By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was questioned on Friday as part of “Operation Car Wash,” the official investigation into the Petrobras scandal. Known around the world as “Lula,” he served as Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010 and is widely credited with Brazil’s emergence as an international power. He is considered by many to be Brazil’s most popular president.

The Petrobras scandal was born of an inquiry into bribes at the state-run oil firm. However, the investigation was widened to include high ranking members of Brazil’s ruling Workers’ Party. There is evidence that “scores of politicians and business executives” stole money from Petrobras. Those under investigation are suspected of overcharging Petrobras contracts. The money is thought to have been put towards Workers’ Party electoral campaigns.

Lula was detained and his home raided on Friday morning. His institute in Sao Paulo, and his wife and sons were also targeted in the investigation. Lula was released a few hours later. When speaking with supporters after his release, Lula said that he “deserved respect” and that the investigators were “disrespectful of democracy.”

Police allege that Lula took money from the Petrobras kickback scheme and laundered it through real-estate assets and his institute.

The detention sparked widespread criticism – even from those who supported his questioning, and sparked several clashes outside of Lula’s home in Sao Bernardo do Campo on Friday.

On Saturday, Lula supporters gathered outside of his home, chanting, “if you mess with him, you mess with me.” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff also travelled to Saw Bernardo do Campo to meet with Lula in his home on Saturday, in show of solidarity after his “unnecessary” detention.  Both Lula and President Rousseff have denied involvement in the Petrobras scandal. President Rousseff’s popularity has severely declined since the investigations began, and she may be facing impeachment.

Despite criticism, prosecutors stand by the questioning, saying that that Lula “holds no power that puts him beyond the reach of the Car Wash investigation.” The investigation has called both Lula’s political future and his legacy into question.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Brazil Petrobras scandal: Former president Lula questioned – 4 March 2016

Latin America News Dispatch – Brazil Ex-President Lula Questioned in Corruption Case – 4 March 2016

New York Times – Brazil’s Ex-Leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Is Held and His Home Raided – 4 March 2016 

New York Times – Snapshot of Brazil’s Web of Scandal – 4 March 2016

Agence France-Presse – Brazil’s corruption scandal anger spills onto street – 5 March 2016

Associated Press – Crowds cheer Brazilian ex-president after being grilled by police – 5 March 2016

Bloomberg Business – Rousseff Visits Lula as Brazil Supporters Stage Solidarity Vigil – 5 March 2016

Reuters – Brazil top judges back graft probe despite concern over Lula’s detention – 6 March 2016

CARACAS, Venezuela — Security forces in Venezuela are searching for a group of miners in the state of Bolívar who have gone missing. Family members of those missing from the Atenas gold mine are alleging that sometime between Thursday and Friday, 28 miners were rounded up by gunmen and killed execution style. The mine is unlicensed “wildcat” mine, and is located near to the town of Tumeremo.

State Governor Francisco Rangel first denied that “any person [was] killed or missing,” saying that reports referred to clashes between gangs fighting over control of the mines.  He accused the opposition of spreading “FALSE information about murdered miners.” Governor Rangel is an ally of President Maduro.

In response to Governor Rangel’s claim, about 300 relatives of the miners engaged in demonstrations over the weekend, shutting down a road running through Tumeremo that serves as an important link between Venezuela and Brazil.

“I’m not asking for justice,” said Juan Jose Coello, the father of a missing miner. “Right now, I’m just asking that they return the body of my son, so I can give him a Christian burial.”

The protests led Venezuela’s Attorney General to designate both a national and regional prosecutor to investigate the matter. Governor Rangel finally acknowledged on Monday that there was an official search for the miners. Family members continued to block the road through Tumeremo.

Some claiming to have witnessed the massacre and family members of the missing have accused law enforcement agents of playing a role in the alleged killings. Opposition lawmaker Americo de Grazia has also accused the state government of complicity.

1,000 soldiers were ordered to the area to search for the missing miners. There are conflicting reports from those who claim to have witnessed the attack as to what the gunmen did with the remains of the miners. Some locals allege that the gunmen drove the bodies of the miners deeper into the mine, while others say they were dismembered and removed from the area.

 

For more information, please see:

Agence France-Presse – Missing Venezuelan miners families protest – 7 March 2016

Associated Press –Venezuela Opens Investigation Into Possible Killing of Miners – 7 March 2016

Reuters – Venezuela says investigating alleged killing of miners – 7 March 2016

Voice of America – Venezuela Investigates Possible Slaying of 28 Missing Miners – 7 March 2016

BBC – Venezuela probes gold miners’ disappearance in Bolivar – 8 March 2016

Latin America News Dispatch – Venezuela Investigates Disappearance of 28 Gold Miners – 8 March 2016

Latin American Herald Tribune – Security Forces Search for Miners Reported Killed in Venezuela – 8 March 2016

Washington Post – Venezuela Congress takes up case of missing miners – 8 March 2016

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America 

Nobel Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel has called for Obama to cancel his visit to Argentina, scheduled for 24 March. Esquivel is just the latest in a series of prominent Argentines, including the president of the Madres de Plazo de Mayo Hebe de Bonafini to criticize the timing of the visit.

24 March of this year marks the 40^th anniversary of the U.S.-backed coup, which led to a seven year dictatorship. The dictatorship lasted from 1976 to 1983, and about 30,000 people were killed or disappeared during that time period.

The date is a public holiday in Argentina known as the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice. Events are held each year to commemorate the victims of the dictatorship.

Esquivel won the Nobel Prize in 1980 for his defense of human rights in Argentina. Obama and Esquivel have been in communication regarding human rights issues in the past.

Esquivel does not oppose to Obama visiting the country, only the timing of the visit. “I think it’s great (for Obama to come) . . . The question is when and how.” He says he plans to publish an open letter regarding the matter in the upcoming days.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri says the visit “signifies a recognition of a change that has taken place in Argentina, towards good relations with the world, relations which must be mature, intelligent and mutually beneficial.” Argentina is, according to Macri “aligned with the United States in defending human rights in the region.”

President Macri has met with several human rights organizations in Argentina to assure them that Obama’s visit will not take away from the commemoration of the day, but they are still opposed to the visit.

Noah Mamet, the U.S. ambassador to Argentina, said the date of the visit was set in order to combine the visit with Obama’s historic trip to Cuba, planned for 21-22 March.

 

For more information, please see:

The Argentina Independent – US President Barack Obama to Visit Argentina – 19 February 2016 

Agence France-Presse – Obama visit shows Argentina mending ties: Macri to AFP – 22 February 2016 

Associated Press – Argentine Nobel Prize Winner to Obama: Don’t visit March 24 – 3 March 2016 

Fox News Latino – Outrage grows in Argentina over Obama’s planned visit: It falls on coup anniversary – 3 March 2016

Latin Post – Why Former Argentine Nobel Peace Prize Winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel Does Not Want Obama to Visit Argentina on March 24 – 3 March 2016

TeleSur – Nobel Peace Prize Tells Obama to Cancel Trip to Argentina – 3 March 2016

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela – Students in San Cristobal engaged in protests and clashed with police on Wednesday. The movement followed Tuesday’s Venezuelan Supreme Court ruling that the opposition-controlled National Assembly could not review Court appointments.

The ruling specified that the National Assembly’s power of review was limited to the executive and does not extend to the judiciary. The Court said that any attempt by the Assembly to remove Supreme Court justices or review the appointments would be “overstepping [their] authority.”

13 Supreme Court nominations and 21 alternates were pushed through by outgoing lawmakers following the historical December 7^th elections, where the socialist party lost for the first time in 17 years. The appointments were meant to fill spots created by judges that retired early. The current opposition-controlled National Assembly have cited the openings as evidence that judges were forced to retire.

The Supreme Court is known for ruling in support of Maduro and his government’s policies, frustrating the National Assembly’s attempts to curb Maduro’s power. The Court has not ruled against Venezuela’s executive branch since Hugo Chavez won the presidency in 1999. Last month, the Court overturned the National Assembly’s decision to veto Maduro’s declaration of emergency powers in response to the worsening economic environment.

In response to the ruling, students from Catholic University took to the streets in San Cristobal, allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails and petrol bombs. Demonstrators wearing masks painted in the colors of the Venezuelan flag set up roadblocks in the city. San Cristobal was the site of the start of a series of anti-government protests in 2014 which left 43 people on both sides dead.

The National Asssembly has devised a three-part plan to oust Maduro and his supporters from power in the executive branch. Simultaneously, the Assembly will pursue a presidential recall referendum, a constitutional amendment to shorten presidential terms, and a campaign for Maduro’s resignation. Observers expect the opposition to formally announce the plan soon.

 

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Venezuela’s Supreme Court bars congress from investigating judicial appointments – 2 March 2016

Agence France-Presse – Venezuelan opposition delays announcing plan to oust Maduro – 3 March 2016

Agence France-Presse – Venezuelan students clash with police over court ruling – 3 March 2016

Associated Press – Venezuela Opposition Picks Strategy to Oust President – 3 March 2016

BBC – Venezuela students protest against Supreme Court ruling – 3 March 2016 

Reuters – Venezuelan opposition hones in on strategy to end Maduro’s rule – 3 March 2016

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil — Human rights groups have published a “dirty list” of 340 Brazilian companies which have been fined by Brazil’s Ministry of Labor and Employment for engaging in employment practices which amount to modern day slavery. The list draws from firms fined between May 2013 and May 2015. Brazil defines slave labor as work “carried out in life-threatening or degrading conditions.” The designation also includes bonded labor, in which a person works without pay to settle a debt with an employer.

50,000 people have been released from slave-like working conditions since the Brazilian government began prosecuting slavery in 1995. According to the International Labor Organization, there about 200,000 people in slave labor in the country. Slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888.

The list was compiled using Brazil’s Access to Information Act by Reporter Brasil and the Brazilian Institute to Eradicate Slave Labor (InPACTO) in an effort to “enforce society’s right to transparency regarding corporate labor practices.” The list has been published and updated since 2003.

A company’s inclusion on the list has consequences – blacklisted employers face restrictions on the sale of their product and are blocked from government loans. The National Slave Eradication pact of 2005, which has been signed by over 400 banks and companies, institutes a boycott of those on the list.

Pockets of the Brazilian Amazon are home to slave-labor conditions similar to those of the nineteenth century. According to Leonardo Sakamoto, head of Reporter Brasil, “[historically] the worst slave conditions in Brazil have been found in cattle ranches in the Amazon where state power is difficult ot reach and where exploitation is more violent.”

The Inter-American Human Rights Court is currently hearing a case involving 340 men who were trafficked into slavery during the 1990s on a cattle ranch in northern Brazil. The Centre for Justice and International Law and the Pastoral Land Commission (an arm of the Brazilian Catholic Church) brought the case to the Court. Brazil has been accused of having knowledge of the use of slave labor, reported by inspections dating from 1997 to 2000.

Activists hope that the Court’s ruling, the first of its kind, will outline the responsibilities of states to prevent slavery and  compensate freed slaves.

 

For more information, please see:

TeleSur – 340 Brazilian Companies Fined for Modern Slave Labor Conditions – 6 February 2016 

Thomas Reuters Foundation – More than 300 Brazilian Companies busted for modern-day slavery – campaigners – 15 February 2016

Latin Post – 340 Brazilian Companies Fined for Engaging in Forced Labor; Anti-Slavery Group Releases ‘Dirty List’ – 16 February 2016

HNGN – Modern Day Slavery in Brazil: 340 Brazilian Companies Blacklisted for Forced Labor Conditions – 17 February 2016

Latin Correspondent – Genocide, slavery and intimidation in the Brazilian Amazon – 19 February 2016

Reuters – Brazil slave labor victims seek justice at Americas’ top rights court – 24 February 2016