By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

ASUNCION, Paraguay- On Sunday, April 25, 2020, Paraguay’s president signed a bill into law declaring a state of emergency in five of Paraguay’s seventeen provinces. The bill includes a thirty day suspension of constitutional due process guarantees, with an aim to grant the military greater power to combat the Paraguayan People’s Army (PPA). The PPA, an armed leftist group is allegedly responsible for murders, including four police officers.

The bill affects the norther provinces of Concepcion, San Pedro, Amambay, Presidente Hayes and Alto Paraguay and permits officers to arrest any suspected members of the PPA, without warrants. Additionally, there is a ban on public gatherings and protests along with increased controls on the circulation of vehicles on highways and local roads.

The PPA established itself as an armed group after taking responsibility for the September 2004 murder of Cecilia Cubas, a daughter of a former president. Her body was discovered in 2005 after she died in captivity. The group is thought to have roughly one hundred members that operate in remote, inaccessible forested areas, with little access to technology.

Controversy over the bill took center stage when the Vice President Federico Franco declared that the objective of the emergency law is not the elimination of the PPA. It is unclear what Franco was referring to, however, rights groups are also voicing opposition. The Paraguayan Human Rights Coordinating Group (CODEHUPY) stated that the threshold for a state emergency to be declared has not been reached. Specifically, they highlighted the fact that Paraguay is neither involved in an international armed conflict nor facing a situation that could endanger any state institutions in the five affected provinces. CODEHUPY, speaking with IPS, attributed the current situation to “criminals acting outside the law who should be apprehended, charged, and sentenced under the regular legal system.”

CODEHUPY further remarked that if the armed group, they allege contains around ten individuals justifies a state of emergency, then there is a problem with the incapacity of the country’s security agencies. Similarly, a trade union federation, Central Nacional de Trabajadores, pledged to act swiftly in the event there are any violations of the public freedoms established by the constitution.

For more information, please see:

AFP-Paraguay Suspends Rights in Crackdown on Rebel Group-25 April 2010

BBC-Paraguay Suspends Rights in Crackdown on Rebels-24 April 2010

IPS-Paraguay:Controversy Over Troop Deployment-28 April 2010

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

PARA, Brazil-On April 16, 2010 a judge in the capital, Brasília overturned a ruling halting construction on a dam project to be built in Para State  because it would cause “irreparable harm” to indigenous people. The project, known as the Belo Monte Dam, will involve the excavation of two channels larger than the Panama Canal to divert water from the main dam to the power plant. The reservoir will flood more than one hundred and sixty square miles of forest while drying up a sixty mile stretch of the Xingu River, which will displace more than 20,000 people, many of which are indigenous communities.

Thirteen affected indigenous groups have formed a new tribe of 2,500, which they have stationed directly on the construction site. They plan to occupy it as long as necessary. The chief told the New York Times that they need the river to travel and eat. The groups affected include the Kayapó, Arara, Juruna, Araweté, Xikrin, Asurini, and Parakanã groups. Over eight hundred and fifty people protested what will be the largest dam in the world. Human rights organizations have warned that the dam construction will also bring migrants to the area and threaten uncontacted indigenous people, who have little resistance to outside disease. According to Survival International, many believe that the dam energy will be used to serve the mining industry. A bill is currently before the Brazilian government that would allow mining on indigenous land.

The new ruling allows the auction of bids to take place on April 20, 2010. The Chief of the Arara tribe, José Carolos Arara called the last case “our last cry for help” in a quest to defend their rights after a meeting of thirteen tribes last month, the New York Times reported. Environmentalists have stated that the dams are in fact inefficient and produce less than capacity annually, thus causing fear that the government would still have to build more dams upstream. This would further displace indigenous communities.

The latest ruling found that there was “no imminent danger for the indigenous community” because the auction of bids did not “imply immediate destruction.” The auction, one of numerous stages in the dam project was therefore allowed to go forward as planned. The Brazilian government is trying to meet the growing energy needs of urban areas, constantly requiring new energy projects. The Brazilian government has warned that halting the auction would cause “grave harm” to the economy and could potentially cause Brazil to seek other forms of energy that are more expensive and polluting than the hydroelectric project.

The plans for the dam were developed over thirty years ago before Brazil had constitutional protections for for indigenous peoples. The judge in the recent ruling stated that the Congress would have to pass a law changing the Constitution’s limits on building dams that negatively affect indigenous communities. An appeal to the recent ruling has been filed by Attorney General’s office. Indigenous activists have promised a “river of blood” if the dam project moves forward.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Judge’s Ruling Gives Green Light for Massive Brazil Dam-18 April 2010

BBC-Judge Allows Start of Bids on Controversial Dam Project-17 April 2010

Latin America Press-Amazon State Attorney Seeks to Stop Hydroelectric Project-17 April 2010

New York Times-Amazon Dam Project Pits Economic Development Benefit Against Development of Indigenous Lands-16 April 2010

Survival International-Indians and Activists March Against Amazon Mega-Dam-14 April 2010

By Sovereign Hager
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

RÍO DE JANIERO, Brazil-At least two hundred and fifty six people are dead after a hillside collapsed due to heavy rain. A landslide caused the collapse that buried a favela or shantytown. Recent reports indicate that the Brazilian government was aware of the danger the favela posed, but did nothing to mitigate the risk. People on the ground fear that the death toll will rise as high as four hundred as bodies are uncovered. There are also fears of disease as the bodies begin to decompose.

The favela, known as Favelo Moro do Bumba was built on a former landfill. Researchers who studied the community argue that the risk to the nearly 400 residents was clear. The Federal Flumininse University (UFF) published two reports on the risks that the illegal occupation of the landfill posed, but the government did nothing. The reports included suggestions of measures the government could take to prevent death by landslide.

A 2007 report by UFF found one hundred and forty three areas that are susceptible to landslides. Other experts point to global climate change and overpopulation as sources of the extreme weather hitting Brazil. In another favela, known as Guararapes, a recent landslide has been traced to the diversion of a former source of drinking water for a private real estate development located at the peak of a hill. A local resident told IPS that since the development, water has been filtering down and eroding the hillside which allegedly caused the landslide.

The new community water tank in Guararapes burst after record rainfall, fell, and killed three children. A local resident told IPS that the government is “covering it all up, because this is a tourist area.” The train to the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer runs up the hill where Guararapes is located. People in the Gurarapes are reportedly sleeping outside, exposed to the elements now that their homes have been destroyed.

The Brazilian government has expressed embarrassment, but does not admit any prior knowledge of risk. Further rainfall is expected in the coming weeks.

For more information, please see:

Kaosenlared-Río de Janiero: Micro y Macro Razones de la Trajedia-11 April 2010

IPS-Brazil: A Trajedy of Local and Global Dimensions-9 April 2010

Hoy.com-Riesgo de deslave en Niterói se conocía desde 2004-10 April 2010