By Margaret Janelle Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BRASÍLIA, Brazil – As Brazil prepares to host Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, president Dilma Rousseff is trying to set an example through legislation and other environmental projects, but environmentalists say her efforts don’t go far enough.

Activist and former Brazilian presidential candidate Marina Silva called Tuesday for protests matching the magnitude of Egypt’s Tahrir Square demonstrations at the upcoming environmental summit.

More than 100 heads of state and tens of thousands of participants from governments, the private sector and NGOs will converge on Rio de Janeiro from the 20th-22nd of June for the conference.  Marking the 20th anniversary of the “Earth Summit” in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, the Rio+20 gathering aims to break years of deadlock on pressing environmental issues and set up long-term paths toward green development and sustainability.

Late last month, President Rousseff partially vetoed a bill that would have weakened her country’s efforts to protect the Amazon and other forests.  Legislators in both houses had passed a set of revisions to the Forest Code that threatened permanent preservation areas – a key provision in Brazilian environmental legislation – that obliged farmers to keep a proportion of their land as protected forests, particularly on the fringes of rivers and hillsides.  Brazil’s powerful agricultural lobby has long opposed the preservation requirement.

Speaking on World Environment Day, Rousseff stressed that economic problems should not serve as a pretext to abandon efforts to safeguard the planet.

“The crisis can’t be an argument to suspend measures to protect the environment, much as it can’t be an argument to suspend policies of social inclusion,” Rousseff said.

Everybody from the Brazilian Academy of Sciences to, literally, the Brazilian equivalent of Bugs Bunny was saying ‘veto this bill completely,’ according to Steve Schwartzman, director of Tropical Forest Policy for the Environmental Defense Fund.

In the end, President Rousseff vetoed 12 sections of the bill. The most controversial clause would have given amnesty to all landowners that illegally deforested before 2008.  Instead, Rousseff modified that section to only apply to small landowners.  Congress has until mid October to discuss and vote on an amended version of the bill.

Many environmentalists see Rousseff’s actions as not going far enough.  They feel that Rousseff is striking a precarious balance between powerful economic players and the future of the planet.

“This sends a bad signal on the eve of the Rio+20 when Brazil could have been an example,” Silva said.  “If on the eve of the Rio+20 we practically eliminate the law that protects forests, we change the law that defines the boundaries of indigenous lands and we withdraw the capacity of a federal agency responsible for combating illicit deforestation… imagine what will happen,” she said.

Nevertheless, Brazil has made strides in forest preservation.  Deforestation of the Amazon has fallen to its lowest levels since records began, according to data recently released by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research.

Using satellite imagery, the institute said 6,418 sq km of Amazon forest was stripped in the 12 months before 31 July 2011 – the smallest area since annual measurements started in 1988.

“This reduction is impressive; it is the result of changes in society, but it also stems from the political decision to inspect, as well as from punitive action by government agencies,” Rousseff said.

She was speaking at a ceremony on Tuesday to mark the opening of two new nature reserves: the 34,000-hectare (83,980 acres) Bom Jesus Biological Reserve in Paraná, and the 8,500-hectare (20,995 acres) Furna Feia National Park in Rio Grande do Norte.

Likewise in advance of the Rio+20 summit the state government of Rio do Janeiro last week announced the closure of one of the world’s largest open-pit landfills, where thousands of people have made a living sorting the debris.

Long a symbol of ill-conceived urban planning and environmental negligence, the Jardim Gramacho dump is being transformed into a vast facility that will harness the greenhouse gases generated by the rotting rubbish and turn them into fuel capable of heating homes and powering cars.

Environmentalists had blamed Gramacho for the high levels of pollution in Rio’s once pristine Guanabara Bay, where tons of run-off from the garbage had leaked.

Despite these efforts by the government to make progress in environmental preservation and sustainability efforts, key activists are calling for large scale protesting and demonstrations during the Rio+20 summit.

“I hope that Rio+20 will become the Tahrir Square of the global environmental crisis and that international public opinion will be able to tell leaders that they cannot brush off the science,” Silva told AFP. “They cannot lower expectations in the face of a crisis worsening every day,” said the 53-year-old figurehead of Brazil’s environmental movement.

The Brazilian military plans to deploy 15,000 security personnel for the UN summit and a parallel “people’s summit” at the Flamengo park in southern Rio, which will be sponsored by civil society and is expected to see the attendance of nearly 20,000 people a day.

For further information, please see:

The Guardian – Amazon deforestation at record low, data shows – 7 June 2012

Merco Press – In anticipation of Rio+20, Brazil creates new nature reserves and closes major land-fill – 7 June 2012

iBahia – MP do Código Florestal será votada no Congresso até outubro – 6 June 2012

Public Radio International – On eve of Rio +20 environmental conference, Brazil’s president pushes back on forestry changes – 6 June 2012

Ahram Online – Brazil’s Silva calls for Tahrir-style demo at Rio+20 – 5 June 2012

The Guardian – Brazil’s leader vetoes portions of new Amazon rainforest law – 25 May 2012

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SUCRE, Bolivia — Roger Pinto, the head of an opposition party in Bolivia took political refuge in the Brazilian Embassy, in La Paz, Bolivia. Pinto stated that he and his family face death threats and political persecution after alleging that links existed between corrupt government officials and drug trafficking.

Pinto, a long-time foe of the current Morales government, stated that “I have no other alternative to the relentless harassment and persecution to which I was subjected to under the government of Evo Morales.”

President Evo Morales is head of the Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement for Socialism, MAS), a left wing, Socialist party founded in 1997. The MAS has governed the country since 2006 after the first majority victory by a single party in the elections held in December 2005. The MAS regime grew out of a movement to defend the interests of local Bolivian coca growers.

Since Morales came into the Presidency, international law enforcement officials have said that drug activity has increased dramatically. In 2006, Morales promised to expand the cultivation and growing of the coca plant which is the raw material of cocaine—a legal crop in Bolivia, used often as a chewable, mild stimulant.

This is not the first time Pinto has taken a stand against the Bolivian government. Recently, Pinto made several claims presenting documents alleging meetings between several senior level Morales officials and drug traffickers.

Since presenting these allegations, Pinto says he became a victim of at least 20 criminal investigations including sedition and defamation. These investigations developed into death threats which prompted him to seek political asylum in the Brazilian embassy. In a letter Pinto wrote to the Embassy, he said “I have been a victim of constant death threats, and my family has also been threatened.” His daughters also mentioned that they received many anonymous calls that they believed were from people affiliated with the Bolivian government.

As of yet, Brazil has not yet decided whether to grant Pinto the asylum he has requested. While Brazil continues to work for good relations with its neighbors, the country is also hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2009 coup in Honduras. In 2009, Honduran leader Zelaya took up residence in a Brazilian embassy claiming that he was under attack by unseen Israeli agents. Because Brazil lost some credibility in trying to resolve this situation, the country remains hesitant to offer Pinto political asylum.

 

For further information, please see:

ABC News–Bolivia: Senator’s Asylum Bid Embarrasses Morales–1 June 2012

The Republic–Bolivia says right-wing senator’s asylum bid seeks to embarrass Morales on eve of OAS summit–31 May 2012

Topix–Bolivia: Senator’s asylum bid embarrasses Morales–31 May 2012

The New York Times–Bolivian Politician Takes Refuge at Brazilian Embassy–30 May 2012

By Margaret Janelle Hutchinson
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Brasília, Brazil – Gilmer Mendes, a judge on Brazil’s high court, is accusing former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (“Lula”) of pressuring him to set aside a planned trial of the biggest scandal of his administration.

 

The scandal erupted during President Lula’s first term in 2005 and caused a number of top officials in the governing Worker’s Party to resign.  In 2007, the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) accepted the complaint against 40 politicians suspected of involvement in the alleged scheme reported by then Congressman Roberto Jefferson (PTB), which became known as “mensalão” or “big monthly allowance”. Jefferson said lawmakers accepted base periodic payments in exchange for voting with the interests of President Lula’s government.

Over the weekend Judge Mendes told Veja magazine that Mr. da Silva, 66, asked him in April in Brasília, the capital, to postpone the trial, set for August. Judge Mendes said the pressure at the April meeting in Brasília included an insinuation by Mr. da Silva that Judge Mendes could be linked to another scandal, this one involving an opposition senator, Demostenes Torres, and his ties to a businessman, Carlos Augusto Ramos (better known by his nickname, Carlinhos Cachoeira or “Charlie Waterfall”), who is accused of running illegal gambling operations.  The former president confirmed that the meeting in Brasília took place, but has adamantly denied the validity of Mendes’s accusations.

These mounting accusations of corruption at the highest levels cast a shadow over the current presidency of Dilma Rousseff. Ms. Rousseff is also of the Worker’s Party and was endorsed by President Lula as his successor. Scandals have forced seven cabinet ministers to resign in the past year, including Ms. Rousseff’s chief of staff. Ms. Rousseff issued a statement on Wednesday rejecting any threat of an “institutional crisis” between the judiciary and executive branches over the feud.

The president of the STF, minister Ayres Britto responded to the dispute between Judge Mendes and Mr. da Silva during a plenary session, stating that, “The judiciary is immune to such dissent. I have said repeatedly that we are experienced in coping with situations of all kinds. We did not lose the focus that it is our duty to judge the whole process – including the monthly allowance – with objectivity, impartiality, and serenity, ultimately aware of the evidence in the file.”  Mr. Britto also expressed that the trial should take place as soon as possible.

Two judges on the 11-member court are expected to retire soon, so if the trial is delayed, Ms. Rousseff’s nominations to fill the vacancies could influence the outcome, raising concerns over the Workers Party’s influence over the trial.

For further information, please see:

Primeira Edição – Lula já se encontrou com cinco ministros do STF em 2012 – 31 May 2012

Jornal do Brasil – Ayres Britto reafirma que não existe crise institucional por causa do Mensalão – 30 May 2012

The New York Times – Brazil’s Political Class Jolted by Claim That Ex-Leader Pressed a High Court Judge – 30 May 2012

The Washington Post – Supreme Court justice accuses former Brazilian president Silva of pressure to set aside trial – 29 May 2012

By Heba Girgis
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Columbia–Colombia’s guerilla group FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, recently decided to free a French reporter, Romeo Langlois, who they kidnapped on April 28. A Red Cross official received a statement from the FARC group declaring Langlois’ release for Wednesday, May 30.

Langlois, 35, was kidnapped during a shootout with Colombian troops carrying out an anti-drug raid in the southern rebel stronghold of Caqueta. The Red Cross received a statement from FARC assuring that despite a minor wound in his left arm, Langlois is in good health. FARC has been using kidnapping as a means of extortion to pressure the government into relinquishing money and political control. 

FARC began in the 1960s as a Marxist movement but has developed into what the EU and the United States have labeled “a terrorist group” after the group’s involvement in kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking.

The Colombian military has been targeting numerous high-ranking leaders of the FARC. The military has recently been saddled with the task of tracking down Alfonso Cano, FARC’s newest leader, after being successful in killing secretariat members of the group, Raul Hayes and Jorge Briceno.

In order to accomplish this goal, the military’s strategy has been to flood the region with ground troops to establish control over the territory. According to Lieutenant-Colonel Rodolfo Mantilla, commander of a Colombian battalion, this has proven to be a difficult endeavor because of the physical characteristics of the country. Mantilla explained, “Our troops can only move one or two kilometers a day because of the steep canyons and the landmines planted by the guerrillas. It is also difficult because it only takes one civilian to tell the FARC where our troops are and we can be easily ambushed.”

The Colombian military continues to work with the United States’ sponsored crackdown against FARC, however the group is still in control of remote jungle areas and has been carrying out attacks on oil and mining projects in the past few months.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Sanchez has repeatedly demanded that Langlois be freed, while his minister of defense urged against negotiating with these “terrorists.” In February, FARC said it would stop taking hostages to pay for weapons, uniforms, and food. However, the group made no promises to stop taking hostages to pressure the government or make political statements.  

For further information, please see:

CNN–Colombia’s FARC Rebels to Release French Journalist, Statement Says–27 May 2012

Colombia Reports–FARC Plans to Free French Journalist Wednesday–27 May 2012

The Telegraph–FARC to Release French Journalist on Wednesday–27 May 2012

Colombia Journal–The Hunt for FARC Commander Alfonso Cano–17 January 2011

RIA Novosti–Colombian Rebels “Agree” to Release French Reporter–14 May 2012