[E-rundbrief] Info 1796 - Bolsonaro - Disaster for the Brazilian Amazon

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief Info 1796 - Christian Poirier (Amazon Watch): Why Jair 
Bolsonaro's Presidency Threatens Disaster for the Brazilian Amazon.

Bad Ischl, 1.11.2018

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Why Jair Bolsonaro's Presidency Threatens Disaster for the Brazilian 
Amazon

Amazon Watch

(Links siehe: 
https://amazonwatch.org/news/2018/1031-why-jair-bolsonaros-presidency-threatens-disaster-for-the-brazilian-amazon...)

     October 31, 2018

     Christian Poirier

The extreme right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro was elected Brazil's 
president on Sunday in a victory that hands him a powerful mandate to 
enact a series of sweeping changes to the country's political, 
economic, social, and environmental order. His victory represents a 
profound setback for human rights and ecological preservation in the 
world's fourth largest democracy, with implications for the entire 
planet, particularly global climate stability.

President-elect Bolsonaro's reckless plans to industrialize the Amazon 
in concert with Brazilian and international agribusiness and mining 
interests would bring untold destruction to the planet's largest 
rainforest and the communities who call it home. Bolsonaro campaigned 
on proposals to drastically curtail the enforcement of Brazil's 
protections upon forests and recognition of human rights standards 
such as indigenous land rights. If realized, these rollbacks would 
have far-reaching implications for the climate and the treatment of 
Brazil’s minority groups.

Bolsonaro didn't even need be elected to endanger the Amazon: a 
so-called "Bolsonaro effect" increased Amazon deforestation by 36% 
during the electoral period, according to official statistics.

"Bolsonaro has made clear and consistent declarations about ending the 
titling of indigenous lands, which are completely opposed to our 
rights. His racist, homophobic, misogynist, fascist discourse shows 
how Brazilian politics will be in the coming years," declared Dinamã 
Tuxá, Coordinator of Brazil's Association of Indigenous Peoples (APIB).

"Our fear is that this situation will worsen. He foments hatred and 
violence against indigenous peoples with a discourse claiming that we 
are an obstacle to development, ignoring our contributions to 
environmental balance. We know our titled territories help to 
stabilize the climate and that our preservation of these ecosystems 
offers collective benefits."

Dinamã's fears of violence have proven prescient. In the days 
surrounding Sunday's election, a wave of violence led by pro-Bolsonaro 
forces gripped indigenous territories, providing a grim signal of the 
upheaval that is to come. In Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) State, a militia 
burned a Guaraní-Kaiowá village to the ground, wounding fifteen people 
including a nine-year-old child. In Pernambuco State, a school and 
health clinic belonging to the Pankaruru people were destroyed. Also 
in MS, gunmen attacked an encampment of Brazil's Landless Workers 
Movement, setting fire to a home.

"The barbarism has begun," the Pankaruru people said a statement. 
Brazilian journalist Ricardo Kotscho agreed with the Pankaruru's 
assessment, writing, "There are still two months before Jair Bolsonaro 
[assumes the presidency], but we can already get an idea of what lies 
in store for the four years of his mandate."

Bolsonaro has clearly signaled that his administration's policies will 
be tailored to the needs of the agribusiness and mining sectors, which 
are vying to expand their operations into the Brazilian Amazon's 
protected areas and consolidate control in other regions. This week's 
reaffirmation that his government will dissolve the Environmental 
Ministry into the Ministry of Agriculture further demonstrates how 
environmental stewardship will be scorned under a Bolsonaro regime. 
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro's rhetoric indicates that his government will 
reward and empower some of Brazil's most conservative and virulently 
anti-indigenous ruralista leaders with high government posts.

Furthermore, his proposals to ease firearm possession will serve the 
interests of large landowners and empower land grabbers and rural 
mafias, who will increasingly operate with impunity. As a result, 
spiking violence will fall disproportionately on environmental and 
human rights defenders, whose existence is already under serious threat.

"We are very worried," Alessandra Korap Munduruku, Coordinator of the 
Munduruku people's Pariri Association, told us. "We Munduruku people 
need our land to be titled. When the president says he will not title 
one centimeter of indigenous land, it hurts those of us who have long 
fought to defend our territories from the invasion of loggers and 
miners. When he talks of ending the ability of [environmental 
enforcement agency] IBAMA to issue fines and prohibits federal police 
from accompanying their inspection actions we suffer and are scared, 
even to leave our homes."
Social movements vow resistance

Responding to the news, Brazil's resilient and diverse social 
movements are mounting resistance to the president's regressive 
agenda. Prior to the election, thousands of organizations swiftly 
united to repudiate his assertion that he "will put an end to all 
activism in Brazil," while the National Indigenous Movement issued a 
statement "In Defense of Democracy and Our Rights."

"The destructive agenda announced by Jair Bolsonaro is highly 
aggressive to all those who struggle for justice, especially for the 
most vulnerable population," said Sônia Guajajara, former Coordinator 
of Brazil's Association of Indigenous Peoples (APIB) and 
vice-presidential candidate for the PSOL party. "We indigenous people 
have resisted for 518 years to overcome the colonial structure and we 
will continue resolute in our fight for our right to exist as original 
peoples. Our work to demarcate our territories will continue to be 
urgent and we will not desist. This is our struggle!"

Dinamã agreed, stating, "We will resist his hate by protesting in the 
streets and by filing lawsuits, despite the fact that the courts have 
unfortunately not fulfilled their duty to uphold our constitutional 
rights. We will fight as we have for the last 518 years, waging 
resistance to guarantee our existence."

"For us indigenous peoples this election represents a continuity of 
our struggle, and it encourages us to do what we have always done in 
defense of democracy and our rights. Today, these rights appear more 
threatened in every space, from our villages to the cities to our 
institutions," affirmed Luiz Eloy Terena, lawyer for APIB.

In this spirit, Amazon Watch will redouble its work in solidarity with 
our embattled partners – from remote communities in the Brazilian 
Amazon to the country's national organizations – to push back against 
Jair Bolsonaro's retrograde and destructive agenda.

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Siehe auch: E-Rundbrief Info 1794 - Attac(D) und weitere Netzwerke: 
Attac bekräftigt Solidarität mit sozialen Bewegungen in Brasilien. 
Alptraum Bolsonaro: Rechte Politiker weltweit schüren Abstiegsängste 
und Konkurrenz unter sozial Schwachen.


-- 

     Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
     Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
     Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
     Wolfgangerstr. 26, 4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
     fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
     Impressum in: http://www.begegnungszentrum.at