Newsbriefs

Brazil’s Landless
Movement Wins
Support in Cities
SAo PAULO, OCTOBER 18, 1996
The age-old struggle for
land reform in Brazil has
gained prominent nation-
al exposure this year, largely due
to the increased number of spon-
taneous land takeovers by land-
less peasants. As the plight of
the landless reaches state capi-
tals via newspapers, the Internet,
and even a highly-acclaimed TV
soap opera, the movement of the
landless has forged alliances
with inner-city laborers and the
unemployed, gaining crucial
urban support for its rural bat-
tles.
Since the late 1970s, Sem
Terra, a mass movement of land-
less workers, has emerged in
Brazil’s countryside, supported
by progressive Catholic clergy, labor unionists, university-
trained agronomists, and other
sympathizers. Founded in Rio
Grande do Sul, Brazil’s south-
ernmost state, the Landless Rural
Workers’ Movement (MST) now
occupies tracts of land in 22 of
Brazil’s 26 states. Most recently,
on September 30, 700 peasants
took over a large ranch in the
interior of Sio Paulo state. On
October 4, 700 more families
invaded four ranches in the
southern state of Parana. In all, more than 140,000 families have
gained land of their own through
mass occupations of vacant
farmlands. Their settlements
range from hastily built shelters
draped in black plastic sheeting
to solidly built homes with thriv-
ing agribusiness enterprises.
As landless peasants occupy
lands throughout Brazil, the
media in Sdo Paulo, Rio de
Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Recife and
other major cities-all groaning
with millions of rural migrants–
report almost daily on Sem Terra,
sustaining their national expo-
sure. Meanwhile, in the cities,
militants from the interior have
also raised a stir by blocking city
roads and occupying parks and
public buildings. In August, for
example, 300 landless settlers
camped in front of the Congress-
ional Palace in Brasilia. And in
Sdo Paulo, members of the bank
workers’ union hold monthly vig-
ils to recall that the recent killings
of landless workers in their strug-
gle to gain land continue to be
ignored. No one has been pun-
ished for these crimes.
Sem Terra has taken steps to
polish its public image. Many of
its leaders now deal more direct-
ly with the press, and in July, the
movement held its second annual
“Agrarian Reform Olympics,”
uniting 1,500 athletes from 23
settlements. Sem Terra has even
become a household word on the
nation’s leading prime-time soap
opera, The King of Cattle, a high-
ly romanticized story on the
Globo Network in which a
wealthy cattle baron romances a
peasant woman, and an earnest
senator becomes a strong sup-
porter of land reform.
The movement and its sympa-
thizers hope the new attention will
pressure the President to acceler-
ate his land reform program.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a
former leftist sociology professor
who was elected in 1994 with the
support of one of Brazil’s most
right-wing parties, has pledged
to resettle 280,000 families by
1998. But the landless believe he
is acting too slowly and will
reach only a fraction of that goal.
Having waited for land for too
long, they are now following
their own timeline. As the Sem
Terras seize more farms, they
also reap increasing amounts of
the nation’s attention.
-Dean Graber
Zapatistas Send a
Comandanta to
Indigenous Congress
MEXICO CITY, OCTOBER 11, 1996
t the closing session of
the National Indigenous
Congress (NCI), held in
Mexico City this October 8-11, a
tiny, visibly ill woman in a red
huipil and a black hood-La
Comandanta Ramona-conveyed
the greetings of the Zapatista
Amy of National Liberation
(EZLN) to the 2,000 assembled
delegates and observers. Speak-
ing slowly in her native Tzotzil,
Ramona, who is suffering from
terminal kidney cancer and
whose presence was confirmed
only by a last-minute agreement
between the government and the
EZLN, told the Congress that
Mexico was on notice that it
could never again ignore its
indigenous citizens. Her appear-
ance provided a fitting emotional
finale to the Congress.
Six hundred and eighty dele-
gates representing 35 indigenous
groups attended the Congress.
Mestizos participated as well-
as advisors, promoters of the
political arm of the EZLN, and
as members of peasant and polit-
ical groups. More than a hundred
volunteers lent technical, logisti-
cal and administrative support,
and organized security cordons
outside the conference hall.
The Congress was organized
around four workshops whose
central themes were: constitu-
tional rights and indigenous peo-
ples; unity of the indigenous
movement; indigenous peoples
and the nation; the present situa-
tion of the indigenous peoples.
Using the proposals that
emerged from the workshops as
guideposts, and referring back to
the accords hammered out at the
“culture and indigenous rights”
dialogue held between the gov-
Vol XXX, No 3 Nov/DEc 1996 1NEWSBRIEFS
ernment and the EZLN in
Chiapas earlier in the year, the
delegates prepared a document
calling for indigenous autonomy
understood not as separatism,
but as a recognition of the plural-
ity and diversity of Mexicans.
They designated a temporary
coordinating commission to
facilitate the mechanisms of
bringing their proposals for con-
stitutional reform to the Mexican
national Congress.
Delegates reiterated their com-
mitment to develop a program of
struggle, unity and resistance for
a more just, humane and democ-
ratic society. They issued a fra-
ternal call to “civil society” to
engage in a “Great National
Dialogue” to move toward a new
constitution which would allow
all men and women to participate
in the construction of a new
social pact based on t
tion of plurality, the
cultures and the richni
differences.
As Ramona conc
brief address, her list
dered their respons
again a Mexico without
again an Indian agains
er; never again a peo
hope.”
Woman on Targe
but Man Wins MI
BUENOS AIRES, OCTOBER 23
T wo months after
football referee w
ed from officiating i
matches, Argentine
up in arms over anoti
discrimination in spor
est uproar is over a
petitor in a rifle-shoot
he recogni-
diversity of
ess of those
being declared the winner even
though he received a lower score
than the woman who was award-
ed second place.
luded her “I was denied the title because I
eners thun- am a woman,” said Elvira Bella.
e: “Never “This was the third time I have
ut us; never participated in a national champi-
st his broth- onship and no one had ever told
ple without me I could not compete. This
year, heartily encouraged by my -Irene Ortiz instructor, I won, but didn’t
receive the title.”
The arguments used to support edal the decision appeared as puerile
, 1996 as those raised when Florencia
a female Romano, the football referee who
as prevent- had one of the best grade aver-
n top-level ages in her class, was banned
vomen are from the first division on grounds
her case of of her gender. In that episode, ts. The lat- officials said they could not find
male com- adequate clothing for her.
Bella’s club mates had begun pre-
maturely celebrating her victory,
only to overhear one judge ask
another: “What shall we do with the
lady?” The reply: “We could give
her the title of ‘Honorary Champion
as the best qualifying woman.”‘
Bella was given what was in her
words “a consolation prize.”
Osvaldo Larrea, who had scored
three points less, became official
champion. The organizers claimed
she had only been allowed to regis-
ter in the competition “by mistake.”
“The regulations say at least
three women have to register for
there to be a female category,” said
Shooting Federation member Juan
Carlos Sampayo. But Bella took
her case to the Chamber of
Deputies’ human rights committee,
which issued a declaration calling
on Federation leaders to explain
their action and expressing “deep
concern over the case of discrimi-
nation in the 54th National
Shooting Championship.” To date,
no response has been received from
either the federation or its director,
Gen. Ernesto Alais.
The case of the female referee
had also gone to the Congress.
Leaders of the Argentine Football
Association eventually accepted
the decision that restriction based
on unavailability of proper clothes
was not a strong enough argument.
They asked Romano to have her
qualifications approved by com-
pleting one more course, after
which they would allow her to ref-
eree first-division matches.
— InterPress Service
U.S. Arms Sales Continue
as Christopher Calls Policy
Shift Into Question
WASHINGTON, D.C., OCTOBER, 1996
Under a plan proposed by the
defense industry last year, 18
year-old government restrictions on
the sale of F-16 fighter jets and
attack helicopters to South
American countries would be great-
ly reduced. Restrictions were
imposed by the Carter administra-
tion in 1978, citing widespread
human rights abuses in the region.
Proponents of the new plan point to
the growing number of democrati-
cally elected governments and
improving human rights records as
justification for the policy shift.
Critics claim the sale of offensive
equipment would destabilize the
region.
During an appearance before the
Senate Foreign Relations Commit-
tee in August, however, Secretary of
State Warren Christopher called the
liberalization of arms sales into
question, arguing that the United
States should show “great restraint”
in transferring advanced types of
military equipment where they are
not currently in use. “In many
instances,” he said, “there is no
national security case…for having
these weapons, except that their
neighbor has gotten them.”
While the thrust and parry of this
now-public debate continues, mil-
lions of dollars in military equip-
ment is being sent to South
American nations. On September
13 the Pentagon disclosed that
Colombia will purchase 12 Black-
hawk helicopters, each equipped
with two door-mounted machine
guns, in a deal worth $169 million.
The Clinton administration approv-
ed the sale in order to help
Colombia “improve its capability to
fight the war on drugs.”
In addition, the White House
announced on September 24 that
the U.S. government would draw
down weapons worth $112 million
to assist the drug interdiction efforts
of several Latin American nations.
Colombia and Mexico will each
receive Huey helicopters and obser-
vation aircraft, and Venezuela and
Peru are slated to receive observa-
tion aircraft, river patrol boats and
communications gear.
Despite Secretary Christopher’s
statements, industry pressure on the
administration to change current
policy is likely to build in the com-
ing months as the bidding for two
large aircraft orders is expected to
begin. Brazil, which has formulated
a 15-year plan to acquire at least 70
new fighter jets, and Chile, which
hopes to buy 24 attack planes in the
coming years, have begun to
request technical data from compa-
nies hoping to win these plum deals.
U.S. industry officials note that
British, French and Russian compa-
nies are expected to strongly pursue
these sales opportunities. One
industry representative recently
gave an indication of the impor-
tance given to these orders when he
noted that “if we don’t get these
sales, we’ll be blocked out of the
market for 20 years.”
-Tom Cardamone
Land Reform Compromise
Deflates Bolivian Protest
LA PAZ, OCTOBER 11, 1996
The Bolivian parliament
approved a controversial agrar-
ian reform law last month, after
more than 20,000 indigenous and
rural protesters had marched to La
Paz demanding input into the legis-
lation. With the law’s passage, pro-
testers began to file out of the city
with a lingering aftertaste of com-
promise, and a sensation that they
were heading home without much
to show for their efforts.
To put an end to the conflict with
peasant farmers, indigenous people
and the business community, parlia-
ment members discussed the pro-
posed law throughout the night on
Thursday, October 9 until they final-
ly approved it at noon on Friday.
Although the new law partly
incorporates their main demands,
many protesters felt let down after a
tough month-long march, two
weeks camped out in classrooms in
La Paz, government indifference
and harsh treatment at the hands of
police.
In late August, several indigenous
organizations began a 550-mile
march from Santa Cruz de la Sierra
to the capital, La Paz, to protest pro-
visions of the agrarian reform bill
then under consideration. The con-
flict arose when the government
submitted to Congress the original
version of the bill, rather than the
one incorporating changes agreed to
in talks between the government and
campesino and indigenous groups.
The changes that had originally
been agreed upon dealt with the
granting of land titles; the incorpora-
tion of rural workers into the provi-
sions of the General Labor Law;
political participation; and the use of
identification cards in the communi-
ties.
The groups had also demanded
the creation of a development fund
for their communities, in which
indigenous communities and
46NACLA
REPORT ON THE AMERICAS
campesinos would participate in the
administration and carrying out of
economic and social-development
projects.
Indigenous and campesino lead-
ers said the march was necessary
because the government did not
respect the earlier agreement to
incorporate the changes in the law,
making further dialogue pointless.
“We don’t know what the govern-
ment wants to dialogue about,”
said Roman Loayza, executive sec-
retary of the Confederacion
Sindical Unica de Trabajadores
Campesinos (CSUTCB). “We’ve
been dialoging with them for more
than eight months. We reached an
agreement on the content of the
law…and now they’re trying to
pass a law that ignores the agree-
ments we made. So what are we
going to discuss?”
Among the groups participating
in the “march for territory, land,
political rights, and development”
were the country’s coca growers.
According to Evo Morales, leader
of the organized coca growers, in
addition to their objections to the
agrarian-reform law, coca growers
are protesting continued human
rights violations by anti-drug per-
sonnel in the Chapare coca-growing
region of Bolivia.
“The government is trying to take
away the coca growers’ lands,
because they consider planting coca
a subversive act against the state,”
said Morales. “That’s why we
decided to march-to prevent more
human rights violations, stop the
forced eradication of coca fields,
and stop our lands from being
taken.”
But many marchers felt betrayed
by the indigenous groups from the
country’s eastern Amazon region,
who in early October split from the
main current of protesters and
signed an accord with the govern-
ment. The indigenous groups from
the Amazon jungle region emerged
triumphant from the conflict
because the government granted
title deeds recognizing the collec-
tive ownership of their land.
“No one has won 100% of what
they wanted. Everyone has com-
promised, including the govern-
ment. I think this way we have
been able to build a consensus,
although not unanimity, regarding
the law,” said Vice-President
Victor Hugo Cardenas. “The
whole country has gained, because
the law will prevent future conflict
over land. It will reduce unproduc-
tive large landholdings and provide
access to land for those who have
only tiny plots or are landless,” he
added.
But according to the coca pro-
ducers’ Morales, who trekked over
250 miles from the central Chapare
region, the government was able to
impose a law that clearly favors the
private business sector and large
landowners. “We are returning to
our communities, but it is simply a
recess. The roadblocks will be
maintained,” Morales warned.
“The fight by the peasant commu-
nities will continue, and we will
resist the application of the law.”
-InterPress Service
and NotiSur
Sources
Dean Graber is the founding editor of
the on-line magazine REAL BRAZIL
(http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/ppb/rb).
Irene Ortiz is a NACLA correspondent
based in Mexico.
InterPress Service is an international
news service based in Italy. Its dispatches
can be read on-line in the Peacenet con-
ferences: ips. esparol and ips. english.
Tom Cardamone is director of the
Conventional Arms Transfer Project for
the Council For A Livable World
Education Fund in Washington, D.C.
NotiSur is available as a closed Peacenet
conference: carnet.ladb. For subscription
information: Latin American Database,
Latin American Institute, University of
New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM; (800)
474-0888.