A group of state congressmen and representatives from the Brazilian Press Association, the National Newspaper Association and the National Students’ Union, gathered today at downtown Rio de Janeiro to rally in favor of freedom of speech (.br). According to the president of the Lawyers’ Order of Brazil, Wadih Damuz, it was an act “in defense of the Constitution”.
This time, the problem was this year’s Global Marijuana March, which was to take place in 10 Brazilian cities, on May 4th. One day before that, the state Public Ministry got the event forbidden in 9 of the cities, based on our old friend, the “apology to crime” law. Needless to say, people rallied just the same and were met by policemen on horses, wearing riot gear and in not the best of moods. A young fellow in Rio de Janeiro, whose Labrador was carrying a sign which read “stupidity is the essence of prejudice, legalize cannabis” was arrested, thus proving the dog’s point.
It should be evident that a law which considers it a crime - punishable by up to 6 months incarceration - to defend something which is itself a crime has only one use, and that is to crush dissenting speech. It is not by chance that such an abomination dates back to 1940, in the heydays of Getulio Vargas’ fascist New State.
But, once again, the protesters missed the point entirely. You see those fellows up there, holding a banner in front of the Cathedral of Brasília? It reads: “No to censorship. The march is not apology”.
Mr. Damuz, instead of decrying such a stupid piece of legislation, said he would not say anything regarding the legalization of drugs, but that he defended “the right to debate”. According to him, today’s rally was an “act more of awareness, of warning the Brazilian society that we can’t recede, for democracy was a hard conquest of the Brazilian people”.
In short, according to the protesters the problem is not with the legislation used to censor their speech, but that this wasn’t apology to an illegal drug and thus there was no crime. Which is to say that I hope judges throughout the country keep judging according to the law, and prohibiting things such as the Marijuana March, until people finally realize that they’re not supposed to argue on the merits of their speech, but on the merits of a law devised exclusively to prevent free speech.
By the way, isn’t apology to apology to crime supposed to be a crime as well?
The bulk of Brazil’s military history involves skirmishes with its southern neighbors, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (not to mention its own population). By the start of this century, though, the majority of the armed forces was steadily transferred to the Northwest, to patrol the Amazon border, especially the 1,000+ miles of forest separating it from Colombia, its guerrillas and drug traffic.
For the same reasons, it’s really not unusual for Colombia to venture into the forest and end up trespassing into neighboring countries. In 1998, its troops had to invade a Brazilian military base in the region when maneuvering around a FARC camp. Sometimes, as in that case, governments will act as though nothing happened, other times they’ll yell and take their ambassadors out of Bogota, in order to save face. After all the commotion dies down, everything returns to normal.
Which is why the current “crisis”, ignited after the killing of a high-level FARC leader by Colombian forces on the Ecuadorian border, should usually be taken lightly. The difference, this time, is that goon Hugo Chávez trying to turn this into something about him.
The current resurgence of FARC’s presence in the media can easily be explained by its ever more declining popularity among the Colombian people. While president Uribe has an approval rate of 81% (.br), making him the most popular leader in South America, the guerrilla has suffered several military drawbacks in recent years, not to mention the large number of defections from its ranks.
With an aging leadership - Manuel Marulanda is bordering on 80 years of age, and allegedly dying of prostate cancer -, increasing international pressure for the release of high-profile hostages such as Ingrid Betancourt, and showing signs of internal disorganization - like promising to release a hostage’s son, only for the press to find out he had been in an orphanage for two years -, it’s been getting harder and harder for the guerrilla to garner popular support for its kidnappings and ties to the drug trafficking.
For the same reason, it should be hard for Ecuador’s president to complain too much about Colombia’s foray into its territory to kill Reyes and other 16 rebels. Sending troops to the border is, at the same time, a move that’s sure to look good with the country’s population, and inoccuous enough for president Uribe to think he still got a good deal out of it. But when Mr. Hugo Chávez decides to also send troops to Venezuela’s border (a helpful map can be found here) and withdraw its ambassador from Bogota, while saying that the Colombian military and their US-backed troops may “trigger war in South America“, things look a little more complicated.
After all this bragging and shaking of fists, though, everyone in their right minds seems to agree that nothing will come out of it. President Uribe already said he won’t return his neighbors’ kindness, and will keep the troops where they are, while the country’s leftist groups already are calling for calm from everyone involved. Mr. Chávez, as many have said, is anything but an idiot, and is most likely only doing this as another stunt to keep on the good side of the military. And Ecuador is sure to regret in due time the decision to offer safe haven for rebels fleeing from Colombia.
In the end, it’s just business as usual in South America.
P.S.: just to make it clear, I don’t condone Uribe’s actions in any way. Even if all the accusations of involvement between the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador with the FARC are true, Colombia should still have exhausted all diplomatic options before performing some sort of military attack on another nation. Just as diplomacy is the only way for the crisis to be properly solved.
I still don’t know what to make of it, and curse myself for not having a video-capable cellphone at hand. Last monday night, walking away from Via Funchal in search of a cab after the My Chemical Romance concert, in São Paulo, I passed by various street vendors selling water, soda and other liquids. All of them with the usual “água, refri, cerveja bem barato” yells.
One of them, though, caught my attention as he would intersperse these yells with their equivalent in a surprisingly comprehensible English, something like “water, soda, beer, very cheap”. Unusual, but unremarkable, this being São Paulo - and a very wealthy neighborhood of it. But what he said next made me stop, and make sure I was listening correctly:
“Barack Obama, man, ‘Yes, we can’”.
If I were to honor my journalism degree, I should have stopped right there, turned around and asked the guy’s name, cultural background, and how the hell did he come up with that line. But I didn’t. So if someone sees him after some other gig at Via Funchal, please ask him these things and share it us.
So that whole thing about Gisele Bündchen running naked around Manhattan was just a joke. But I still think she could use this moment to make a nice gesture: why not find out how much the tabloids would’ve paid for a picture of her paying said bet, and then donate that sum for some charity of her choice? She might even get her boyfriend to split the bill.
Once again, in the name of protecting us from the horrors of racism, apology to crime or the incitement of violence, Brazil’s diligent judges censored perfectly valid discourse. As much as this sort of thing pisses me off, though, I applaud that these ridiculous laws keep being enforced.
A couple of weeks ago, PROCON (the country’s national consumer protection agency) started to enforce a ruling from October last year, banning any form of commerce involving the games Counter-Strike and EverQuest (which is not even sold in Brazil). Which means that you can’t sell the games, nor make money off them by renting computers to play them at a lan house and such.
Last friday, a journalist from the country’s largest newspaper tipped off the federal government about a planned CS competition, to take place during this year’s Campus Party. Being this a sponsored event, the organization was warned not to promote the game in any way (people may still play it, if they have it on their computers), otherwise undercover government officials camped at the site would shut the whole thing off.
About the same time, a Carnival float depicting the Holocaust was banned from this year’s parade in Rio, after a lawsuit from that state’s Jewish Federation claiming it was a celebration of racism. Viradouro - the group responsible for the float - tried to argue it was a respectful reminder of the horrors of Nazism, and that everything was done with the approval of rabbis and the Jewish community, to no avail.
Apparently, though, they were already expecting something like this, as they quickly transformed the float into one defending freedom of expression, decrying the court’s decision. Even better, they used a slogan from the banner of Minas Gerais state (Freedom, even if late) and also remembered the famous case where a float depicting a hobo Jesus Christ was banned from 1989’s parade, only to be covered in garbage bags and sent to the sambódromo, with a ribbon reading “Even forbidden, look over us”.
While watching parts of the parade with friends, last night, someone mentioned that if it were something considered a work of art, people would have understood and turned a blind eye to the religious and political implications.
Which is precisely why I hope these laws keep being heavily enforced, on every possible occasion. Until people realize the problem is not in judges’ eventual double standards, but in the ridiculous legislation which allow for this sort of nonsense in the first place, this sort of thing must keep happening.
And the year is off to a great start in Brazil. For starters, after Congress brought down the ridiculous 0,38% CPMF tax (something like Provisory Contribution on Financial Transactions), the government decided to recover the R$ 40 billion (~U$ 22.7 bil) by, you guessed it, increasing taxes.
Brazil will trim outlays by 20 billion reais, Mantega said. At the same time, a tax on financial operations, mainly bank lending, will be increased by 0.38 percentage point, and a tax on profits by financial institutions will rise to 15 percent from 9 percent, he said.
“It would be more appropriate to carry out a larger reduction to government expenses, but the increase in taxes is a tradition in Brazil,” said Joel Bogdanski, a senior economist at Banco Itau Holding Financeira SA. “It’s also relatively small, and it will not slow the economy.”
More appropriate indeed, but with Justice Ministry Tarso Genro saying that his budget won’t get any cuts (.br), even the R$ 20 billion in cuts that have already been promised seem kinda hard to believe.
Also, we get a new “covert” tax in the form of a requirement for diesel oil to have 2% of biodiesel, with plans of increasing it to 5% by 2013. With that, the government should save up to R$ 750 million (~U$ 437 mil) from foreign oil, and soy farmers get really happy with the federal incentive (not to mention continued investment in biodiesel plants).
On the other side, diesel gets 1 or 2 cents more expensive (.br) at the pump, which in a country where the vast majority of cargo is transported by trucks (reason why diesel is partly subsidized by the government, and only utility vehicles are allowed to use it) means shipment costs should, in turn, get more expensive, and so products in general.
According to a TV reporter, “it’s the price we pay for saving the environment”. More like the price we pay for farming subsidies. As for the environment…
Lured by the possibility of profits and quick-fixes to a complicated problem, the world moves into action. The European Union sets targets for biofuel production, Brazil sees a way of cashing in on its years of research into sugar cane-based fuel, North American farmers look to an exciting new global market, various African leaders envisage an agricultural revolution.
Only afterwards do the voices of caution sound. Nobel Prize-winning scientist Paul Crutzen warns that switching from fossil fuels to biofuels might do more harm than good because the nitrogen in fertiliser is converted into nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Jean Ziegler, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, describes biofuels as a “crime against humanity” because of the way they will probably push up food prices. Another scientist raises the issue of water: will the millions of people who lack access to clean water be joined by millions of others in the wake of a massive switch to thirsty agrofuels?
Somebody please schedule a meeting between Lula and president Sarkozy, to try and make him understand how this (.br) is a terrible idea:
The administration will send to Congress a project that ratifies a decision by the ILO (International Labour Organization) which makes it harder to fire workers without just cause. The proposal’s idea is to establish clear rules — which must be followed by employers - for dismissal.
(…)
Representatives from union centrals celebrated the sending of the proposal. According to them, it will be a step forward for the country and the workers. “The proposal creates an obstacle because before firing, employers will have to verify whether they can fire”, said CUT’s (Unified Workers’ Central) president, Artur Henrique.
If approved, it will establish such great rules as making it possible for businesses to fire employees when in financial problems only AFTER a settlement with unions. Or if relocating, and having to change employees due to geographical considerations.
One can only hope the proposal will not pass Congress, but considering how easily the “unions tax” - a law establishing every worker is obligated to pay the equivalent of one work day’s payment to his class’s union, regardless of being unionized - was extended in a recent voting, I wouldn’t count on it.
Next time you hear a Brazilian complaining about market inequality among men and women, tell them to tell it to the Senate, that just approved a maternity leave (.br) of six months. Granted, it still has to go through the Chamber and the President, but there seems to be no reason to think it’ll fare any worse there.
Now, the comments are open for anyone who wants to try and convince me that allowing women to stay half a year off work when they have a children (and have children they will) won’t be a major incentive for employers to give preference to men.
Since this is supposed to be my personal blog, and considering the post draught that’s been afflicting it lately, I think it’s only fair to start posting mini-reviews on books, records and movies I’ve purchased recently. So, let’s begin this with my three latest music purchases:
Jewel - Goodbye Alice in Wonderland: I used to be a big fan of Jewel back in the days when she was just a folk singer with a distinctive voice and a cool life story. My interest waned in direct relation to her compositions turn for the popular. But at R$ 17,53 (when the average price for a CD these days is R$ 30), I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to check her latest offering. Also, I recognized a few songs from her pre-Pieces of You days.
With very low expectations, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, she still sounds mediocre when going for more popular fare (such as the bland “Words Get in The Way”). But there are some good folk songs in there - even some old-time favorites like “Last Dance Rodeo” and “1000 Miles Away” -, and she shows she can really rock out some more powerful melodies, like “Drive to You”, which I’d never expect from her. No wonder iTunes tagged it as a rock record when I ripped it. Also, her lyrics have taken a more mature turn which I really like. All in all, definitely worth the purchase.
Maria Rita - Samba Meu: I’ve always nurtured some sympathy for Elis Regina’s daughter, especially for her voice and figure. But even though I think she had some great songs in her first two records - like “Cara Valente” and “A Festa” - her choice in arrangements tended to be too much on the muzak side for my taste.
This time, though, she completely revamped her looks (definitely for the worse, I might add) and her sound, found some new composers and producers, and made a record entirely of old-school sambas. As skeptical as I was with this change, I only had to listen to a couple of songs at the store to know this was a keeper. The musicians are tight, the songs are great - with some classics thrown in for good measure - and her amazing voice is perfectly suited for this repertoire.
For fans of samba and Brazilian music in general, this is a must buy, even though the price is a little steep right now.
Wendy McNeill - The Wonder Show: I’d never heard about Ms. McNeill prior to her opening for indie icon Joanna Newson, at a show here in Porto Alegre last week. In fact, it was my girlfriend who bought her record after the gig, but since she left the CD in my car I thought it was only fair to mention it here.
Her live act is kinda weird, for she plays alone with an acoustic guitar or accordion, but makes great use of loops recorded right there to build a much fuller sound than you would expect from her tiny picture. She has a beautiful and pitch-perfect voice, which she uses to sing some interesting alt-folk songs that remind me a lot of Ani DiFranco. The album’s strenght - as with the aforementioned singer - lies in the lyrics, though, which are in turns poignant and sarcastic, making for very entertaining music. At R$ 15 the CD, it was a steal.
Jewel - Goodbye Alice in Wonderland: I used to be a big fan of Jewel back in the days when she was just a folk singer with a distinctive voice and a cool life story. My interest waned in direct relation to her compositions turn for the popular. But at R$ 17,53 (when the average price for a CD these days is R$ 30), I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to check her latest offering. Also, I recognized a few songs from her pre-Pieces of You days.
Maria Rita - Samba Meu: I’ve always nurtured some sympathy for Elis Regina’s daughter, especially for her voice and figure. But even though I think she had some great songs in her first two records - like “Cara Valente” and “A Festa” - her choice in arrangements tended to be too much on the muzak side for my taste. 
Wendy McNeill - The Wonder Show: I’d never heard about Ms. McNeill prior to her opening for indie icon Joanna Newson, at a show here in Porto Alegre last week. In fact, it was 
