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((Fernando Lugo))

[Translation of an article from the Brazilian website Carta Maior for June 20. See original here and related article here.]

by Dario Pignotti

“This killing of campesinos occurred as a result of a process of police violence instigated by landowners who are unhappy with President Lugo; he is not wanted by the Right or by the Brazilian farmers. Brazilian landowners like Tranquilo Favero, the richest soy producer in Paraguay, are interested in destabilizing the government, they want Lugo to fall,” declared Martín Almada, the most important representative of the Paraguayan human rights movement.

Eleven landless campesinos were killed last Friday on a farm near the border with Brazil, where tension is mounting along with demands and direct actions for agrarian reform. The confrontation between the police and the workers left seven officers dead, among them the chiefs of the Special Operations Group, a kind of Paraguayan BOPE [Batalhão de Operações Policiais Especiais], except that its job is not to repress favela dwellers, as in Rio de Janeiro, but the rural peasants who, since Lugo came to office in 2008, have increased their level of organization and determination to struggle, after decades of submission to the yoke of the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. (more…)

((Revistazo photo))

[Translation of an article from Revistazo of Tegucigalpa for April 20. See original here  and related articles here, here and here.]

Tegucigalpa – The Ministry of the Interior has announced the issuing of warrants for police, military and civilians involved in human rights violations and the assassinations of more than 50 people in the Bajo Aguán region. The campesino leadership considers it necessary to punish those responsible but has no confidence in any actions the prosecutor may take.

Although he did not disclose the names of those involved, Special Prosecutor for Human Rights Germán Enamorado told the press that the prosecutor’s office has succeeded in gathering the evidence needed to initiate prosecutions, which in the case of public employees will involve charges for abuse of authority, dereliction of duty, personal injury and attempted homicide. (more…)

((Carla Vaneide - Brasil de Fato photo by Leandro Uchoas))

Construction projects around the World Cup soccer stadium in São Paulo leave a trail of evictions and a lack of public information

[Translation of an article from Brasil de Fato for January 18. See original here. Gilberto Kassab is mayor of São Paulo and Itaquera is a neighborhood in that city.]

by Leandro Uchoas

The history of the 2010 World Cup games in South Africa gives indications that Brazil, as the site of the next edition, does not have much to celebrate. In that African country, with a social reality similar to Brazil’s, the rule was forced evictions with no just compensation, lawless territories created to guarantee profits for Fifa [Fédération Internationale de Football Association], no satisfactory information provided to the public, massive corruption, questionable and over-priced projects, white elephants after the event, violation of environmental laws and human trafficking. All the efforts of government powers lead one to believe that the experience in the land of the Tupinquins [Brazil] will not be very different. A month ago, the Articulação dos Comitês Populares da Copa, made up of representatives of the 12 host cities, released a complete report detailing violations of social and environmental rights. In its geographic scope and the abundance of abuses, the document is impressive. (more…)