CARDOSO CATCHES UP TO LULA IN POLLS Rio DE JANEIRO, AUGUST 8, 1994 Brazil's presidential race has been radically altered by the government's introduction on July 1 of a new economic stabilization plan- "the Real Plan," named after the new currency. Under the tight-money plan, Brazil's monthly inflation rate has dropped from 50% in June to 6.1% in July. This has generated support for former finance minister Fernando Henrique Cardoso- the principal author of the Real Plan-who has risen from 11% to 30% in the polls. Meanwhile, ex-metalworker and trade unionist Luis Inicio "Lula" da Silva-who until July had dominated all opinion polls-has seen his support fall from almost 45% to 31%. A race that seemed predetermined has now become a dead heat. Lula has changed his campaign rhetoric in the face of the strong popular support for the economic stabilization program. Noting that 72% of Brazilians consider the new program "good for the country," Lula and his leftist Workers Party (PT) have felt obliged to admit that if they win the elections, they will keep the plan's monetary policy. Lula's new line of argument is that while the Real Plan created a strong currency, salaries continue to have weak purchasing power. Vicente da Silva, the president of the Central Unica dos Trabalhadores (CUT)-the country's principal labor federation, which is strongly linked to the PT-categorically affirmed that "we don't oppose the plan, but it is necessary to understand that workers' salaries should be the principal factor of stabilization." For his part, the centrist Cardoso is using the polls showing popular satisfaction with the economic plan to strengthen his campaign among the working population, where Lula has traditionally had his strongest electoral base. Cardoso is capitalizing on the support of workers, whose salaries until June were readjusted every two months but nonetheless devoured by the uncontrollable price increases. The government's principal challenge will be to keep the plan working until election day. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Rubens Ricupero revealed that in the last week of September-one week prior to the October 3 elections- he will announce a readjustment in the minimum wage. -Aldo Horacio Gamboa JESUITS TARGETED IN MEXICO SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, AUGUST 11, 1994 Ever since the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) declared war on the Mexican government on New Year's Day, Jesuits in Mexico have come under increasing attack from conservative forces in Mexican society. Hours into the uprising, Jesuit members of the San Crist6bal, Chiapas diocese were accused of being Zapatista "field commanders," and the government openly speculated that Bishop Samuel Ruiz had organized the entire armed movement. Soon, priests and nuns who work with the rural poor in many parts of the country were complaining of growing official harassment. Now, three Jesuit priests have initiated libel proceedings against the Mexican newspaper Summa for accusing them of being Subcomandante Marcos, and "undermining national stability." One of the Marcos "lookalikes" is Eugenio Maurer, a 66-year-old retired priest who has spent the last two years in a military hospital recovering from a car crash. Mexican courts have ruled against the Jesuits, permitting the author of the accusations not to appear in court. Meanwhile, 13 international Catholic aid organizations have been accused of financing subversive movements around the world, including the EZLN. "The ecumenical dollars are already in Mexico," said Javier Lozano Barragan, a conservative Mexican bishop. No evidence has been offered to back up the accusations, which were publicly aired in Mexico's parliament by Cuauht6moc L6pez, a deputy for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The campaign appears to be orchestrated by the army, the PRI, certain media, and the conservative clergy, described by Jesuit spokesperson Carlos Bravo as "the millionaires of Christ." Bishop Ruiz told the press that while individual catechists may have participated in the EZLN, the church has always opposed the path of armed struggle. Subcomandante Marcos has also clarified the issue, describing the church as "consistently opposed" to the armed option. "I haven't been inside a church since I was eight," added Marcos, refuting allegations of a priestly past. -Michael McCaughan VENEZUELAN RIGHTS REMAIN SUSPENDED CARACAS, AUGUST 9, 1994 ith the support of the opposition Democratic Action (AD) party, Venezuelan President Rafael Caldera finally won a battle with Congress over his suspension of certain constitutional rights. AD joined the ruling coalition-Caldera's Convergence Party and the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS)-on July 27 to defeat a proposal by
the opposition social Christian party. Copei, to take the issue to the Supreme Court. Also defeat- ed was a proposal by the opposi- tion workers' party, Causa R, calling for a referendum on the suspension of rights, as well as the replacement of the current Congress with a constituent assembly. Caldera, who took office on February 2, suspended the consti- tutional guarantees on June 27 as the country was slipping further into the worst economic crisis in its history. On January 16, two weeks before he was sworn in, the worst banking scandal Venezuela had ever experi- enced-and one of the costliest ever in Latin America-exploded after the government closed down Banco Latino, the nation's second largest bank. Investiga- tors had discovered that bank officials had absconded with hun- dreds of millions of dollars, and mismanaged the rest. By the time warrants were issued for the arrest of bank executives, most had fled the country. Caldera's government took over management of Banco Lati- no, and reopened it in April after a state infusion of over $3 billion. In June, eight other banks were virtually nationalized as the gov- ernment scrambled to prevent a collapse of the financial system. Since the Banco Latino scandal, the government has spent an additional $4.385 billion in bail- out money to save the banks. Faced with a crisis that was spinning out of control, Caldera declared a financial and econom- ic emergency on June 27 and issued a decree that suspended the right to own private property and the protection against its expropriation, the right not to be arrested without a warrant, the right of inviolability of the home, the right to freely engage in any legal economic activity, and the right to freedom of movement of persons and goods. He said the measures were necessary since the seriousness of the economic crisis caused "insecurity and dis- trust, affected the life of the country. and threatened public peace." Minister of the Interior Ram6n FEscovar Salom added that the government was forced to decree the state of emergency since "subversive groups" were using the economic crisis to foment public unrest. Indeed, rumors of military coup d'dtat conspiracies have abounded. On July 21, Congressional deputies from COPEI, AD, and Causa R joined forces to restore five of the six suspended guaran- tees, leaving intact the suspen- sion of the right to engage in eco- Continued on page 46 Continued on page 42 nomic activity without interference. Members of the governing parties walked out before the vote was taken. It was the first defeat for Caldera, who had been given spe- cial powers by Congress after he took office in February. The fol- lowing day the President defied Congress and once again suspend- ed the five restored rights. "I feel no satisfaction in taking this step," he said, "but the gravity of the eco- nomic crisis has worsened the social and political crisis we finally able to gain control of the situation so that ambulances and power shovels could get through, and police were able to cordon off the block where rescue operations continued for 10 days. This was not the first time a Jew- ish center in Buenos Aires has been targeted. On March 17, 1992, the Israeli Embassy was leveled by a car bomb, killing 29 people and injuring nearly 300. Three days after the AMIA attack, 150,000 Argentines poured into the streets around the National Congress to denounce terrorism. It was the nation's largest demonstration in years. From the start of the investi- gation, suspicion has focused on Islamic fundamentalists with ties to Iran. Given Argentina's long histo- ry of anti-Semitism, however, and its well-known role as a Nazi haven, many analysts are con- vinced that regardless of what country the bombers turn out to be from, the attack was most likely facilitated by Argentine rightists. -Brad Krupsaw and Gilda Bono INDIGENOUS MARCH TO PROTECT LANDS TEGUCIGALPA, JULY 22, 1994 Approximately 4,000 indigenous Hondurans marched to Tegucigalpa to demand government protection of their woodlands and improved infrastructure for their almost total- ly inaccessible communities. In the first march of such magni- tude in 50 years, the indigenous protesters called on President Car- los Roberto Reina to declare a 30- year nationwide logging moratori- um. In addition, they accused Vice President Juan de la Cruz Avelar of "plundering" the forests in their communities and demanded his resignation. An estimated 300,000 hectares of forest are cut every year. The country now has no more than 3.5 million hectares of forest cover left. The indigenous groups are also urging the creation of the country's first indigenous region, which would include the western provinces of Intibuca, Lempira and Ocotepeque. Rather than oppose the protest- ers, President Reina called the march "a wonderful pilgrimage of justice and liberty," and signed a 17-page accord that accedes to many of the indigenous demands. He promised new roads to link up indigenous communities with the rest of the country. At present most of the indigenous live in remote areas that are only accessible by foot or by helicopter. The president also promised the marchers titles to their land, improved health care, and commu- nication services. In addition, he agreed to review the cases of sever- al jailed indigenous leaders. Some 20 indigenous leaders have been killed over the last five years while many more have been arrested, generally in disputes over the lands they occupy. Members of indigenous groups make up approximately 10% of Honduras' population. -NotiSur and InterPress Service GUATEMALAN RIGHTS ABUSES ON THE RISE GUATEMALA CITY, AUGUST 7, 1994 The Archbishop's Human Rights Office (ODHA) in Guatemala has documented 787 cases of human rights violations-including 166 extrajudicial executions-commit- ted during the first half of 1994. The ODHA's findings indicate that Guatemala's human rights cli- mate is growing worse. The 787 cases compare with 468 cases that the ODHA documented in the first half of 1992, and 689 in the first half of 1993. The organization's semi-annual report noted that rights violations were concentrated against unionists, peasants, reli- gious workers, human rights activists, and the media. Political violence is increasing even as the Guatemalan govern- ment and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) reinitiated negotiations this year to end the country's 34-year-old civil war. Under a March 29 agreement, a United Nations human rights ver- ification mission was to be estab- lished. To date, the mission has not been created. This lapse, the guer- rillas said, "is causing enormous insecurity...and seriously affects the credibility of the results of the negotiation process." On August 5, the URNG said it would not contin- ue to participate in peace talks until previous accords are honored. On July 27, forensic experts from Argentina discovered a mass grave in the northern province of El Pet6n. The team exhumed ten human skeletons from a dry well, which may contain the remains of another 200 people. The experts were invit- ed by the Guatemalan Association of Families of the Displaced and Disappeared (FAMDEGUA), with the support of the ODHA, to inves- tigate three suspected mass graves in El Pet6n. FAMDEGUA says the Guatemalan army massacred nearly 500 people in the area on December 6, 1982, during the dictatorship of Gen. Efrain Rios Montt. Human rights groups estimate that there are about 300 clandestine cemeteries in the country. In the ten mass graves that have been ex- humed since 1993, 338 skeletons have been found. -InterPress Service Sources: Aldo Horacio Gamboa is a freelance journalist based in Rio de Janeiro. Michael McCaughan is a NACLA corre- spondent in Chiapas. InterPress Service is an international news service based in Italy. Its dispatches can be read on-line in the Peacenet confer- ences: ips.espanol and ips.english. NotiSur is available as a closed Peacenet conference: carnet.ladb. For subscription information: Latin American Data Base, Latin American Institute, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131; (800) 472-0888. Brad Krupsaw and Gilda Bona are free- lance journalists based in Buenos Aires.
