In what is being called a victory by Ecuadorian gay and lesbian rights activists, local preacher and former Presidential candidate Nelson Zavala was sentenced this week for making homophobic comments during his presidential campaign. An electoral court cited him for remarks after he insisted that gays were “immoral” and implied that he could “cure” gay people of this immorality.

This is just the latest in a series of ill events for the former presidential candidate, he lost his bid for election last month against Rafael Correa. He placing eighth and last with just 1.23% of the vote, much lower than his projected 700,000 votes he expected to receive from evangelicals from the church. Zavala did not take the news lightly, and condemned the female judge who issued the verdict  “Those who judge me will be judged,” then insisted that “God will judge us all in the end,” before implying that the tribunal will be used against them when they stand at heavens gates.

 

The honorable judge Patricia Baca Mancheno found that Mr Zavala violated the electoral ethics, which “forbids candidates of publicly expressing any thoughts that discriminate or affect other people’s dignity or utilise symbols, expressions or allusions of a religious nature.”  Mr. Zavala had been cited and condemned for using hate speech before and according to the electoral law, the ” disregard of orders and judgments” of the electoral board “could lead to the suspension of political rights of the offender, as a candidate.” His statements concerning the homosexual lifestyle as sinners were found to degrade the LGBT’s rights to dignity.

 

Beyond the moral condemnation and ill response from local citizens, Ecuadorian Judge Baca deemed that Zavala would be banned from any political affiliation or government movement for a year, effectively ending any hope of spreading his homophobic message on any grand electoral scale. He had resigned from the Roldosista Ecuadorian Party (PRE) after the lack of turnout in his favor, stating that he will continue to denounce acts of corruption from within his church. The sentence includes a $3,000 fine and opening up liability against Zavala to be charged for a hate crime.

For further information, please see:

Huffington Post – Ecuadorian Ex Presidential Candidate And Preacher, Nelson Zavala, Penalized For Homophobic Comments – 12 March 2013

BBC – Ecuador Preacher Sentenced For Homophobic Comments – 11 March 2013

El Comercio – Zavala Announced His Resignation From The PRE – 22 February 2013

El Comercio – Begin In Ecuador Presidential Candidate Process Such Homophobic – 10 February 2013

By Brendan Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – With the death of Hugo Chavez the people of Venezuela have begun their morning period. But with the Venezuelan base restructuring itself to protect the transition of power come rumors and accusations of a western based assassination.

Since his death on March 5, accusations have come from the upper echelons of the Chavez administration have been implying that the United States and Israel conspired to assassinate Hugo Chavez and destabilize Venezuela. In 2011, Chavez upon discovering he had cancer implied that he had been injected by foreign imperialistic forces.

However at this stage, giving other people cancer via injection seems highly suspect. While Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has implied similarities to Palestinian Leaders Yasser Arafat death, even polonium poisoning does not give you cancer, and merely mimics end stages of cancer.

The assassination of a foreign leader has been denounced by the Geneva Convention, which in Article 37 of Protocol I states “It is prohibited to kill, injure or capture an adversary by resort to perfidy. Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence, shall constitute perfidy.” Beyond the rules of International Conflict, President Reagan signed Executive Order 12 333, which prohibits US Intelligence agencies from assassinating foreign leader targets.

Venezuela has since expelled two U.S. military attaches, and the U.S. has in turn expelled two Venezuelan diplomats. It seems that until the Venezuelan administration finishes their probe into Hugo Chavez’s death, tensions will rise between the two nations. Yet the possibility of an unbiased report seems unlikely, as in 2006 Chavez told reporters, “If they kill me, the name of the person responsible is George Bush,” unwilling to acknowledge the numerous Venezuelans who were economically displaced when the President altered the economic and social structure of the country.

When Hugo Chavez took power after his failed coup d’état in 2002, he seized power away from the court systems, and undercut the ability of journalists, and human rights defenders to exercise their ability to report on violations within the country. Chavez was able to use the government’s free reign to intimidate, censor and prosecute those within the country who challenged his political agenda. In September 2012, Venezuela announced its withdrawal from the American Convention on Human Rights, indicating a radical decision in the face of international scrutiny.

For further information, please see:

BBC – Venezuela To Investigate Chavez Murder Allegations – 12 March 2013

Tehran Times – Assassination Of Hugo Chavez – 8 March 2013

Gawker – Could The U.S. Have Assassinated Hugo Chavez Using Cancer? – 8 March 2013

Miami News Times – Did Assassins Give Hugo Chavez Cancer? Conspiracies Fly As Groups Request CIA Docs – 7 March 2013

Human Rights Watch – Venezuela: Chavez’s Authoritarian Legacy – 5 March 2013

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILA, Brazil – Ronald McDonald’s has another fire to put out, and this one is not related to its flame broiled burgers. In Brazil new information is being released that would implicate labor violations imposed against young workers in order to keep the costs of running a fast food franchise down.

Brazil has the second most McDonalds of any country in the Western hemisphere after the United States, and with that comes its share of scandals. While not rocked by the horse meat scandal that has hit the United States, here McDonald’s young workers are coming forth complaining about slave-like working conditions that are being imposed upon them. Conditions such as sexual harassment, lack of minimum worker comfort, and work hours above the weekly maximum – which according to article 7 of the Federal Constitution on employee rights should not exceed 44 hours a week – are unfortunately far reaching. Beyond hourly violations furnishing workers with inadequate food are just some of the conditions many workers are forced to deal with in Brazil.

Last year, the Brazilian corporate office of McDonalds at Sao Paulo was facing 1790 cases for labor violations from claims concerning overtime violations, and minimum wage violations, and until recently has seemingly been able to get away them. The hiring of young workers for fast-food is everyday practice for many corporations, but in Sao Paulo the act has taken a slightly more predatory nature. McDonald’s in Brazil has taken to a habit of hiring teenagers with little to no job experience and no notice of their rights.

These recent labor violations have resurfaced thanks to a suit by a seventeen year old girl. She had been working at a Sao-Paulo McDonalds for 8 months without pay and has agreed to testify against her former employers.

Antonio Carlos Lacerda, a lawyer representing the young girl working for the Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union, believes this is one of many other similar situations. He believes “that when the investigation is concluded, they will prove that there is a systematic pattern of this kind of behavior through the entire McDonald’s system.”

These labor law violations are just some of the issues being discussed by the Inter-American Commission 0n Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights this month in Brazil. These issues crucial to Brazil – like slave labor and gender-based violence – are to be addressed to alter Brazil’s sometimes deplorable human rights violations.

For more information, please see:

Vice – McDonalds Is Violating Labor Laws In Brazil – 4 March 2013

Independent European Daily Express – Inter-American Human Rights System Reform Faces Deadline – 1 March 2013

The Drum – Horse Meat Scandal – McDonald’s Is Loving It – 7 February 2013

The Brazil Business – Brazilian Employment Law In A Nutshell – 15 May 2012

Lo De Alla – McDonald’s In Brazil: A Campaign To Cover Up Exploitation – 20 March 2011

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By Brendan Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America 

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – The resignation of Uruguay’s Supreme Court Justice Marina Moto sent shockwaves through the country. Not simply due to the Justices’ unparalleled transfer from the criminal sector to the civilian court, but because Judge Moto had been the main driving force behind the investigations of crimes against humanity during the military governments control of the country from 1973-1985.

Human rights defenders and groups throughout Uruguay and Argentina have protested the change, citing Mota as one of the most significant contributors in trials against military and civilians related to war crimes. She had more than 50 open cases under investigation at the time of her transfer.

Her transfer triggered wide spread reaction, Human rights officials organized a joint-protest at Mota’s ascension to the civil judgeship. Some 300 protestors came to show their disapproval for her shift, and of a new controversial Supreme Court ruling that declared unconstitutional a law that prevented the statute of limitations on crimes committed during the military regime. There were clashes at the protest requiring police action to evict some of the unruly protestors.

The court’s ruling which repealed law 18,831 has effectively nullified investigations into military personal accused of human rights violations and granted technical immunity to those accused. The court justified its ruling that abuses committed during the military regime cannot be considered crimes against humanity, because at the time the crimes were committed, there were not considered crimes against humanity within the Latin American country.

The Uruguayan military dictatorship is accused of forcibly disappearing some 200 people. Thousands of others may have been arbitrarily detained and tortured. According to data, Uruguay had one of the highest rates of political prisoners per capita in the world in the 1970s.

Alberto Pérez Pérez, who currently serves as a judge of the Inter-American court of Human Rights has stated that if the Supreme Court ruled 18, 831 unconstitutional, than the country would be in violation of international law.

While Moto claims she has no reason to explain herself, Enrique Rubio a member of the Uruguayan Senate plans to call the justice before parliament to justify her actions. While a Supreme Court Justice has never called a justice before them since the fall of the dictatorship, the parliament lacks a legal means to force a compulsory presence from a Supreme Court Justice. Despite not being able to force a meeting, Rubio has referred to the meeting as an extension of an invitation to explain herself.

For further information, please see:

BBC Mundo – Uruguay: Protests At Supreme Court For Ruling On Human Rights Cases – 25 February 2013

BBC Mundo – How Are Cases Of Abuse Of DD.HH. In Uruguay – 23 February 2013

BBC Mundo – Uruguay: Judge Transfer Sweeping The World Of DD.HH. – 22 February 2013

Pulsa Merica – Uruguay: Human Rights Judge Mota Transferred To Civil Court Duties – 17 February 2013

 

By Brendan Oliver Bergh
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASILIA, Brazil – The allure of the world cup draws near, and Brazil has taken drastic actions to prepare Rio de Janeiro before crowds and crowds of people descend upon the city. After the relative success of past military incursions into the favelas, or to put it more aptly, slums of Rio, police, tanks and military units stormed multiple favelas over the past months in order to reestablish control over the population.

Previously drug backed gangs took control of the slums and the people languished in poverty without access to many basic necessities. Since the military occupation, spokesmen claim that the pacification has benefited over 400,000 impoverished people, with another 1.1 million people left that could still benefit. The overall plan is to provide social services and improve the quality of care of those at risk while quashing any illegal activity that could harm their reputation when FIFA and the Olympic Committee arrive to assess the suitability of Brazils shinning gem that is Rio de Janeiro.

The operation which began in earnest back in January, represents a massive shift to clean up the slums. Early last week, a Brazilian Police force supported by military tanks and helicopters stormed gang occupied slums near Rio’s international airport. Fortunately most of the pacification incursions have gone without a hitch. The police have taken to celebrate their victories by raising the Rio’s and Brazil’s flags on the roofs of buildings, symbolizing the end of the drug traffickers dominion over the impoverished parts of the city.

Critics of the operation state that while the pacification program is effective, the favelas targeted are not the poorest areas, and are simply focused on areas that would be popular during the World Cup and the Olympic Games. Civilians living within the favelas have had different reactions to the pacification. Some note that while there is less major crime, petty crime has increases as they no longer fear retaliation from local crime bosses.

After the pacification of the controlling gangs, staff from Rio’s municipal authority could start entering the areas safely without fear, and begun implementation of new social services, such as schools, healthcare centers and trash collection. Eduara La Rocque, president of the Instituto Pereira Passos has noted that there are over 150 new schools within the favelas as well as formalizing the area into the confines of Rio’s boundaries and maps. Ms. Law Rocque has hoped to implement many new training courses so the previously disenfranchised can acquire legitimate work experience in the future.

However because of the lack of resistance from drug traffickers many believe that the gangs have simply been relocating to other favelas, or to towns outside Rio, effectively just spreading out the problem.

For further information, please see:

Publico – Brazilian Police Occupy Slums 13 – 3 March 2013

Voice of Russia – Brazil: Police Occupied The Favelas In Rio De Janeiro – 3 March 2013

Terra – Police Ranks Near The Slums Of Rio De Janeiro Airport – 3 March 2013

BBC – Rio’s Shanty Towns Spread Their Wings – 8 February 2013