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Only 207 of the 2,197 recognized communities hold land titles, making access to family agricultural incentives difficult

[Translation of an article from Brasil de Fato of São Paulo for May 8, 2013. See original here. Quilombolas are the residents of Quilombos, settlements established in the Brazilian jungle during the early colonial era by escaped slaves, who also gave refuge to indigenous peoples, Arabs, Jews and others suffering colonial oppression. In the early days, some Quilombos were strong enough to pose a serious threat to Portuguese rule, leading to harsher repression by colonial forces, who drove them deeper into the jungles. The Quilombos were widely thought to have disappeared until the 1970s when a number were found still in existence. For more on the history of Quilombos go here. ]   

By Sarah Fernandes

A report released by the federal government confirms the view that there is still much to be done in assuring the basic rights of the Quilombola communities. Of the 80,000 Quilombola families in the Cadastro Único [Single Registry], the data base for social programs, as of January of this year 74.73 percent still lived in conditions of extreme poverty, according to a study, “Brasil Qilombola,” released on Monday, May 6, by the Secretaria de Políticas de Promoção da Igualdade Racial (SEPPIR – Secretariat for the Promotion of Policies for Racial Equality). Those registered and not registered make up a total 1.17 million persons in 214,000 families. (more…)

[Translations of two articles from La Jornada of Mexico City for February 14, both by Roberto González Amador, on newly released Wikileaks cables. See original articles here and here and Wikileaks cables here and here. More complete list of recently released cables on Mexico here.]

Felipe Calderón, Beatriz Paredes, Jesús Ortega -- La Jornada photos

Calderón and political parties concealed information on poverty
Diplomatic cable reveals plot to withhold data until after 2009 elections

The panista [Partido Acción Nacional] administration of Felipe Calderón Hinojosa and opposition parties reached an agreement in 2009 to withhold figures on the increase of poverty in the country until after the legislative elections of that year, in which the Partido Revolucionario Institucional won the greatest number of seats in Congress, according to a report by the United States embassy in Mexico.

Information on poverty is “politically sensitive” and it is more so during a campaign season. The cable from the United States embassy, supplied to La Jornada by Wikileaks, gives an account of an agreement between the government and the opposition to conceal the data.

The cable cites “semi-independent analysis based on official 2008 figures” to show that poverty increased from 42.6 percent of the total population in 2006, the year Calderón assumed the presidency, to 47.4 percent in 2008. Not mentioned is what happened in 2009, when the economy fell into recession. (more…)

Crisis has cast 10 million Latin Americans into deep poverty

[Translation of an article from La Jornada of Mexico City for April 22.]

By Roberto González Amador

Washington, DC, April 21 – Half of the Latin Americans who fell into poverty in 2009 as a result of the economic crisis are Mexican, according to estimates by the World Bank and the Mexican government.

“Mexico accounts for an important portion” of the increase in the number of poor people in Latin America, the World Bank says.

The effect of the crisis in the region that should concern us the most is the increase in poverty, Augusto de la Torre, chief World Bank economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, declared on Wednesday.

The number of poor people in the region increased by nine to ten million as a consecuence of the economic crisis, he said. (more…)