News from Brazil: Indigenous Retake Lands, State of Debt
10/15/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: NEWS FROM BRAZIL, Number 370
Source: SEJUP
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 15, 1999
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NEWS FROM BRAZIL supplied by SEJUP
Number 370, October 15, 1999.
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Visit our home page: http://www.oneworld.org/sejup/
In this week's issue:
>NEWS BRIEFS
[DELETED] - Federal Police to open investigation against MST
national coordinator
- Indigenous retake lands; landowners protest [DELETED] -
State will investigate charges of torture in Sao Paulo prisons
[DELETED] - MST teaching over 100,000 pupils
>ECONOMIC ISSUES
- The Debt in the bank of the guilty
NEWS BRIEFS
- Indigenous retake lands; landowners protest
Two groups of indigenous peoples, the Guarini and Caiuas, retook
land that they claim is rightfully theirs in the region of Ponta Pora
in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. The groups also claim that
illegal deforestation has been happening on the same plot of land.
Those who currently claim ownership of the land protested against the
occupation of the indigenous by setting up a blockade of Highway 463,
a major road in and out of the area. When the indigenous groups
approached the blockade, the landowners fired shots into the air and
threatened the group. There were not injuries and the police managed
to end the blockade, but the conflict continues.
Source: Folha de Sao Paulo
October 9, 1999
ECONOMIC ISSUES
- The Debt in the bank of the guilty.
By Frei Betto
The external debt is a cancer in the bowels of Brasil. In 1964, it
was US$3 million. At the beginning of the present government, in
1994, it was US$146 billion. Today, we owe the international
creditors US$212 billion. And we have a little more than US$30
billion in the bank! The internal debt was US$64 billion in 1994.
Today it is US$390 billion!
Between 1989 and 1997, in interest alone, Brasil deposited in the
hands of those who are squeezing our necks the sum of US$216 billion.
We paid US$216 billion and we continue owing US$212 billion!
The government of Fernando Henrique Cardoso is "up a creek without a
paddle." It insists in honoring the debt (even if it means worsening
the living conditions of the population), but, as it doesn't have
resources, it borrows some more. As it is risky to raise money in
Brasil, the government increases the interest rates. So it attracts
capital, the speculators get money abroad at 12%, they buy government
bonds and the Central bank stocks the money. A little while
afterwards the speculators rescue the bonds, return the paper and pay
the money - with interest rates over 40%, the highest in the world!
And the government tries to put out the fire with oil. To pay the
internal and external debt, the government spends, per year, more
than 100 billion US$. If the money stayed here, Brazilians would have
more and better schools, hospitals, work, housing and transport. The
retired would not be treated like beggars, nor the teachers like
ignorant people. There would be less poverty and, therefore, less
violence and a better quality of life.
It happens that the government doesn't think like that. In the mind
of the government, social programs are something for the first lady
to take care of. The people can suffer but FHC can never displease
the international and national bankers, who enjoy privileged
information about the official measures in such a way that they never
lose money.
Bringing the external debt to the bank of the guilty, the civil
society needs to mobilize itself to stop the flow of blood which
impoverishes Brazil. Every Brazilian who is born today already owes
about US$1,300. As such, under the current economic policies, there
is little chance that the Brazilian people will see money spent on
reducing the growth of poverty and the suffering of the majority of
the population.
Source : Sem Fronteiras