students caught smoking marijuana, an illegal drug in Brazil.

According to Lieutenant Luiz Henrique Salles, the students obstructed the police as they attempted to take the three individuals to the police district where the crime was to be registered. The school rector, Professor Sandra Nitrini, attempted to mediate the situation and offered to accompany the students to the police station, but she was reprehended by the protesters who feared administrative measures would be taken against the students found in possession of the drug.

USP students ask military police to withdraw from the campus. Photo by the author.

More security, less repression

The police's actions on the public university's campus, which involved the use of smoke bombs [video] and truncheons, have divided the academic community. A few hours after the confusion broke out at the FFLCH, many people demonstrated both for and against police action on the university campus.

On Twitter, Samuel Gerez (@samuelgerez) supported the actions of the military police (PM):

Hj a PM esta na historia usp. 15 viaturas e 8 motos. Querem prender maconheiros. Eu acho certo.

Journalism student Andrea Wirkus (@andrea_wk) preferred to question the public security that the military police have been providing at the university, which was stepped up after student Felipe Ramos de Paiva, age 24, was killed in the parking lot at one of the USP schools in May 2011.

Não que eu seja contra ou a favor da PM na USP, mas os policiais perdem mais tempo revistando alunos do que protegendo…

An increase in violence on the USP campus, which is located in the Butantã neighborhood, has raised concerns among the academic community, but the police presence is not an isolated occurrence. Prior to Felipe's death, the military police intervened minimally, especially on account of heavy resistance by students, professors and university employees who fear the kind of repression that occurred yesterday.

The rector of the University of São Paulo's School of Geography, Professor André Martin, is one of the professors who does not believe that the police are effectively providing [better] campus security. Martin says “the military police do not understand the nature of the agreement” with the university:

O meu ponto de vista é a tragédia anunciada, porque, a partir do momento que se decidiu isso [presença da polícia no campus], esse episódio já estava previsto, porque a polícia militar vai imaginar que deve ter um comportamento, na cidade universitária, idêntico ao que tem na cidade como um todo.

Há um protocolo que coloca a polícia militar no campus para proteger a comunidade universitária contra assaltos, contra crimes. Segundo esse protocolo, não está prevista a abordagem para a repressão à droga. Este é o ponto do tumulto. Os policiais alegam que, no caso de flagrado o uso de entorpecentes, eles não podem se omitir, porque isso seria crime de prevaricação.

On Twitter, professor, sociologist and journalist Laurindo Leal (@Lalolealfilho) questions police intervention on campus, referring to the police repression in the case of a person caught using marijuana to denounce the supposed intent of the military police on the campus.

Alguém tinha dúvida de que a volta da PM ao campus da USP era para reprimir estudantes? Anotem: os próximos serão funcionários e professores.

Many professors participated alongside the students in the protests against the police actions taken against the student found using marijuana. Professor Marlene Suano of the Department of History was one of the professors who tried to calm the police and students in the midst of the altercations. She ended up being struck by a police officer who was reacting to provocations by a student.

O aluno estava agredindo o policial, que levantou o cassetete para se defender e eu me coloquei na frente. Ele (o aluno) queria sangue. O que fazer com um policial desses?

The conspicuous presence of the military police on the campus reminds us of the “lead years,” the time in which Brazil faced a coup d'état that limited civil rights and violently repressed all opposition movements, including those that took place at the universities. Given this, the military's actions on campus are facing strong opposition from the academic community, as demonstrated by social scientist Stênio Soares on the blog Cálice:

Se por um lado ainda temos fresca a memória da atuação dos militares nas universidades brasileiras durante o regime autoritário (1964-1985), temos um presente pleno de desigualdade socio-econômica. Alguém poderia me citar qual a atuação da excelentíssima Universidade de São Paulo diante desse problema? Não vale falar qual é o compromisso, afinal sabemos bem. Mas quais são as relações que a USP estabelece, por exemplo, com as comunidades pobres que lhe margeia? Não poupem as repostas, vamos tocar direto na ferida. Se a criminalidade associada a má distribuição de renda chega ao berço da classe média paulistana, também temos uma quantidade relativa de estudantes que lutam pela liberdade de comportamento e questionamento (afinal, são acadêmicos que ali frequentam). Se a universidade prioriza soluções racionais para resolver seus problemas, porque a necessidade de buscar uma força autoritária, cuja educação profissional e histórica está atrelada à violência e à opressão?

The university is a space for dialogue and knowledge building, principles that do not go well with the idea of public security based on the exclusive use of force that has historically guided police actions on and off campus.

Amidst the commotion between the students and the police, Professor Ana Fani, from the School of Geography, made a request that actually should apply to anyone's presence on the university campus.  “I am asking that the police withdraw and let us continue with our professional duties, allowing us to take the students inside so that we can calmly and tranquilly continue with our tasks. Nothing tragic happened; there are no terrorists here; we just want to have classes.”

Written by Adriano Rangel · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (1)
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The article in question is 135, with the changes intended to limit public spending on account of the current economic crisis, yet owed in part to pressure from the so-called financial markets and coming top-down from Europe.

Article 135 of the Spanish Constitution will now read as follows:

1. All governments shall adjust operations to honor the principle of a budgetary stability.
2. The federal government and the autonomous communities may not assume a structural deficit greater than those margins so established by the European Union for member states. Constitutional law will determine the maximum legally permitted budget deficit for the federal government and autonomous communities as a percentage of their GDP. Local governments must present a balanced budget.
3. The federal government and autonomous communities must be authorized by law to issue public debt or take out credit.

The debate has centered on two fronts, the political and the social.

Political debate has emerged from the ranks of the Socialist Party itself, with cases such as those of the congressional representative and the former secretary general of Workers' Commissions (Spain's largest trade union), Antonio Gutiérrez, who announced he would not seek another candidacy if the policies of the Socialist Party continue on their current course, which involves adopting measures closer aligned with right-wing neoliberalism. Bear in mind the latest labor reforms implemented by the socialist government.

Photo by @anderinaki http://yfrog.com/j22muhj

In turn, there have been protests throughout the country organized in part by  the assemblies of Puerta del Sol and seconded by the entire 15M movement against what Real Democracy Now! has  called the Financial Coup D'État.

That same day, typical cat-and-mouse tensions began to emerge between an already nervous police force and the press.

acampadasol: Thursday's agreed-upon slogan: “No to constitutional reform. Down with orders from the markets and (the) capital.” #AGSol

Written by Chris Moya · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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May 5, 2011 -> The day the Brazilian Supreme Court granted same-sex couples the right to form a civil union in a 10-0 vote. Twitpic by @Leo_Rossetti

The historic decision, which brings an end to the legal discrimination of homosexuals, dominated conversations both virtual and otherwise and assumed a predominantly commemorative tone. Since Thursday, when the session opened in the Court, the hashtag #uniaohomoafetiva (literally homo-affective union, Brazil's term to describe civil unions for same-sex couples) topped Twitter's trending topics.

Tielo, on the blog Ululos Selvagens (Wild Shrieks) [pt], watched the vote play out on television in order to analyze the arguments that would be used to recognize or deny civil unions for homosexuals. Proud of the country's Supreme Court (which hears only cases of constitutional concern), he highlighted the vote's best arguments:

Recomendo a leitura dos votos não apenas pelos argumentos jurídicos, mas pelos argumentos pró-tolerância.

Há duas falas que ministros que eu gostaria de deixar aqui:

“Aqui, o reino é da igualdade absoluta, pois não se pode alegar que os heteroafetivos perdem se os homoafetivos ganham. Quem ganha com a equiparação postulada pelos homoafetivos? Os homoafetivos, muito bem. E quem perde? Ninguém perde. Os heteroafetivos não perdem e a sociedade não perde” – Ministro Ayres Brito

“Uma sociedade decente é uma sociedade que não humilha seus integrantes.” – Ministra Hellen Gracie

Papai Gay (Gay Daddy) [pt] says it was one of the rare moments in which he felt pride in Brazil's judicial system:

Essa equiparação nos faz, perante a lei, iguais em nossos direitos de casais gays. Isso tem um efeito psicológico social fortíssimo. O estranhamento que ainda causa quando as pessoas sabem que moro com um homem será amparado pela lei. Vão pensar 2 vezes antes de falarem que isso é uma pouca vergonha.

For Joaquim Fernandez, the decision came somewhat late on account of actions by religious groups and conservative social groups that have managed to delay legal recognition of civil unions for same-sex couples. Fernandez believes Brazil has made one more step in the right direction [pt]:

Só mesmo a visão turvada pelo preconceito ou pelo fanatismo religioso pode levar alguém a ser contra tal medida. A decisão, inclusive, não institui o casamento civil entre pessoas do mesmo sexo. Entendem os ministros que o casamento civil se restringe aos casais formados por um homem e uma mulher. Assim, não há motivos para alguém se opor a uma decisão que, reitere-se, foi tomada por unanimidade. Ainda que de forma mais lenta do que seria desejável, o Brasil vai avançando nas questões de cidadania.

Commemoration of the law allowing for same-sex marriage on Paulista Avenue. Twitpic by @Gui_5

This, however, was not the understanding shared by the many who celebrated the legal approval of civil unions for same-sex couples as if it were synonymous with marriage. Everton Lopes and Marcel Zama recount the overall mood on the streets of São Paulo [pt] following the ruling:

Ontem algumas dezenas de pessoas foram comemorar na Av. Paulista. Foi bem legal e interessante. Emocionante as pessoas gritando “Agora pode”, quando uma drag queen vestida de noiva apareceu segurando a bandeira do arco-íris.

Sim, agora pode!

Mas que fique bem claro. O mais importante não é casar. É TER O DIREITO DE SE CASAR. Direito negado desde sempre e que hoje, é a nossa realidade.

Actually, homosexual couples will not be able to marry under this ruling, which represents merely one step in the direction of civil unions for same-sex couples. Attorney Flavia Penido clarifies this and other questions [pt]:

Não se está falando sobre casamento gay, e sim de equiparação da união estável heterossexual para a união estável estabelecida entre homossexuais

Cida Lorenz Pelenz [pt] summaries the question regarding the guarantying of civil rights for all:

Elementar, meu caro. A Constituição já diz que somos todos iguais perante a lei. Cumpra-se a lei!

Dissonant voices

While the overall mood may be one of commemoration, not everyone is content with the Supreme Court's ruling. Jhunior Silva, for example, views the ruling as a setback for the family [pt]:

Deus neste dia está muito triste e decepcionado com os congressistas Brasileiros, o que Deus fez, eles querem apagar, abolir, tirar dos valores do ser humano o projeto família, mas eles não sabem, o que Deus estabeleceu homem nenhum irá destruir.

Congressional Representative Jair Bolsonaro mocks the court's ruling, saying “after gay civil unions, the next step is to legalize pedophilia.” Some people agree and have expressed similar points of view, such as Marcon [pt]:

Pelo andar da carruagem, muito em breve passará a ser necessário, no Brasil, que todo homem terá que ter uma experiencia homossexual para ser considerado maior de idade - felizmente de há muito já passei dos 18 anos e não serei alcançado por tal determinação.

The fight continues

Civil Union for Same-Sex Couples. Illustration by Marcel Trindade in homage of the ruling by Brazil's Supreme Court (Flickr, copyright CC BY 2.0)

Amanda Almeida underscores that the legal battle may have been won, but the fight continues [pt]:

Estamos agora em busca da aprovação do PL 122, que torna crime a ofensa e discriminação a homossexuais. É outro ponto que acho um absurdo que precise de votação. Respeito é algo que deveria ser inerente ao ser humano, independentemente de qualquer cor, raça ou escolha sexual. Mas tendo como estatística que um homossexual seja morto a cada um dia e meio (260 mortes irracionais em um ano), essa é outra luta essencial. Como infelizmente precisamos disso, que venha a votação da lei, mais uma vez.

Finalizo esse texto com uma frase fantástica da minha mãe. Sim, minha mãe. Que nunca foi feliz com minha ‘ orientação’ sexual e que sei que se sente triste com essa orientação, mas é uma pessoa que me deseja ver muito feliz, independente de qualquer coisa. Quando disse a ela que teve uma votação para garantir esses direitos, ela disse: “Mas se até as amantes, que obviamente causam destruições da instituição familiar, quando comprovam relacionamento duradouro têm direito a pensões e benefícios sem que nunca tenha sido necessária essa votação, pq um casal homossexual que só quer ser feliz sem prejudicar ninguém precisa passar por essa votação?” . Pois é, mãe. Ótima pergunta!

The manner in which Brazil is currently handling intolerance and prejudice will the the subject of the next post in this series. Read earlier articles in this series:

Brazil: Homophobia, Religion and Politics
Brazil: LGBT Scene Under Discussion

Written by Paula Góes · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (0)
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Photo of Mario Vargas Llosa: MTKR CC BY-NC 2.0

The 37th International Book Fair [es] opened on April 20, 2011 in Buenos Aires — designated by the UNESCO as the 2011 World Book Capital [es] — and will continue through May 9 at the Royal Society in Palermo [es]. This year's fair merits some mentions and highlights.

Like other years, the fair included special guest speakers. 2011 welcomed Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, which brought both favorable reactions as well as opposition, as published previously on Global Voices.

The speculations surrounding Vargas Llosa's keynote address were ultimately quelled when he took the podium on April 21, as reported in Fernando Mires‘ [es] blog:

Pocas veces un discurso ha sido esperado con más expectación como aquel pronunciado por el Premio Nobel de Literatura Mario Vargas Llosa con motivo de la inauguración de la Feria del Libro en Buenos Aires el 21 de Abril de 2011. Las razones de la expectación, como es sabido, no fueron de índole literaria sino política, y esas razones –también es sabido- no las impuso Vargas Llosa. Las impuso un grupo de intelectuales argentinos – más gobiernero que gobiernista- cuyo propósito no era otro que clausurar la voz del brillante intelectual peruano.

There was no delay in reactions from various Argentinian intellectuals, such as, for example, the opinions published on the blog Desde la Platea [es]:

Está muy bien que haya hablado en la Feria del Libro de nuestra ciudad. Debió quedarse en el campo de la literatura y no insistir sobre el destino de los argentinos, que sigue siendo cosa nuestra, salvo que Vargas Llosa sepa algo que no nos cuenta y ya no seamos más argentinos y nadie nos avisó.

The blog for La Marea [es] magazine believes,

Desde nuestra actividad como intelectuales y trabajadores de la cultura en su más amplio sentido, comprometidos con la lucha de los pueblos por su liberación, consideramos necesario someter a discusión todas las políticas culturales, oficiales y privadas, que profundizan la dependencia económica y cultural argentina. No solo las declaraciones de Vargas Llosa lesionan la dignidad de nuestro pueblo, también aquellas acciones que atentan contra su producción cultural y su identidad.

Contrarily, Domizio Vilma Beatriz made the following comment in the book fair blog [es]:

La presencia de Mario Vargas Llosa produjo una fuerte sacudida en mi espíritu latinamericano. Me recordó quienes somos los argentinos y quienes fuimos. Me replanteó interrogantes y pude darme respuestas que me aliviaron y me crearon esperanzas. La mirada de un hermano latinoamericano comprometido con nuestra realidad siempre nos es útil y enriquecedora. Me hizo revivir, con muchísimo placer el tono fuerte y divertido de sus libros y sentir nuevamente mi orgullo juvenil por la Educación Publica que tuvimos. Sé que su discurso vibró a lo largo y a lo ancho de nuestras fronteras y el mundo. Su perspectiva se abrió en mil dimensiones y pude ver que este presente histórico y social es relativo si nosotros nos lo proponemos. Gracias a la Feria del libro por haberlo convocado!!!.

Fernando Mires‘ [es] blog provides a brief analysis of the Nobel laureate's speech and visit:

No, estimados escritores nacionalistas, izquierdistas, derechistas, populistas y acomodaticios. A Mario Vargas Llosa nadie le regaló el Premio Nobel. Lo ganó con una constancia, con un talento y con una integridad personal, que ustedes, aunque lo lapiden, nunca, ni en sueños, alcanzarán.

Mario Vargas Llosa, together with the mayor of Buenos Aires and Maria Kodama Photo: Government of the city of Buenos Aires CC BY-NC 2.0

The complete keynote address was published in the newspaper El Dia [es], with the following as one of the speaker's notable excerpts:

Agradezco a los organizadores de este certamen haber resistido las presiones de algunos colegas y adversarios de mis ideas políticas para desinvitarme. Y extiendo mi agradecimiento a la Presidenta, señora Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, cuya oportuna intervención atajó aquel intento de veto. Ojalá esta toma de posición en favor de la libertad de expresión de la mandataria argentina se contagie a todos sus partidarios y guíe su propia conducta de gobernante.

What did Mario Vargas Llosa's visit leave us? La Voz del Interior [es] summarizes:

El Premio Nobel de Literatura Mario Vargas Llosa llegó en absoluta tranquilidad a la Feria del Libro, pronunció su discurso sin sobresaltos y se retiró sin abucheos ni nada parecido.

Written by Laura Schneider · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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Screenshot from the video in which a female desk officer is being handcuffed and stripped by police officers

The case goes back to 2009. At the time, according to Pannunzio and Rede Band, the desk officer had received money from a person accused of carrying a weapon as a bribe for not formally imprisoning the accused. When the delegation of all male representatives from the state police's Office of Internal Affairs showed up at the precinct, they obligated the female desk officer to submit to a strip search in order to find the money. She did not object to submitting herself to a full search.

To the contrary; she merely asked that she be searched by female police officers. But her cries were in vain. Handcuffed and thrown to the ground, she quickly had her underwear and lingerie ripped off by a representative who subsequently affirmed that he had indeed found the supposed bribe money on the desk officer's person. On account of the cash found, the desk officer was discharged and now faces criminal bribery charges.

The full video of the incident can be viewed on Vimeo.

The blogosphere immediately expressed its repudiation of the Office of Internal Affairs' attitude, stressing the illegality of the measures taken and the office's disregard for the basic principles of a democratic state of law.

Vladimir Aras' Blog do Vlad states that the search performed by the representatives of the Office of Internal Affairs and the aggression taken towards the desk officer were the true crimes documented in the video [pt]:

Ao desnudarem à força uma mulher algemada e humilhada no chão de uma delegacia, esses agentes da lei não expuseram apenas “as vergonhas” da suspeita. Exibiram de forma exuberante o vexaminoso cotidiano de parte da Polícia brasileira, useira e vezeira em afrontar direitos humanos dos cidadãos.

In the blog Flit Paralisant, police officer Guerra reminded readers that the desk officer had filed a complaint with the Attorney General's Office in 2009 to investigate the abuse of power but that the claim had been swiftly dismissed. The state attorney in the case saw no indication of any crimes committed by investigators from the Office of Internal Affairs. Copies of the request for dismissal are available on the blog as is an e-mail relating the case sent by the desk officer that same year [pt]:

O Dr. Eduardo então mandou que eu me despisse por inteira, passei a ficar indignada pois jamais tiraria minhas vestes na frente de oito homens desconhecidos e cheguei a solicitar de joelhos que fosse acionada uma delegada, investigadora ou escriva da corregedoria, visto que propus retirar a roupa somente na frente da policial feminina, respondendo o delegado que não confiava na policial e dizendo com tom ameaçador que só sairia dali ao me ver “pelada” (…)

The inspector for the state police of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Stein, who also edits the blog Caso de Polícia (Police Case), vented his frustration [pt]:

Infelizmente já vi em vídeos do Youtube centenas de cenas de violência policial praticadas contra cidadãos inocentes ou criminosos. São momentos em que sinto grande e verdadeira vergonha de compartilhar de um cargo policial com determinadas pessoas.

Mas, verdadeiramente, hoje não fiquei só enojado ou envergonhado. Senti na verdade uma ânsia de vômito. Desgosto. Abominável.

Danillo Ferreira, a police officer with the military police of Bahia, in his blog Abordagem Policial (Police Approach), states that the behavior of the investigators from the Office of Internal Affairs is not proper and is not what one would expect of an officer [pt]:

Um ato que merece o repúdio público, mesmo que haja provas que atestem o crime da ex-policial.

After the video was released, the Office of Internal Affairs, cowering from the public outcry, held that is officers committed no irregularities. The blog Escreva, Lola, Escreva (Write, Lola, Write) [pt], by Lola Aronovich, stressed that the incident may be rooted in police officer's sexual satisfaction:

Isso me fez lembrar o que Susan Brownmiller conta em seu clássico dos anos 70, Contra a Nossa Vontade. Era comum vítimas terem que narrar nos mínimos detalhes o seu estupro para policiais homens que ora não acreditavam nelas, ora pareciam se excitar com a narrativa. Isso quando essas vítimas não ouviam do policial: “Mas quem iria querer te estuprar?”

According to blogger Luka of Bidê Brasil, violence is run of the mill for the Brazilian police force, which assumed its current structure during the years of the military dictatorship:

O caso da ex-escrivã só mostra o quanto os direitos das mulheres são colocados de lado em diversas ocasiões, ainda mais quando vemos que havia 2 policiais femininas no local e que nada fizeram para não acontecer tal afronta, fora a lastimável declaração da Corregedora e do Governador dando razão a ação dos policiais. No final das contas este caso acaba sendo apenas mais uma ilustração de como o tucanato trata os direitos humanos e em especial os direitos humanos das mulheres, como se fossem descartáveis.

Many twitterers defended the female desk officer, but, even more surprising were those who supported the male investigative officers:

@fabioninja [DJ Fabio Ninja]
Pessoal fala em abuso de poder (quanto ao caso da escrivã nua), mas ninguém menciona que, de fato, o delegado estava correto.

@rodaabaiana [Iemai]
Sobre o caso da escrivã: se ela não tivesse cometido o crime, o ato não seria necessário. Criminoso tentando sair de vítima me cansa.

@allandematos [Allan Matos]
Sobre o caso da ex-escrivã nua: Acho que realmente houve exagero, mas a atitude dos delegados foi digna. Corrupção deve sempre ser combatida.

Maria do Rosário, the Minister of Human Rights Photo by Agência Brasil, distributed under a Creative Commons — Attribution 2.5 Brazil license.

In a message to the press, Human Rights Minister Maria do Rosário called for the discharge of all police officers responsible [pt]. Fearing that the case would head to the federal courts, Governor Geraldo Alckmin, in addition to honoring the minister's request, discharged the director of the Office of Internal Affairs as well [pt] and further indicated that the state security secretary might also be discharged.

Oddly enough, the investigators had been complaining of the harsh measures [pt] adopted by the state police's Office of Internal Affairs for some time and had fought to discharge the office's directors.

The security secretary was appointed by former Governor José Serra, unlike the political group under the current Governor Alckmin, who wished to appoint someone of his personal trust to the post [pt]. Considering the consequences of this case, it will be very difficult to discover who was responsible for releasing the video.

Written by Roger Franchini · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (2)
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Brazilian netizens scored an exclusive interview with Julian Assange, founder and editor of the polemical WikiLeaks. The invitation to participate in a collective interview was open to all bloggers and readers of the blog by independent journalist Natália Viana. From the 350 questions sent in, 12 were selected and answered as part of the interview. With the material republished on a number of blogs, Global Voices could not stand idly by.

At the Campus Party, held this January, participants used a mask with Assange's image. Photo from Flickr user kHovsT, published under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license.

Various - WikiLeaks worked with the mainstream media. Here in Brazil, Folha de São Paulo and Globo are seen as right wing newspapers. Not only they contribute to media concentration but they also have their own agenda. Isn’t it contradictory to work with these vehicles if WL wants to democratize access to information? Why not work with blogs and alternative media?

Due to resource constraints we are not able to yet to vet thousands of individuals so instead we have chosen to often work with groups of journalists, or groups of human rights researchers who have a significant audience. This often includes established media outlets, however, we do also work with individual journalists. Alternative media outlets and activist organisations, as the situation demands and resources permit.

One of the primary functions of the press is to hold government to account. In the case of Brasil, which has a left wing central government, we felt that a center right newspaper was necessary to properly scrutinise the left wing politicians of the central government. In other countries we have applied the reverse equation. Ideally we like to partner with a pro-government media outlet and an anti-government media outlet.

Marcelo Salles – In your opinion what is the most dangerous for democracy: the manipulation of information by governments or the manipulation of information by media oligopolies?

The manipulation of information by media is most dangerous for when a government manipulates information to the public detriment, but the media is strong, this manipulation can not hold for long. But when the media itself has become debased of its critical role then not only can government not be held to account but the pernicious interests or affiliations of the media or its owners can sway or permit government to engage in new abuses. The clearest example of this in recent times is the US mainstream media-led war on Iraq in 2003.

Eduardo dos Anjos – I’ve been following the recent leaks and didn’t find anything relevant, it sounds like too much noise for nothing. Why should we trust you and WikiLeaks?

WikiLeaks has a four year publishing history. During that time, to our knowledge, we have never described a false document as true. Additionally, neither has any other organisation claimed otherwise. While we currently have a perfect record in judging true documents from false we are, of course, only humans and will someday possibly make a mistake. But at present we have the best record in the business and wish to try hard to keep this good reputation.

Unlike other media organisations that have no public standard of what they will accept and what they will discard, WikiLeaks has a clear and precise definition to give potential sources confidence about whether we will use their material or not.

We take disclosures of diplomatic, ethical or historical significance that are official documents and that are classified or suppressed under some form of legal injunction.

Various – What concrete changes can happen as a consequence of WL in terms of balance of powers between governments, business and the public?

James Madison the framer of the US bill of Rights said that knowledge will forever rule ignorance. So a people who mean to be their own masters must have the power that knowledge brings. This philosophy of Madison's which combines the realm of knowledge with the realm of the distribution of power points to the changes that occur when knowledge is democratised.

States and giant corporations maintain their power over the individual through keeping knowledge from individuals. It is the gap in knowledge which delineates who is inside the most powerful parts of the state and who is inside the powerful parts of a corporation.

The free-flow of knowledge from powerful groups to less powerful groups or individuals is also a flow of power and hence an equalising and democratising force in society.

Marcelo Träsel - After Cablegate, Wikileaks got very powerful. Julian’s declarations about future leaks influence markets and government policies. While it becomes a power, shouldn’t WL create a mechanism of accountability by the public opinion?

WikiLeaks is one of the most responsive global organisations in existence.

It is significantly more accountable to the public than national governments and here is why: The fruits of all our labours are public. We are a publishing organisation. There is nothing that we do that does not end up contributing towards putting knowledge in the hands of the public.

WikiLeaks is funded by the public on a week by week basis. The public votes for us each week with its' wallets.

Potential sources supply documents to WikiLeaks because they believe that we will protect them and that we will achieve the maximum possible impact for their efforts. Should at any moment sources believe this to not be true, or that we are acting unethically, such contributions will stop.

WikiLeaks is supported and defended by many thousands of generous people who volunteer their time, skills and assets to be used in our endevours directly or indirectly in our defence. These people ‘vote' for us every day in this manner.

December 2010 – Demonstrators rally to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a demonstration in front of the British Consulate in São Paulo. Photo from Panoptico, under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.

Daniel Ikenaga – Which information should be secret in your definition?

We often hear this type of question. However, it is better to rephrase it as follows: “who should be forced by the state into keeping information of a particular type from the rest of the population?”

The answer to this question is clearly not everyone in the world and nor should it be, we believe, all persons in a particular state. Rather, say, your doctor is responsible for keeping your medical records secret under most (but not all) circumstances.

Various – In a recent interview to Estado de São Paulo you said WikiLeaks intended to use Brazil as a base for its work. What are the plans? Would accept political asylum in here if it was offered?

I would, of course, be flattered if Brazil offered my staff and I political asylum, we have strong support by the Brazilian people and based on that and the independent character of Brazil from other countries we have decided to expand our presence in the country. Unfortunately I, at this time, am under house arrest in the cold dark winter of Norfolk, England and can not make a home in beautiful, warm Brazil.

Various – Are you afraid of being killed? Is there any mechanism of protection in place for you? In case you get murdered, what will happen to WikiLeaks?

We are determined to continue despite the various threats against us. We have a strong faith in our mission and have not and will not be cowed by the forces against us.

My greatest protection is the futility of any attempt against me. For instance, when I was recently imprisoned for some ten days our publications proceeded unimpeded.

Similarly, we have distributed backups of all our pending publications across the world It is not possible to destroy WikiLeaks' upcoming publications by attacks on its staff.

Helena Vieira - In your opinion, what was the most important revelation of Cablegate? Did your world vision, your opinion, change in any aspect after reading the documents?

Cablegate covers almost every major event, public and private, and every country in the world so there are many most important revelations depending on where you live. And the majority of these have still yet to appear.

If we must refer to a single most interesting cable in a global context then out of the small fraction that I have read so far (keeping in mind that there are 250,000 cables) it is the cable tasking US diplomats to collect from an extremely wide range of organisations including the United Nations, encryption keys, DNA, credit card numbers, frequent flight numbers etc.

This cable is a tasking order by the CIA and National Security Agency on US diplomats and other embassy personnel. It reveals a shadow of the vast secret US intelligence collection apparatus.

Tarcísio Mender and Maiko Rafael Spiess - Besides Wiki having shaken international relations, what do you think about Time magazine electing Mark Zuckerberg man of the year? Do you see a paradox in the fact that he is praised while you are the “criminal of the year”?

Time Magazine can, of course, choose to award this title to whomever they like. However, for me it what was more important is that the people of the world chose to vote for me twenty times more than the Times editors choice. I won the people's vote, but not the a multi-national media companies vote. That seems correct to me. I also quite liked Saturday Night Live's take on the situation:

“I give you private information on corporations for free and I'm a villain. Mark Zuckerberg gives your private information to corporations for money and he's ‘Man of the Year.'”
Behind the scenes of course, things were more interesting, with a pro-Assange faction inside Time magazine being placated by a really quite impressive Assange cover on the December 13 issue, paving the way for the conservative choice of Zuckerberg a few weeks later.

Vinícius Juberte – Do you consider yourself a man of the left?

I see that there are good people in both sides of politics and definitely bad people in both sides of politics and it is my habit to seek out these good and just people and work with them in common cause.

Politicians, after election gradually become captured by the very government agencies they are meant to control. This is true regardless of their political flavour.

In so far as a power in equality exists between the people and their rulers, we are on the side of the people that phenomena is broadly associated with the rhetoric of the left which gives rise to a view that we are an organisation exclusively of the left. This is not correct. We are an organisation exclusively of truth and justice and we find those in many places.

Demonstrators rally to free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a demonstration in front of the British Consulate in São Paulo. Photo from Panoptico, under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.

Ariely Barata – Hollywood will produce a film about your life. What is your opinion about that?

Hollywood may produce many movies on WikiLeaks, as there are nearly a dozen books scheduled to be published. I am currently not involved in any film productions.

However, if we sell the film rights I shall demand to be played by Will Smith. Kristinn Hrafnsson (WikiLeaks' spokeperson) will be played by Samuel L Jackson, and my beautiful assistant will be played by Halle Berry. We will call it “WikiLeaks Film Noire”.

This post is part of our special coverage WikiLeaks and the World.

Written by Paula Góes · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (0)
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Buala.org

In 2010, two Portuguese women with years of experience in cultural production in Africa launched a “comprehensive project,” “[spreading] the will expressed by various African creators of culture,” which lead to their “discovering many other [creators of culture].” They introduced the project in Maputo, Luanda, studied Cape Verde and Portugal, opened a cultural association, secured seed money to start up operations and began collecting articles “in which quality and a certain thematic balance are essential.” “Subsequently, our job has been to maintain this same level of interest on a daily basis.”

So, they launched this “independent space” - Buala, a “place for long, in-depth articles that focus on serious, complex works that do not dispense with irony and with the urban cultures of an African youth and an African youth in the Diaspora that has much to say, with people who study Africa without historic blind folly and fantasy, who wish to contribute to reflections on (and with) the continent.” The site is available in Portuguese, French and English and is geared toward an international audience that may be getting to know contemporary Luso-African cultures and experiences for the first time. Yet, because it “seeks to foment mutual understanding and build bridges,” Buala is essentially bidirectional.

Because Buala establishes the text- and image-based contributions it receives as its geography, the web site visitor gets the sensation that all of Africa (not just Portuguese-speaking Africa) becomes lost in the world when it leaves its continental geographic limits. “The African continent is historically a continent of migrations. The impact of the slave trade to the Americas, of the late decolonization, is reflected in cultural and social frameworks that cut across various geographic contexts and that are worthy of discussion and reflection.”

Contemporary Africa is thus understood in transnational context.

Bwala, from the North Mbundu language, means house, village, a community where encounters occur. The orthographical shift to Buala was not for visual purposes, rather “to not focus solely on a specifically Mbundu word since we work within a more international context.”

Global Voices Online: Tell us about the Buala project. How did the idea emerge?

Buala: The idea arose from our noticing that there was a paucity of recording and exposure of interesting and current cultural happenings in Africa and in the African Diaspora that were not laden with the nostalgia or unilateral perspectives that had dominated the cultural scene for so many years. Moreover, we felt that the production of knowledge concerning Africa was not reaching the countries of Africa nor was knowledge circulating as it should among those most involved in its production. There are many topics, people, cultural phenomena that merit in-depth articles and that lack channels for dialoging and for cultural exchange among members the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP in Portuguese) and between members of the CPLP and the rest of the world. We thought the internet would be the most far-reaching tool to extend and expand all of this potential for exposure and dialogue, especially among the youth; we currently get 500 readers a day without incurring heavy costs.

GVO: In addition to the thematic diversity of the articles posted on Buala, there is a very notable presence of the Portuguese language, of Lusophone culture…

B: The Lusophone factor, widely disseminated in terms of discourse throughout all the Portuguese-speaking countries, does not mean an integrated awareness of these countries’ realities and cultures. Buala seeks to bring these people together to dialogue, but we do not wish to fall into that trap of Lusophone discourse, and certainly not emanating from Portugal, which frequently reverberates the past. Many people visit this space; we share a common language and realities that interconnect; we feel at home in any of these countries, but truthfully there is no overarching mutual understanding nor any notable self-promotion among the countries.

"It is important to communicate with the dynamic natures of the Portuguese-speaking counties and their particular features, to reinforce their unity, but not to treat at their unity as a homogeneous block." Image: Antonio Ole in an article entitled "Lusophone culture, identity and diversity in web society"

The fact that we have general and particular view of these countries – of their frustrations and irritations, their trends, dependencies and desires, their cultural practices and the figures who comprise the cultural panorama of each, and precisely because we believe that there is a new generation that can live these realities by weaving in other elements and by internalizing and expressing a decolonized point of view, made us see the advantage of dialoging on the various perspectives in the interest of sharing.

It is with these new perspectives and new peaks that we are interested in working, in a demystified manner, without excluding a post-colonial approach in our analysis of past relations to understand those of the present. We are trying to revert the tendency of a “space for Portuguese language” as an isolated bubble separate from the rest of the world. We are interested in contributing to Portuguese-speaking countries’ observing and participating in what is happening in the rest of Africa, which sometimes does not happen; for example, Angola and Cape Verde communicate much more with Brazil and Portugal than with the rest of the countries of Africa. We could say the same about Africa’s and the world’s scarce interest in these countries as strong participants in the creation of culture.

On a linguistic level, we are interested in delving into the diversity of the Portuguese language, showing the variety of expressions, slang, lexicon, and variants of the language through Portuguese’s transformative capacity. We invite Mozambican, Brazilian, Angolan, Cape Verdean, Portuguese authors, and their way of writing enables us to understand the thinking and culture of their countries and reference points or, in the case of people who have may have one foot in more than one country, of the mix produced from the “constant Diaspora.” Many African authors and creators adhere to Buala as they see themselves part of an attempt to bring more visibility to good works that encourage youth to pursue the elements necessary for critical thinking.

GVO: Who composes Buala’s readership? Are you looking to expand this readership base?

B: Buala is an interdisciplinary web portal for reflection, critique and documenting contemporary Portuguese-speaking African cultures. We noticed there were similar projects in French, English, German, etc., but only minimal material published in Portuguese. Those projects include a special focus on French-speaking and English-speaking African countries and a dearth of articles on Portuguese-speaking African countries. We are interested in providing a current platform for articles that reflect and critique this contemporary culture within a “Portuguese-language space” and to do so in a way that is integrated and contextually connected to the reflections emerging from other countries and other authors. Thus, Buala proposes, on the one hand, to provide reflections and to translate them, for the time being, into French and English – the languages that seem to us the most important and most viable for translation – and, on the other hand, to translate into Portuguese some of the most relevant discussions on contemporary African culture.

This component of translation undoubtedly allows us to better disseminate knowledge of the articles written and the topics discussed at the international level. While it is always interesting to increase readership, currently it is not possible to expand the languages into which we translate our articles, and we believe that the three languages already provide significant scope.

Buala proposes “to create new views, free from prejudice and colonial judgment.” Photo: Sérgio Pinto Afonso in an article entitled “Luanda, a state of urgency” by Marta Lança

GVO: Is the Portuguese-speaking community in African countries still under construction, compelled to articulate its need for decolonization? Or would it be a contradiction to talk of Lusophone culture and decolonization, considering that the Portuguese language in Africa is a colonial legacy, the result of a colonialist process that was once called “civilizing”? To what extent has contemporary Africa been questioning this?

B: In the first place, it is indeed important to reflect on the meanings of this “community under construction, positively under construction and positively rejected at times, since there are many possible identities within these countries in addition to this feature of the Portuguese language (which also should be viewed in country-specific context). We have published various articles on Buala that take new approaches to question the concept of Lusophone culture, that seek out these cultural identities shared among the countries, that draw comparisons to other models of linguistic, economic and cultural spaces, for example the Francophone sphere (in terms of cultural endeavors cultural and identification it is entirely different), and that pursues aspects that merit development in within this community.

We are well aware of this very dangerous “civilization” attribute that existed in colonial times and that remained in peoples’ minds for so long due to the manipulated idea of exception from Portuguese colonialism, couched in Luso-Tropicalia and other palliative theories. Lusophone culture depends on the narration of this certain history of Portuguese colonization, which justifies a certain present; for this reason we must recount alternative histories, expand our references and publish anti-colonial texts from resistance fighters, Negritude thinkers and leaders of the independence movements, from poets and philosophers and the entire cultural atmosphere of this period, from a perspective that is not only historic, but reflects on the current reality and that expresses the artistic views that subverts and takes new angles on old myths.

Image from the motion picture Mahla, by Mozambicans Mickey Fonseca and Pipas Forjaz, in the Buala blog “Dá Fala” (Giving Voice, pt), on African contemporary culture

Lusophone culture sometimes runs the risk of being this cover up of a violent past, a political correctness with the rhetoric of heady interculturality, which gives us the sensation of being in a space truly concerned with the fundamental questions of how to live with the Other. It is hypocritical when we know that there is still so much racism, and it is important to stress that this is not exclusive to Portugal. In Cape Verde, there is deep-seated racism against people from the African coast. In Angola, racism is directed towards the Congolese and the eternal poorly resolved questions between whites, blacks and mulattos. In Mozambique, complete dependence on foreign aid and neighboring markets provokes crises and desperation, like what we saw in September. São Tomé & Príncipe and Guiné-Bissau remain so unknown and urgently need greater cultural affirmation and positioning in the artistic sphere. Brazil exports its Brazilian culture to the entire world but is largely unfamiliar with the other Portuguese-speaking countries. Given the respective locations and preferential trading, these countries have other connections that also interest us.

Thus, aside from points of contact due to history and common migrations to/from these countries, we refuse to consider “Lusophone culture” as a single set, a sole block of countries. We believe in unity to strengthen the language and cultural exchanges, unity that needs to be better promoted (supporting more study grants and artists in residence, making the circulation of art/culture and the movement of peoples less bureaucratic, divesting ourselves of certain prejudices), but always taking into account the specific nature and diversity of each country. The internationalization that Buala seeks to create a space where Portuguese-speaking African countries are not hostage to the constraints of the dominant figures in each capital, to the cultural elite, to the lack of constructive criticism and opportunities for new voices to emerge. We are trying to move in the direction of expanding these biased and faulty visions with a more intergenerational, interdisciplinary and transnational approach.

Poster from a Capeverdean Creoule language course promoted in the Buala blog “Dá Fala” (Giving voice, pt), on African contemporary culture

Contemporary Africa flies in the face of the paternalistic views that have been the dominant trend in artistic production concerning Africa. We prioritize the new African generations that, despite having been beaten back by conflicts and wars in their particular countries, are less bound to a mentality of repression, that bring other experiences and ways of thinking and dreaming to the table. Children of the generation of nationalists and independence fighters have made this legacy a reference in their own fights, with the numerous challenges of the present. Africans who live abroad and maintain a connection to the continent, reflecting and positioning themselves in interesting ways. Contributions from various non-African writers who propose to take on Africa without the overtrod narratives of the past, in contact with the world in which they live, cosmopolitan cities, with genuine and expressive curiosity.

If the African countries, under construction and facing many privations – filled with opportunists, from the local government to foreign interests, eternal accomplices in underdevelopment – do not place their bets on culture and education, they will not take the basic steps for a veritable show of strength among equals. Buala seeks to contribute to this qualitative jump with the tools at its disposal and to promptly create a meeting and discussion space accessible to all.

Written by Manuela Tenreiro · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (0)
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The missing image: Dilma, the warrior, with the presidential sash. From the Abundacanalha blog.

When she takes Brazil's presidential oath of office, Dilma Rousseff will usher in a new era in the country's political history: she will be the first woman in a group consisting thus far of 35 male presidents. Dilma will also be the first Brazilian woman, and the 18th woman ever, to join the elite club of female leaders currently in power as presidents or prime ministers throughout the world.

For Adriana Tanese Nogueira [pt], this historic moment is certainly a sign of changing times and of yet immeasurable magnitude. According to Tanese, only time will gauge the significance of Brazil's election of its first-ever female president:

It is important to stress the deep symbolism of this election: a woman holds the country's highest office and, [not just any woman, but] a woman who joined the armed resistance against the military dictatorship. This is huge.

Conscientious women throughout the country are watching Dilma, hoping that she brings justice to the condition of women in Brazil and that she presents herself as an icon of female strength, valiance and intelligence.

The political left and all those against the dictatorship, all those who value democracy and are not content simply with conventional roles and money in their pockets are viewing this election with pride.

Cynthia Semirames [pt] has taken the opportunity to depict Brazil's political history from a feminist standpoint, reminding readers that, in the '20s, when her grandmother was born, women were not allowed to vote, that only in 1932 did they gain the right to help decide how the country would be run. For Cynthia, Dilma's election musters a wave of hope for so many Brazilian women:

It is interesting to see that the first woman to reach the presidency of Brazil does not hail from a political background (one of the most macho public arenas): she stood out and was chosen as a candidate on account of her professional skills. She is a symbol of hope for so many women who are excellent professionals but who face a glass ceiling, women whose work goes unrecognized and who are prevented from breaking into the upper echelons of the workforce.

It is great to know that we have broken the glass ceiling and have elected Dilma Rousseff: an extremely competent professional who will be a leftist president.

The times are changing, and new questions arise, such as: should Dilma be called presidente [traditional Portuguese term for president, masculine gender] or presidenta [somewhat more recently coined term for president, female gender]? Dad Squarisi [pt] explains that Portuguese-language dictionaries include both entries and that what is ultimately at stake is the question of feminist power in political discourse. She notes that, until recently, there was no reason to be concerned with terminology:

The question is new. A few years ago, nobody ever thought about the concrete possibility of a woman truly donning the green-yellow presidential sash. The topic was raised as a Utopian hypothesis, a kind of like-that-day-will-ever-happen attitude…. and then bam! It happened! The number of female voters outstripped the number of male voters, and candidates began courting women's votes in earnest.

Looking back in history, we actually see that Brazil had female leaders on three occasions before the republic was proclaimed: the Queen of Portugal D. Maria I governed the country remotely beginning in 1777; Maria Leopoldina, wife of D. Pedro I, became the first empress of Brazil in 1822; and Princess Isabel served as the country's regent in her father's absence. For Maíra Kubík Mano [pt], the fact that all of these women hailed from the Portuguese Royal Family reinforces the importance of Dilma as the first woman elected by the Brazilian populace, especially when considering the leadership of country with very little female representation in elected posts and with a long way still to go in terms of policy in favor of women:

Symbolically, this is incredible, regardless of your ideological bent, especially considering how women are remarkably underrepresented in national politics: in the last legislature, we women accounted for only 8.97% of the House of Representatives and 12.34% of the Senate, and these figures decreased in 2010. In fact, if this were our basis for calculating female representation, I would venture to say that it would take us another 100 years to see what took place today….

Dilma will become the third female president in South America, and it would be good if, on certain issues, she followed the examples set by her fellow commanders-in-chief. Michelle Bachelet, the former Chilean president and current executive director of UN Women, appointed women to 50% of her cabinet when she took office, a measure that was also pursued by Bolivia's Evo Morales. In Argentina, Cristina Kirchner not only approved gay marriage, but also pushed the country just shy of decriminalizing abortion.

Despite all the election hype surrounding Brazil's first female president, Edi Machado [pt] thinks that there was not exactly a change in the population's mindset and she holds to the belief that Lula was the real candidate; Dilma was just a nominal candidate in this election:

Fault Dilma? No, not at all; I just think that the real winner was Lula. I think that there is no way to deny this, that within the confines of what was “legally permissible,” he did what he had proposed in his numerous candidacies until being elected in 2002 and reelected in 2006; and I would say that he was elected once again in 2010. It's true — [Dilma] only won because [Lula] threw all his support behind her…. We can now only hope that God is with our country's first “presidenta” in all the decisions she makes and, if its not asking too much, that He help her be a good president for the good of a the entire, immense nation of Brazil.

Commemoration on the streets of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. Photo by Isaac Ribeiro under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike license.

On the other hand, while Alane Virgínia [pt] does agree that voting-booth approval for the candidate who was supported by the current president certainly means that the population approved of Lula's government, she rejects the claim that the people voted for Dilma merely because she was Lula's protégé. Alane believes that results actually show a national desire to keep the left in power:

As I understand it, voting for Dilma has to do with the national desire for the country's leadership to continue along the lines established by Lula. Our choice involved a risk; we voted in the hopes that Dilma will essentially continue to pursue  Lula's model of government.

No, I do not think the people voted for an unknown. I think the people voted for an ideology, fragile as it might be. It was a vote of trust.

Despite various positive and enthusiastic responses to Dilma's election, Brazil was beset with a wave of xenophobic comments [pt] that ran rampant on the internet even while votes were still being counted. Many unsatisfied voters “blamed” the poor, natives of the Northeast and those with little formal education for the election's “unfavorable” outcome. Lola Aronovich [pt] claims that the root of this reaction was the opposition candidate's lack of love for his country in his electoral campaign:

A blog ascribed to the extreme right explains Serra's defeat through unbelievably racist discourse: evolution divided the world into civilized peoples (white Europeans and Americans) and savages (Africans, the indigenous and their descendants, which he calls botocudos [derogatory term for indigenous peoples]).We Brazilians fall under the backwards side of the divide, with literally smaller brains, according to fascism. And we should copy the American electoral system because this business of letting the majority elect the president is only cool when we win. Another blog argued for zero tolerance for the new government and called for the blue wave (what blue wave, we might ask) to attack with the force of a devastating tsunami. And they are already shouting out their call to arms, even before the president takes office: “Get out Dilma!”

Dealing with the distrust and prejudice of a segment of the population, and with the media's visibly fierce opposition [pt] will be one of the challenges that Dilma's government will face. Could it be that she will be able to use her female sensitivities to overcome this? An opposition voter, Conceição Duarte [pt], asks that the president not be distracted by this fact and that she not forget that Brazil “is big, beautiful and lavish,” that all its inhabitants are full of dreams as well:

We, the Brazilian people, we want health, peace, safety, housing, employment. And incidentally better public transport. Water and sewage, lower taxes, opportunities for all, equality for women who work beside men yet earn less. School, good education and so much more for our everyday lives…. As a woman — a mother, a grandmother — I hope she respects the millions of votes she received. I wish her luck, health, and that she not forget us!

A week after elections, Brazilian women bloggers continue to shout out in chorus: yes, she can.

Written by Paula Góes · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (3)
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Image from Flickr user Luis Carlos Díaz, used under an Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

“I came to Firenze to forget about Peru and the Peruvians for a while, and suddenly my unfortunate country forced itself upon me this morning in the unexpected way.”

This is the opening of The Storyteller, a not so well known, but nonetheless critical, novel composing the literary works of Mario Vargas Llosa. In it, the narrator – who is very similar to the writer (Vargas Llosa is an aficionado of what is known as meta-fiction) – describes his meanderings in Florence trying to separate himself from Peru as he falls upon photographs that rekindle his interest for his native country. This perfectly illustrates the conflictive relationship between Vargas Llosa and Peru, and is key to understanding the body of his literary work.

As has already been reported in Global Voices, Mario Vargas Llosa was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature this year. And yet, beyond the nearly unanimous congratulations that many have extended in the media and on social networks, few have analyzed the author’s work following the illustrious prize. Nevertheless, some Peruvian writers and literary enthusiasts have written a few lines that try to demonstrate what Vargas Llosa means to them and to the country. One such writer is Gustavo Faverón, who states [es] in Puente Aéreo:

…es el autor de las primeras siete novelas adultas que leí en mi vida. … Aprendí muchas cosas sobre el mundo y sobre mi país leyendo a Vargas Llosa, … En los años de mi adolescencia, tuve tres ídolos semejantes. Vargas Llosa fue el primero, el siguiente fue Paul McCartney y el último Stanley Kubrick. … En mi vida, en esos años, y en los años siguientes, pocas personas de carne y hueso fueron tan reales para mí como […] el Poeta, el Jaguar, Lituma, la Pies Dorados, el Periodista Miope, Jum, Galileo Gall, Fushía, Teresita, Santiaguito Zavala, el León de Natuba, Jurema o la Brasileña.

But it is not only the characters from Vargas Llosa’s books who leave their impressions; there are also memorable phrases about Peru, like those collected by writer Richar Primo on his blog Zona del escribidor in a post [es] in homage to the author:

La primera novela que leí de Vargas Llosa fue “Conversación en la Catedral” y – mis amigos más cercanos lo saben – fue la lectura que alteró el curso de mi vida. Aun esta misma mañana, en que que he tenido que pasar por la avenida Tacna, y después de tantos años transcurridos, las primeras frases del libro me parece que reverberaran todavía nítidamente entre sus grises edificios … “automóviles, edificios desiguales y descoloridos, esqueletos de avisos luminosos flotando en la neblina. ¿En qué momento se había jodido el Perú?”

Image of Juan Arellano's personal library.

In addition to his literary endeavors, Vargas Llosa has pursued political activism that has earned him recalcitrant opponents, above all because of his migration from the bastion of leftism to that of liberalism. Even more so when he ran for president in the early nineties, an experience that left him disillusioned with loyalist politics and with Peru and that eventually resulted in one of his most interesting books, A Fish in the Water.

But Mario Vargas Llosa is an untiring thinker, and his announced withdrawal from politics was only at the level of personal involvement as a primary actor in it, and not a withdrawal from political thought. In fact, the academic Camilo Fernández writes [es] in his blog La soledad de la página en blanco what he believes are the reasons Vargas Llosa merits the Nobel Prize. One such argument reads:

maneja el ensayo con invalorable destreza. Polemista a contracorriente, incendiario en el más ilustre sentido de la palabra, Vargas Llosa es un demócrata que defendió la cultura de la libertad sacrificando, incluso, intereses personales y asumiendo, si fuera necesario, el costo político de hacer una apología de la tolerancia y de la búsqueda de consenso en una sociedad como la peruana, donde es moneda común la corrupción y el arribismo como prácticas consuetudinarias.

Kausa justa, the blog by the “Equipo de Indiciencia en Derechos” (Rights Brigade), includes a post [es] entitled “Seven fundamental texts by our author in defense of human rights in Peru.” Because even though Vargas Llosa is abroad most of the time, like his narrator in the fiction novel cited at the beginning of this post, he is always aware of what is going on in Peru. Writer Sonia Luz Carrillo from Habla Sonia Luz cites [es] a recent example of his participation and the consequences of his outspoken beliefs:

Hace algunas semanas apenas, nos dio muestras de cuán estrecho es el vínculo con las circunstancias nacionales al renunciar a la presidencia de la comisión encargada del Museo de la Memoria al encontrar incoherencia entre su presencia y un decreto legislativo diseñado para favorecer a los violadores de derechos humanos durante el régimen dictatorial de Fujimori y Montesinos y que el autor de La fiesta del chivo calificó acertadamente de amnistía encubierta.

Something Vargas Llosa recalls with pride is his time at National University of San Marcos. Three years ago, Sandro Medina, a journalist who blogs on Letra Suelta, was entrusted with interviewing the author for the university [es] magazine and published [es] some parts of the interview on his blog. Among other notable statements is this paragraph dedicated to politics and university life:

Tu vida universitaria no solo estaba ceñida a la lectura y las clases. Siempre tuviste la certeza de que en la universidad no solo se debe dar un entrenamiento profesional. “Yo creo que al mismo tiempo de formarlos profesionalmente, a los alumnos deben motivarlos para que desarrollen inquietudes, curiosidades. Para que tengan una actitud crítica frente al mundo en que vive, y esto se vivía en San Marcos en mi época estudiantil.”

Alzas la voz y criticas con fundamento a todos aquellos que están inmersos en la “política mal llevada”, que tanto daño le hizo a la Decana de América. Que tanto daño le hace al país. “Insisto, la política no puede estar ausente en una universidad, pero en el sentido más creativo de la palabra: debates, cotejos intelectuales, discusión de proyectos, de modelos.”

Finally, despite the fact that many an artist have said nothing on Mario Vargas Llosa’s relations with Peru, we return to the (almost) strictly literary reflections of author Juan Manuel Robles in his blog Manhattan Mental. He found himself in New York, where he attended a press conference given by Vargas Llosa after Vargas Llosa found out that he had won the Nobel Prize. Although he states that at first he approached the subject with some skepticism, he later relates [es]:

Entonces empecé a entender por qué este día era también importante para mí, para todos los que tratamos de encontrar en la escritura una forma de resistencia. Porque ver a Vargas Llosa ahí sentado es entender también que la única lucha que importa es la que empieza con la primera página en blanco y termina con miles de tachaduras. Me vi adolescente sintiendo piedad por el periodista miope, fascinación por la Barbuda, terror por el perro que mochó a Pichulita Cuéllar, compasión por Varguitas, respeto por el Jaguar. Vi una cabina de radio y un chiquillo que embellecía noticias. Vi a la brasileña. Vi todo eso y recordé un viejo chiste: el del escritor latinoamericano que se despierta a las once de la mañana y se hace una pregunta culposa: ”Qué tarde. ¿Cuántas páginas habrá escrito ya Mario Vargas Llosa?”

La conferencia siguió con su inevitable dosis de política, pero en un punto llegamos al Perú. Porque siempre hay que hablar sobre el Perú, porque ya pasaron esas feas épocas en que el escritor no contestaba a ningún periodista peruano. “¿Qué tiene que decir sobre el Perú?”. Vargas Llosa, sonriente, se sacó la capucha que mejor le queda, la de Flaubert. —El Perú soy yo.

Written by Juan Arellano · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [es] · comments (2)
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De acordo com dados da Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE), 90% da energia gerada no Brasil em 2009, veio de fontes renováveis – principalmente hidráulica (83,7%), biomassa (5,9%) e eólica, com uma pequena participação (0,3%).
Transformar esse potencial natural em capacidade instalada e produção exige superar uma série de gargalos econômicos, tecnológicos, logísticos e regulatórios. A previsão da EPE é de que, até 2019, o perfil da matriz energética brasileira como um todo não mude muito.

Despite the predominant supply of renewable energy that Brazil offers, [see graph by Balanço Nacional de Energia (BEN, pt)], the trajectory of energy use demonstrates that the country’s heaviest consumption is still derived from petroleum-based sources. Thus, there is an excess of renewable energy that Brazil sells to other countries while it is remains obligated to import petroleum-generated energy.

History of Energy Consumption by Source in Brazil - 2009, Source: BEN - 2010 (CC)

The solution to this situation lies in technological advances. One of researchers’ primary objectives is to explore new horizons for humanity, to develop new technologies and adapt technological advances to the most diverse situations. In the field of power generation and use, these efforts are concentrated on enabling the exploration and application of new sources of energy and in studies to make these sources more feasible. This work is made possible only by training qualified professionals and by supporting research centers.

Lightening – A Possible New Source of Energy, by Brujo+ on Flickr (CC)

In recent months, blogs like Lapsblog, Sandro Nasser Sicuto and Tecnólogos Ambientais [all in pt] have reported more than one Brazilian breakthrough in energy and power. On August 25, 2009, at the Boston meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Unicamp’s Professor Fernando Galembeck introduced a model that captures the electricity that accumulates in atmospheric water droplets, hygroeletricity. This study brings academic light some controversial points regarding the formation of lightening and presents initial steps to harness this source of energy for human development.

The application of this discovery is still being studied and may take some time before its presence is a reality in consumers’ every day lives. Hygroelectricity will likely be harnessed using metal plates, but the materials and mechanisms involved require further study. In a discussion on the blog written by Journalist Luis Nassif regarding an article originally published by António Sisoto, Marko comments on Professor Galembeck’s research position:

Ok Legal mas vamos [com] calma, afinal explicar determinado fenômeno é 1 coisa, extrair utilidade [de] tal explicação são ooooutro$$$$$ 500 (mto$ quinhento$ aliá$$ ) inclusive “outros quinhentos” políticos, e não apenas financeiros…
Ademais, a história está cansada d demonstrar q nem sempre a explicação d determinado fenômeno precede ou é essencial p/a utilização prática do mesmo.

This long road was already traversed in the quest to utilize solar energy. The first steps [pt] in the theoretical development of solar energy were taken in the 1930. At that time, the use of photovoltaic panels was in its infancy. Today, this is a reality [pt] for an untold number of companies and one of the sources for clean energy used to power sustainable projects.

Yet, despite the availability of this technology in the market, according to the Amazônia News blog, the majority of Brazilians are not in any condition to access renewable energy [pt]:

O problema é o preço. A energia solar, ainda é relativamente cara, tornando um empreendimento deste porte inviável economicamente. O que não significa que ela não desempenhe um papel estratégico no desenvolvimento sustentável do país. Segundo [Enio Bueno] Pereira, a estratégia mais simples, seria disseminar o uso de painéis solares em telhados para uso doméstico, como forma de reduzir a demanda sobre o sistema e, assim, liberar mais energia para uso industrial, principalmente nos horários de pico.

Photo from Sociedade do Sol, reprinted with permission

Most consumption in Brazilian residences comes from electric showers. Noting the needs of Brazilian society, a group of researchers at the USP developed a low-cost solar heating system (ASBC in Portuguese). The system uses PVC covering to capture solar energy and heat the water contained in special holder, which can potentially reduce monthly electricity consumption by 60% - savings that recover the initial investment within five months. Numerous Brazilian blogs like that of Carol Daemon have been spreading word about this system and its installation, and the Sociedade do Sol site even includes free installation manuals as well as a list of material suppliers [all in pt].

Wind energy has also been gaining ground with a number of companies that have placed their bets on the importance of this clean-energy source as a viable alternative for the future.

Lampposts Powered by Solar and Wind Energy, March 23, 2010 Photo Reprinted with Permission from Fiec Magazine

The Ética Global blog has been promoting an innovative project published in Fiec magazine and developed by Mechanical Engineer Fernadez Ximentes, owner of Gram Eolic in the state of Ceará. The project consists of lampposts powered entirely by wind and solar energy that include a seven-day window in which they can remain lit without any solar or wind input. These lampposts are equipped with an independent energy production (IEP) system, which is capable of generating energy for another three lampposts. The airplane format was chosen as a means to bring together the solar panels and wind propeller in a single device.

According to the company, these lampposts represent savings of R$21,000.00 per kilometer/month when used as a substitute for purely electric lampposts, and their installation cost is 10% less than that of traditional lampposts. The state government is partner in the project and plans to install the system within the next few years.

All that remains now is to wait to see if the projections of Waler Kohn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, were correct when he said that solar and wind energy could bring an end to the era of petroleum [pt].

Humanity depends on energy to sustain its growth. Through studies conducted by various social players, we can decrease the weight given to huge generation complexes, like hydroelectric dams and plants that burn fossil fuels, offering a viable alternative to respond to the country’s energy needs.

Despite Brazil’s opting for renewable energies, heavy impact has already been felt by generating energy through the burning of fossil fuels and the operation of hydroelectric dams, notably the loss of biodiversity through the suppression of plant life. New technologies will enable humanity to produce renewable energy with less environmental impact. As the development of technologies that seek to substitute fossil fuels with renewable sources is of fundamental importance for national sovereignty and development, it now falls upon the government and leadership to adopt these new technologies in their planning so that Brazil can continue to be the country of ever-cleaner renewable energy.

Written by Danilo Gonçalves · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (1)
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Image by Flickr user matias.dutto used under an Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license

Steve (@stevecede) asks drivers to be careful before the weekend’s festivities:

Pila gente jueves de vacile pero #sitomasnomanejes no lo olvides

Criticoecuatoriano (@CriticoEcuatoriano) reminds followers::

Como estamos en la campaña #sitomasnomanejes vamos en un solo carro y ya esta la persona q va a manejar designada!

In his blog entitled Sostiene Raúl Zavala [es], Raul Zavala (@periodista_PTV) explains the campaign’s content:

Hace unas semanas .. un ebrio al volante embistió a un grupo que salía de una discoteca; muertos, heridos, alteración popular y el vehículo incendiado. Este hecho paso casi inadvertido. Al poco tiempo, en Guayaquil, un conductor que dijo haberse quedado dormido luego de beber 2 vasos de whiskey, atropelló a otro grupo de personas; resultados: muertos, alteración social y un vehículo incendiado.

The national media have joined the campaign, giving it all the multimedia coverage possible, with live chats and videos on YouTube of conversations with the police [es]. The Twitter version of the HOY [es] newspaper states:

El mayor Zapata dio datos impactantes sobre accidentes de tránsito en primicia para HOY y los espectadores de este chat que se presentarán mañana en un informe de la Dirección de Tránsito en Quito.

This campaign is based on two underlying aspects. One is the extremely high rate of traffic accidents throughout the country, with more than 2,000 deaths attributed to road accidents in 2010 alone, according to the enterateecuador [es] webpage.

Carla Loaiza (@Celf1988) re-tweeted her frustration with fatal traffic accidents:

Hay quienes no entienden #sitomasnomanejes Otro conductor ebrio provocó accidente #Ecuador http://cort.as/0All

The blog entitled Latinoamericano Tercermundo [es] emphasizes personal blame and the usefulness of the Twitter campaign:

es realmente excelente la forma como hemos reaccionado tratando de concienciar a traves del twitter con el hastag #sitomasnomanejes. Pero en la próxima ocasión que nos toque ser participes o cómplices de la tremenda cojudes atentatoria a la vida propia y la ajena, que implica manejar plutote o ser acompañante del borracho hagamos algo mas útil que solamente sumarnos a la corriente twitera del momento. No te subas a ese carro y no dejes que maneje ese borracho.

Videos like this have been posted on the web and by bloggers throughout the country who have been moved by the increase in traffic tragedies:

The author of the blog Reflexiones del Tio Charly [es] writes:

HE visto con mucho agrado en TWITTER que se ha iniciado una campaña de concienciación sobre el riesgo que implica manejar bajo los efectos del alcohol. Y me es muy interesante el saber que la idea nace de la propia gente “común”, de aquella que según las concepciones clásicas no tiene poder o injerencia alguna en las conductas sociales; no nació de un grupo político o de una entidad estatal, nació de la indignación y tristeza que todos sentimos al ver como vidas son desperdiciadas por irresponsabilidad de conductores.

Minuto30.com [es] and other bloggers agree with the extent of the problem; the webpage references Analyst Fernando Carrión:

“Los accidentes viales han dejado de ser tales en el país, debido a la frecuencia con que se producen, hasta el extremo de que se han constituido en mal endémico; tan es así la situación que el Ecuador ocupa el nada honroso segundo lugar en accidentalidad vial en América Latina”

The second aspect of the campaign is focused on Ecuador’s National Assembly, where Andes [es] reports that traffic accidents are treated like “a public alarm.” B10 [es] sharply points out the correlation of accidents to the country’s traffic legislation:

Cifras fatales: en el 2009 hubo 19.143 colisiones y atropellamientos que causaron la muerte de 1.990 personas. Este año, solo entre enero y junio, se superó esa cifra. Las autoridades tienen fondos y la ley para actuar, pero responden a intereses creados, junto a mafias que no ceden, y buscan salidas polItiqueras: reformar la Ley, cuando tienen que aplicarla bien.

The national police have now joined the voices clamoring for change; in their support for alterations to the Traffic Law [es], they have asked the National Assembly that it reform the penalties and fines levied on people who drive while inebriated. La Hueca [es] comments on this aspect in her blog, reflecting on the new Overland Traffic and Transportation Law, which has gone through multiple changes, since the last version included a series of contradictory and inconsistent provisions. Now in effect, the new law [es] fills in a vacuum, since the country lacks a legal framework for driving organization, regulation and control.

Written by Paulina Aguilera Muñoz · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [es] · comments (0)
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Photo by flickr user Lorena Medeiros, published under anAttribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License

The idea commonly supported in the collective Brazilian imagination, that the indigenous Brazilian is no longer considered indigenous as soon as he or she adopts the customs and technologies inherited from the West, is countered by a reality in which indigenous villages are using information tools and technology with ever more frequency precisely for more efficiently defending their indigenous lifestyle and culture.

In Taqui Pra Ti [pt] blog, an article by Professor José Bessa Freire, coordinator of the Indigenous Studies Program (University of Rio de Janeiro) [pt] and research with the Graduate Program in Social Memoy (UNIRIO) [pt] discusses the indigenous appropriation of citizen media available online and the use of multimedia content to promote socialization, claim rights and affirm indigenous identity in cyberspace:

No Brasil, índios de diferentes línguas e etnias foram estimulados a usar a Internet por organizações governamentais e não governamentais. Embora a situação ainda seja bastante precária, inúmeras das 2.698 escolas indígenas existentes nas aldeias, frequentadas por mais de duzentos mil alunos, foram dotadas de computadores. Ali onde isso não foi possível, os computadores dos postos de saúde da Funasa foram disponibilizados dentro dos Pontos de Cultura no Programa Governo Eletrônico – Serviço de Atendimento ao Cidadão.

With increased computer access, the first indigenous internet sites began to appear in 2001. According to Eliete Pereira, from the Atopos Research Center at the Arts and Communications Faculty of the University of São Paulo [pt], indigenous presence on the internet is still rather erratic [pt]. In a map she prepared of indigenous internet participation [pt], Eliete found three types of sites: personal sites, sites corresponding to particular ethnicities and sites corresponding to indigenous organizations.

Holders of personal sites innovatively used the internet to show individual indigenous production. In this category, for example, we find the sites of writers Daniel Munduruku [pt] and Eliane Potiguara [pt], in which the authors present their books and interact with their readers. We also find the blogs of notable indigenous leaders like Ailton Krenak [pt].

The sites pertaining to specific ethnic groups have been designed to bring greater domestic and international visibility to particular indigenous ethnicity through the dissemination of arts, indigenous craft art, design patters, narratives and languages of different ethnic groups. This is the case of the Baniwa [pt], the Ashaninka [pt] and so many others who, after participating in the discussion on indigenous access to information technology and the internet in 2005 in Rio de Janeiro, and following the inauguration of the People of the Forest Internet Portal [pt], began to use these digital tools as part of interculturally-based educational projects supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC) [pt] and NGOs like The Socio-Environmental Institute [pt].

Finally, the sites created by different indigenous organizations are presented online by institutions that represent different ethnic groups, that cover local, regional or national collectives, and that are associated with the fight for land rights, bilingual education and the health of the indigenous population. These sites are tools for claiming rights and pursuing political action. Examples include The Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB) [pt], the Online Indigenous Brazilians [pt] and the Federation of Indigenous Organizaiton of the Back River Region (Rio Negro) (FOIRN) [pt].

The Suruí, information technology and the Amazon Rainforest

A very successful case of political action focussing on the use of digital technologies is the initiative pursued by Almir Narayamoga Suruí [en], chief of the Gamebey tribe of Suruí Indigenous Brazilians who live in the indigenous village of Sete de Setembro in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. The forest has always played an important role in the lives of the Suruí, both from a cultural point of view and from an economic one, which is why Almir's tribe is engaged in reforesting and in combating deforestation of the ancestral lands through the use of tools like Google Earth and GPS.

In his first consultation in 2007, Almir endeavored to find his village in Google Earth's satellite image. That was when he immediately noted how much of his people's territory was being threatened by the rampant deforestation of the outlying forest. Yet, at the same time as he grew worried about what he had found, he also noticed that the solution was just before his eyes; the internet could give the Suruí the visibility and cultural strength needed to protect the forest.

Images of Surui land as seen from Google Earth

A partnership with Google Outreach - Google's social arm, and the Metareil'a indigenous association was signed soon thereafter in 2008. The first tangible result of this partnership, the so-called cultural map, was made available to internet surfers (using Google Earth), including to Suruí internet surfers. With the technical assistance of ACT-Brasil [pt], the map was prepared based on information collected in conjunction with the Suruí elders and wise men who were familiar with the history and characteristics of the tribal territory.

For Almir, the relationship between Suruí and the internet, this “tool of the white man,” is an innovative attempt to ensure that “contact” reinforces, not corrupts, indigenous lifestyle. In the case of the Suruí, their first contact [pt] with the European-influenced culture and society of Brazil occurred in September 1969:

[Há] apenas 40 anos os primeiros homens brancos penetraram em nossa floresta. Cheios de esperança, recebemos estes visitantes com a intenção de estabelecer relações de paz com o mundo externo. Contudo, nossa esperança para o futuro se deparou com imensa tragédia. Apenas dois anos depois do primeiro contato, a população Suruí diminuiu de 5.000 pessoas para 290. Além de muita gente nossa morrer devido a doenças novas para nós, nossa cultura foi ameaçada de extinção por causa da morte de nossos anciãos. Aos 17 anos, assumi o papel de chefe. Hoje, busco apoio do mundo externo, com esperança renovada.

According to the NGO Aquaverde [pt] the Suruí have been “precursors” and “an example” for other indigenous groups in the efficient fight against invaders and destroyers of their lands, but

[e]ste sucesso ainda é frágil e ameaçado, precisa se consolidar, mas o desmatamento não progride mais nas terras Suruí. Infelizmente, várias áreas foram profundamente afetadas pela falta da floresta. No entanto, os Suruí conseguiram se libertar da dependência dos madeireiros, voltar às suas atividades tradicionais e desenvolver novas, tais como: piscicultura, cafeicultura e artesanato.

Surui Cultural Map

A second initiative has been technology training for approximately 20 indigenous Brazilians in the association`s headquarters in Cacoal. A third step will pursue the more ambitious stage of the “partnership” to use internet resources: combatting the deforestation of the Sete de Setembro Reserve in real time. In order to achieve this, the Suruí will be given smartphones that are equipped with Google's Android system, which will enable them to capture occurrences of deforestation in real time, post images on the internet and send them to the world and to the proper authorities.

The argument that indigenous identity is lost on account of the adoption of digital technologies thus becomes baseless. In fact, the Suruí intend to strengthen their right to preserve, to the greatest extent possible, their relationship with the earth and the culture inherited from their ancestors.

See a video: Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops

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

Written by Elisa Thiago · Translated by Melissa Mann · View original post [pt] · comments (6)
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Market in Luanda by Flickr user BRamirez37, CC

The Roque Santeiro Market, a name that comes from the famous Brazilian soap opera that was a hit among the soap-opera crazed Angolans, is known for being the biggest open-air market in Africa, for transacting thousands of dollars a day, and for being the main stage for the sale of every imaginable product. Fortunately or unfortunately, the market’s days are numbered. The Luandan government plans to move the market from the Sambizanga to Panguila, located nearly 30 kilometers to the north of Luanda. The date has yet to be decided.

The Roque Santeiro Market was established in its current venue in the 1980’s, at a time when the country was still beaten down by war and provisions were scarce. Initially designed like the Boa Vista Market, the commercial area was perhaps the only location where it was possible to find a little bit of everything – albeit through hidden means, including guns and arms trafficking and both adult and child sexual services.

Currently, the Roque Santeiro Market is means of survival for many Angolan families. At the same time, the market is also a haven for criminals who have given the commercial area its bad name.

In an old article, taken from the blog entitled Angola Drops, the Brazilian blogger describes [pt] the market:

Fui com dois colegas brasileiros e um angolano ao mercado do Roque Santeiro que tem a fama de ser o maior do mundo. São 500 campos de futebol numa área de um quilómetro de comprimento por 500 metros de largura, que abriga cinco mil vendedores. A infra-estrutura é mínima: em todas as “lojas” o chão é o barro nu e o máximo de cobertura são telhas gastas de zinco ou mais comumente, lona. Obviamente vende-se de tudo. Logo na chegada passámos por géneros alimentícios de vegetais comercializados directamente sobre panos no chão, a enlatados, caldo de carne, maionese e alimentos prontos, principalmente banana da terra na grelha. Se o Roque Santeiro é um grande centro comercial a céu aberto, não poderia faltar o cinema. O complexo tem duas salas, erguidas com madeira e restos de lona e com capacidade para umas 50 pessoas cada. Em cartaz, Sete Vidas com Will Smith, exibido numa televisão de 29 polegadas colocada numa mesa alta. O barracão é adequadamente escuro e os espectadores vêem o filme em bancos de madeira sem encosto.

Roque Santeiro Market by Menina de Angola

Thanks to the development that is spreading throughout the city like a wildfire, the Roque Santeiro Market will enter a new chapter that naturally displeases the vendors who go there daily to sell their wares. The government’s idea to move the market to another part of the city is part of the plan to reorganize the city of Luanda, making it more modern and safer for its citizens. This is how the author of the blog Menina de Angola [Girl from Angola, pt] sees the situation:

O mercado mais famoso do mundo vai acabar. Finalmente o governo vai transferir todos os vendedores para a Panguila, numa área organizada, com restaurantes, bancos e o mais importante condições sanitárias adequadas. Essa transferência faz parte do programa do governo de requalificação do Sambizanga que vai transformar o perigoso e violento bairro num moderno distrito comercial e residencial, com muitos prédios modernos e caríssimos.

Angolan Women in Roque Santeiro Market, by Yan Boechat, CC

The author of the blog Morro da Maianga lists [Maianga Hillside, pt] some of the possible consequences that will result from the closure of the most famous market:

mais miséria/exclusão social/mais zunga/caos urbano/mais delinquência/criminalidade/violência/mais instabilidade/insegurança/e mais um espaço de especulação imobiliária.

At the end of the post, the blogger warns:

depois não responsabilizem (apenas) a polícia.

Despite the vendors’ clear displeasure in having to move to another, supposedly more modern, location, the market administrator believes the move will be peaceful.

To see the area where the new market will be set up, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq1n72IYnzI

Written by Melissa Mann · comments (4)
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