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4th edition

The struggle continues

photo: Agência Brasil

November 2013

contexto

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Index

#editorial

#illustration

#Brazil

Standing idly, stopped classes

Statute of the unborn: an agression on women

The indigenous issue in Brazil: killings, threats and land invasions

#international

Spying, control society and a theater to be interpreted

Interview: Betty Martins Movie: I wasn’t always dressed like this

#opinion

Democracy in universities

#proseandpoetry

#photocontext

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p.16

p.21

p.25

p.28

p.31

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Brazil is going through an attempt to criminalize social movements.

Cowardly, media and government try to delegitimize the action of these groups who fight - and always fought - for real democracy. It is necessary to emphasize the importance of the people involved in these movements and see the bias of the major media coverage and the brutality of the police.In this edition of Contexto, you’ll find articles about the protests of teachers in Rio de Janeiro, the Statute of the Unborn, the strike at USP. Photos of Gabriela Filippo show what they say the walls of Belo Horizonte. You also have the struggle of the indigenous in Brazil, the defense of their lands, as well as cases of espionage by the United States. All pieces are written and reviewed by members of the magazine staff.Thanks again to Qatar Foundation International and to those involved in the project directly or indirectly. Contexto is also a project to bring more equality and support social movements.

Seja bem-vindo à Contexto! Welcome! Ahlan wa sahlan!

The struggle required

Priscila BelliniEditora in Chief

#editorial

The Team

Editor in ChiefPriscila Bellini

JournalistsAna AlmeidaAndressa VilelaIgor LeonardoMarcela ReisMurilo CarnelossoPriscila BelliniTiel Lieder

PoetryAnonymous

IllustrationIndio San

DesignFernanda Tottero

PhotographyGabriela Filippo

TranslationPriscila Bellini

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#illustration

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6

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IndIo San is an artist from

Rio Grande do Sul, but who

established himself in São Paulo.

Suggested by Jaqueline Araújo.

#Brazil

Standing Idly, Stopped Classes By Murilo Carnelosso

Teacher strike lasted more than two months, suffered police abuse, and nowends with a promise that, next year, the fight continues

A strike that lasted 77 days, protests, police repression and a lot of fight that promises to not end that soon. This is the balance of the teachers’ strike of municipal and state education in Rio de Janeiro, which came to an end on 25 October after two assemblies of workers with much discussion and tense voting. The attitude taken by the State Union of Education Workers (Sepe) was also criticized by the strikers during negotiations with the state government, who could count on the intermediation of the Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Luiz Fux.

After all, although there is no point in cutting the incomes of teachers on strike days since there will be makeup classes, the increase of the salary will be 8 % for the state system, which had been offered

before by the government, and 15 % for municipal schools. Teachers aimed to have a 18 and 19% increase, respectively. The State Department of Education also promised , in 2014 , the formation of a Working Group to discuss the feasibility of the proposals to allocate one-third of the working time for the teacher’s planning, and allow each teacher to only enroll in a school, addition to reviewing the curriculum matrix. Other promises intend to review the State Plan for Education and a census on the training of administrative staff, but the proposal to reduce weekly working hours to 30 hours was rejected, because “there would be legal risk”, according to the Country’s Attorney General.

The movement that began on August 8, so we ended up with several promises

Agência Brasil

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and few immediate gains. On the day of the meeting that decided to end the strike in the municipal schools, workers’ declarations showed a certain amount of disappointment: “The movement was weakened. The agreement made in Brasilia was bad for us”, said the teacher Eumarilda Rodrigues in an article published in Terra news portal.

However, the agreement stablished between the state forces and the Labor Union no longer gave much hope to the strikers, because although they have the possibility to take their cause to the Supreme Court, it would not guarantee that the points could not be cut in their salaries. And if the strike was not over, they would have to accept the decision of the Court of Rio, that considered it an illegal strike, which could result in administrative procedures for workers who used their constitutional right to strike.

The greatest victory of this movement was the demonstration of ability to raise the category of public school teachers in Rio de Janeiro, and a promise that echoed among the workers: “Next year there will be more.” The state government and the city of Rio de Janeiro realized that dialogue will be necessary from now on and had a great lesson from teachers, who guaranteed that they will not to be forgotten inside the small classrooms full of students and without minimum infrastructure in Rio de Janeiro.

Militar Police in protestsThe teachers’ strike was also marked

by strong police repression of the worker’s actions. There was a succession of cases in which police used force to contain the demonstrations that took Rio de Janeiro during September and October.

ArquivoAP

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On the night of Sept. 28, a Saturday, the Shock Battalion entered the City Counci l of Rio de Janeiro at the request of the chairman of the house, Councilman Jorge Felippe (from PMDB political party), and the militar forces withdrew more than 200 teachers who occupied the building for two days. The strikers, at that time, criticized the approval of the Plan and Salary by Rio de Janeiro’s city councilmen and were against the composition of the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiries) of the bus, so they decided to occupy the house, joining the protesters who were already trying to go there for almost two months.

Police used tear gas, pepper spray and batons to repress the demonstrators, two of whom were arrested. The Sepe, Union of Public School Teachers in Rio de Janeiro, said in a statement that they repudiate the attitude of the police who also “used stun guns, and one of the protesters, who had fainted, was taken away by police.”

Three days later, on Tuesday October 1, while the city councilmen approved the Career and Remuneration Plan of teachers and education officials almost unanimously - there were three votes against - there were protests in Rio, including the in front of the City Council.

Again, the Military Police cracked down on protesters with pepper spray and tear gas. Besides the truculent action that occurred, there were instances in which police claimed - which were considered fake denunciations - that a young man was carrying a backpack in which there were weapons, another one was on top of the building of

the House throwing objects at the protesters, and a policeman decided to post a photo on Facebook showing his broken nightstick mocking the teachers that he assaulted, with a disrespectful subtitle: “oh, sorry, teacher”.

Councilman Renato Cinco (PSOL) questioned how democratic could be voting at that time, while there was an open conflict outside. “You can’t vote a Career Plan when all this military apparatus is used out there,” said the councilman. But President of the City Council considered that teachers’ demonstrations were too “radical and intolerant” and continued the “secret” meeting. According to the Military Police, 16 protesters were arrested during this day of protests.

The abuse of force and power was so absurd that the state of Rio Security Secretary, José Beltrame had to talk to journalists a few days later and assume that the cops went too far . “In my opinion, in some cases, especially those that were revealed publicly, there were excesses”, said the secretary, who also criticized the actions of the protesters, but assumed that the initial violence came from the State Forces, “but I also have to say that there was intransigence over the police, violence came from both sides, police and some demonstrators. There was, yes, initially, from the police , but that also came over on both sides.”

The Teacher’s Day and the Law of Criminal Organization

On Oct. 15, not coincidental ly the Teachers’ Day, there was great demonstration by teachers in Rio de Janeiro, in defense of public education

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and the rights of teachers. This time, many protesters were arrested by police, which was anchored on the recent law of criminal organization, in which the government of Rio de Janeiro decided to use against the “vandals” from the protests.

The Law 12.850/2013 was sanctioned by President Dilma Rousseff on 2 August and came into effect 45 days later. It says that criminal organization is the “combination of 4 or more orderly and structurally characterized by division of labor, albeit informally, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly , an advantage of any kind through the practice of criminal offenses with maximum penalties of 4 years”. The penalty is 3-8 years in prison, yet “without prejudice to the penalties corresponding to other cr iminal offenses committed.”

Other articles of this law are also questionable, since the rule allows

access to data from phone companies, Internet service providers, financial institutions, in addition to the ability of police to infiltrate research activities without prior judicial authorization. By not ensuring that social movements and manifestations could not be classified in this law, the federal government facilitated the decision like that of the governor of Rio de Janeiro, who decided to criminalize protesters.

On the fateful day 15, police have guaranteed that 190 people were conducted for eight police stations i n R i o , O A B ( B r a z i l i a n L a w y e r s Organizat ion) were 182 and th is number increased to 208. The fact is that 64 people were arrested under this new law in just one night, under the accusation of “vandalism”. 35 of these had this accusation as the only charge against. The criminalization against social movements, thus, is institutionalized.

Brasil de fato

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Statute of the unborn: an aggression on women

The bill known in Brazil as “bolsa estupro” is in progress and, if approved, will criminalize abortion in any situation

By Marcela Reis

On September 28, many women, inc luding feminis ts , t ransgender women, mothers and some men, held a demonstration against the Statute of the Unborn on Paulista Avenue. The meeting was at MASP, where there were posters and bodies being painted with impactful messages, defending the legalization of abortion. “It’s my body and my choice” and “if the pope was a woman, abortion would be legal” were some of the phrases exposed during the march, down the avenue, which was guided by a car. Slogans were shouted out loudly in favor of the lives of countless women who die every day in Brazil because they can’t safely choose to have an abortion.

The Committee on Finance and Taxation of the National Congress approved, in ear ly June, the bi l l known as “bolsa estupro”. The Status of the Unborn will be voted by the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee and then by the Plenary. If approved , the Criminal Code will be amended and in every abortion, it will be considered crime.

According to the proposal of former Members Luiz Bassuma (PT- BA) and Miguel Martini (PHS - MG ), the unborn child (fetus) conceived from rape can’t be aborted, and the mother will give birth in any circumstances. After birth, the child may be referred for adoption if so is the mother’s desire and if she does

not have a financial condition to afford the costs of a baby, the government will give her a pension until the rapist is identified and become responsible for this payment. In other words, the real criminal who raped a woman is not seeked to be judged and punished, but to fulfill the law that treats him just like any father, to bear the consequences of having a child.

According to article 13, paragraph 2, the fetus has a “right to the equivalent of a minimum wage until they turn 18”. For Nadia Lapa , blogger and columnist of Carta Capital magazine, “what the project is offering is not an attempt to help raped mother, is an attempt to make her keep a pregnancy. Nowadays, the victim can ask the rapist to pay her the child support and alimony, you can do this. So what is new is the proposal of the State paying a pension , which is a project for people who already exist. “

The authorization of abortion for anencephalic fetus is recent and bill aims to end it , and ban the procedure in cases of risk to life of the pregnant woman. Prohibitions regarding stem cell research, public demonstrations on liberalization of abortion and the use of the ‘morning-after pill’ are also guided by the statute. “The fundamental principles of this bill is harmfull for Brazilian constitution and women’s rights, which are guaranteed by law and institutionalized. Mainly , the rights to

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the integrity and autonomy of bodies. Every woman has the right to liberty, personal security, access to health, freedom of thought, and even the right to family planning”, advocates Anna Feldmann, professor in the Department of Journalism at PUC - SP.

The Status of the Unborn also c o u n t e r a c t s t h e S e c u l a r S t a t e , considering that the cells that were fertilized are already a person, and this theory is analogous to the idea advocated by the Catholic church. By legalizing abortion, the country doesn’t require women to make it, only allows women who wish to go through the procedure to have the right to do it, and that’s why it is not justifiable that the church bother much with legalization. The Federal Council of Medicine has positioned itself in relation to the possibility of safe abortion until the 12th week of gestation and a secular country should be based on science. Moreover , as pointed out by Feldmann , there is disagreement among religions as to the exact period of the passage of the embryo to a human, it is not consensual. And therefore it is not acceptable that a single religious stance is assumed to define when an abortion is or is not applicable.

According to the National Survey of Abortion (PNA) in 2010, 64% of women who have abortions are married, 81 % are already mothers and 88 % have religion. Some countries with a Catholic majority, like Portugal, legalized abortion, also made possible the realization that the problem is not of a religious order, but gender discrimination, due to the vulnerability of women, and the

criminalization of abortion is also social class issue, because women with good financial condition have the means to abort safely, while the poor do not. The project will not resolve or improve the situation - on the contrary, will make more women opt for alternative interventions, less secure and more lethal. In Brazil , a woman dies every nine minutes because of an unsafe abortion, and take it as a crime will further penalize low-income women, who continue risking their lives, because the state does not guarantee them security in the face of their choice.

Aline Valek, writer and blogger, argues that “the Statute of the Unborn give an embryo (which is not a human being) more r ights than an adult woman, and will contribute to the continued deaths of women from illegal abortions, especially of black and poor women. This project is the very expression of patriarchy: it is a tool that will further legitimize control over

Marcela Reis

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women’s bodies.” Society imposes the values since we are kids, dictating how a woman should be and what she should do: we need a man to get married, have children and never exercise our sexuality freely. If you do not want motherhood, the State deprives you of rights and security, acting as the owner of our bodies and our choices. Abortion is a common practice among women of all classes and religions, and PNA 2010 proved that.

In October 2012, abort ion was legalized in Uruguay, which made the country doesn’t even register a procedure performed during the first nine months of decriminal ization . President Jose Mujica said that decriminalization would save more lives by reducing the practice of illegal abortions. It is estimated that there are 33 thousand abortions a year, but now Uruguay will have only four thousand. Apart from the safe abortion being guaranteed in the country, women experiencing an unintended pregnancy are guided by groups of doctors, psychologists and social workers to inform her about the risks and alternatives to abortion. If however, she

wants to perform the procedure, public and private health centers operate it. “For Brazil to implement something similar, the NHS should also take the same practice of transdisciplinary care, with the dedication and support from all aspects involving the woman’s life. The possibility of legal abortion centers reduces the need for alternative and more harmful methods”, says Feldmann.

Marcela Reis Femicide And The Maria da Penha LawEvery hal f hour a woman died

violently in Brazil, from 2001 to 2011. About 40% of female murders were committed by an intimate partner. These are data provided by IPEA (Institute of Applied Economic Policy), which shows that the Maria da Penha Law did not reduce the number of women murdered in the country. According to Valek, “the law is of great importance, despite not having been able to decrease the rate of femicide in Brazil. She works as a shelter for women in situations of vulnerability, now we know who to turn to and how to report. The law is very important , but it is not enough, because it alone can’t change the reality. There is an extremely sexist culture in which we live, and all aspects legitimize and encourage violence against us”.

The Secretariat of Policies for Women of the Presidency has the “Woman Living Without Violence” campaign, which includes the construction of a shelter in each capital. Lapa points out that the initiative is good but does not solve, and for example, São Paulo, with millions of inhabitants, will have 20 beds to house women in vulnerable situations. There are other homes that welcome

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the victims, many voluntarily kept, but the protective measures need to really work, since there are numerous cases of women who were murdered after registering various police occurrences.

“Finally, there is a law against domestic violence in Brazil. The problem is in its application, which does not occur as planned. A woman suffering domestic violence still goes on without protective measures, remaining tied to her abuser, and worst, being blamed for the attack suffered”, says Feldmann.

Protective measures are necessary, but we need to enhance awareness

r e g a r d i n g t h e s t r u c t u r e o f o u r misogynistic society. More than public policy, it is necessary to change the whole cultural structure of Brazil. Power relations that make the female body a male property should change as well as the behavior of the media that “objectifies” and appropriates a female fetishist image and press coverage that turns murders of women in mere “passional” crimes. While these structural changes don’t take effect, we will continue being slaughtered and treated as guilty.

Marcela Reis

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The indigenous issue in Brazil: killings, threats and land invasionsBy Tiel Lieder

Indigenous rights are disrespected and landowners threatens to take even more land that are part of the indigenous’ rights

Terra

The video “Manifesto for indigenous rights” made by Wesley Rose and posted on the Commission Guarani Yvyrupa Facebook page shows indigenous protesting on Avenida Paulista, symbol of “civilization” built on the basis of money and destruction. A peaceful walk was a cry for help because of the attacks against their people, as well as other indigenous peoples, that have been suffering all over Brazil, as a result of land conflicts that happen for decades, since the Terra Brasilis was discovered. In 1500 , when the caravels commanded by Pedro Alvares Cabral landed in “Vera Cruz Island”, in fact the place where now stands the city of Porto Seguro, Bahia, more than 5 million Indians of various ethnic groups were living in these lands. Since then, there has been a genocide with

large proportions - and media couldn’t care less.

Currently, it is estimated that only 400 thousand Indians occupy the Brazilian territory, mainly demarcated indigenous reserves and protected by the government. About 200 indigenous ethnic groups and 170 languages. However, many of them no longer live as before the Portuguese arrived. The contact with the white man has caused many tribes to lose their cultural identity. Moreover, the invasions of demarcated indigenous lands, promoted by farmers and other invaders is a crime that can be legalized by the Brazilian National Congress through PEC 215.

Presented in 2000 by Almir Sá (PPB - RR), it transfers to the Legislature the power to demarcate territories of traditional occupation in Brazil,

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indigenous and quilombolas. According to the Constitution, this prerogative lies with the federal government in basically three phases. The National Indian Foundation (Funai) conducts studies that attest the ancestry of the territory. The Ministry of Justice signs a document called a Declaratory Ruling. And lastly, it is the approval of the land by the Presidency. Whereas the politicians who defend the farmers in Congress are obviously much more powerful than those who defend the indigenous rights, there is the risk that the congressmen and senators legislate for their own sake, guaranteeing the right to possession of land for plantations that generate large profits for powerful landowners.

Such measures would leave for indigenous peoples, especially those who live in the South, Southeast and Midwest, only pieces of land that don’t allow them to hunt, fish, build houses. The measures a lso cooperate to degrade their way of life as well as to create more agricultural monocultures, addicting lands and degrading nature. With this dangerous scenario, since late September, and perhaps encouraged by the wave of protests that take place in Brazil since June 2013, the indigenous movement art iculates a ser ies of demonstrations and occupations of civil society to show how their rights are being attacked.

A letter released by the Association of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil , due to the occupation of two areas in the city of São Paulo was published - one by Tenondé Pora on the south side of an area that has been occupied for 10 years, and another side of the Pico do Jaraguá.

“Today we all indigenous Guaraní from all villages in São Paulo peacefully close

the Bandeirantes highway, which passes over our village in Pico do Jaraguá. We did this to you, white people, know that we exist and that we are fighting for our land, because we need it to get to sleep and raise our children. By this name, “bandeirantes”, we mean the death of our ancestors. But many of you white people have them and their massacres against our people a reason for proud. In honor of them you christened the palace of the governor of São Paulo, and raised statues everywhere. There are many who want to repeat what they did in the past, exterminating us and stealing our lands to enrich. Its members have political allies of the government, that want to approve the PEC 215, to stop all the marquees that are still missing, and even steal land that is already marked. Our warriors will continue to resist, and we will do whatever it takes to take a part of our land back. We are the first inhabitants of this territory. Is there much land for too few Indians? That is not our reality. We live in what remains of the Atlantic Forest, our lands are tiny and we are many, while a few politicians and businessmen have plenty of land and still want more.”

For now, there has been no violent reactions to these occupations. But unfortunately, this is not reality checked throughout Brazil, where the Indians now live harassed by hired gunmen, who defend the interests of the landowners and, one might say, even large corporations that buy products from these landowners.

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A case that exemplifies the powerful m o v e m e n t s a g a i n s t w h i c h t h e indigenous act is the struggle of the Terena resumption of Fazenda São Pedro Parantudal in Miranda, Pantanal, region of Mato Grosso do Sul. On October 3rd, the Terana occupied the land and their intention was to press for landowners that are at Cachoeirinha to accept the payment of reparations, so that the community can finally occupy their traditional territory. The farm is owned by Paulo Pedrossian, son of former governor of Mato Grosso do Sul, Pedro Pedrossian. The father was also owner of the farm Petropolis, with 1200 hectares in Indigenous land in Cachoeirinha, but now it’s his daughter property.

The Pet ropol i s fa rm has been occupied four times by the indigenous. On the first attempt , they were expelled by judicial decision. The second time, the case went to the Supreme Court (STF) and Gi lmar Mendes gave decision favorable to the farmer and the indigenous peoples were violently removed from the area by the Federal Police . On the third attempt a prohibitory interdict brought them out of the land of Petropolis. However , the decree also extended the Fazenda São Pedro, even if the Terena had never even tried a recovery. In the same period, a Terena’s school bus was attacked and set alight, leading to death an indigenous girl and several burned children. The investigation into the murder was never completed, but the natives attribute the attack to farmers in an attempt to intimidate people. In 2012, another attempt to regain Petropolis: this time were driven

by heavily armed gunmen and relatives farmer with pistols and machine guns. The approximately 8000 indigenous people living in Cachoeirinha occupy only 2 .6 hectares of ind igenous land, despite the Declaratory Ruling determine 36 000 hectares. The rest of the area is made up of 54 farms.

Another emblematic case, despite the lack of evidence, is the Ignácio Lopes , political and religious leader of Guarani Mbya found dead in October, floating in the Patos Lagoon, Rio Grande do Sul, near an island inhabited by some families of the Guarani Mbya people in the city of Palmares do Sul. That island is being offered to the community Mbya by farmers of the municipality of Capivari do Sul, as an alternative to land claimed by the indigenous community. Funai began studies for the identification and delineation of the Terra Capivari and since then the community has to be visited by representatives of the farmers who are pushing for them to move to the island. Ignácio stood out over the last few years, for his leadership by the Guarani Land Commission, later renamed the Joint Council of Guarani People.

After these cases that are repeating, the unwillingness of the mainstream media towards the indigenous question, and the strength of the farmers in Congress, a group of anthropologists from USP, UNIFESP, PUC, University of Padova and FUNAI has released the following letter in defense of the rights of the Guarani People, with which we close this piece.

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W e, scholars of the Guarani

people and other researchers,

experts and teachers, gathered in Sao

Paulo/SP between 16 and 18 October,

during the Symposium in Guarani

Networks, conducted by the Center for

Amerindian Studies, University of São

Paulo, decided to publicly speak out

about the serious context of attack on

indigenous rights that is now underway,

and whose epicenter is the impasse

related to the non-recognition of the

land rights of the Guarani people.

With their villages spread over a

vast territory covering the Midwest,

South and Southeast regions, and also

some places in northern of Brazil, the

Guarani today constitute the largest

indigenous group in the country, with

about sixty-five thousand people.

However, because they occupy regions

with ancient history of colonization

and of great interest to economic

exploitation, today they have only a

negligible fraction of their territory

recognized by the government. The

lack of land is critical because of the

marginalization they experienced

in all these regions, which suffer

from violence, prejudice and lack of

enforcement of fundamental rights

of citizenship.

The story shows how the hand labor

of thousands of Guarani was used to

build the country, leaving contributions

we now consider as founding elements

of Brazilian culture. Today, as over

the past five centuries, oligarchic

groups strive to deny the Guarani their

territorial rights, in order to perpetuate

the injustices accumulated throughout

the process of colonization of Brazil,

avoiding the construction of a just

and caring society that respects its

Indigenous Peoples.

W h i l e l a n d o w n e r s d e v e l o p a

campaign to convince the Brazilian

population that are threatened by

demarcating indigenous lands, the

country continues with one of the

highest rates of land concentration

in the world scenario that reverses

the accumulation of power in the

hands of agrarian oligarchies and

the great inequalities that plague the

national society.

As researchers, we work with

some of the most respected Brazilian

universities, we have a clear perception

that attacks on indigenous rights

now underway are a threat to society

because they are related to the interests

of a minority group that seeks to take

ownership of national resources for

their own enrichment, and make our

country the scenario of disrespect to

the rights to life, dignity, difference,

shaming us all.

The humanitarian tragedy in which

cross the communities in which we

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conduct our research is unacceptable

in a democratic state, and won’t cease

as long as the government refuses to

face it with the seriousness and respect

it requires, away your solution for the

benefit of electoral interests. We call all

Brazilians to commit ourselves with the

Guarani people and other indigenous

peoples in defense of their rights, to

building an egalitarian, multicultural

and multiethnic society.

Futura Press

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Spying, control society and a theater to be interpreted

Complaints about U.S. spy produce various reactions

It wasn’t new for the entire world that the United States practiced espionage. The country has an apparatus for it since the 40s, which first worked internally and then externally, especially in the postwar per iod. However, the a l legat ions made by former CIA officer, Edward Snowden, that the country spies, through the NSA (National Security Agency of the United States), many countries, authorities and companies, couldn’t be more real, since it is in times of crisis that imperialism seeks to position itself as more aggressive.

The first complaint was published on 02 September and showed that President Dilma Rousseff and Mexican President Enrique Pena Neto were investigated. The study is called by Washington as “Smart Filtering Data - case of Mexico and Brazil” . The objective, the document said, was “to improve understanding of the methods of communication and the interlocutors of the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, and her top advisors.” According to the presentation, the program enables to find, whenever you want a “needle in a haystack.” Days later, it was revealed that the NSA also spied Petrobras, and European Union countries that are U.S. allies. According to data revealed by Snowden, the services of American intel l igence intercepted in France more than 70 mil l ion communicat ions between

December and January 2013, tapped the cell phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and other types of violations suffered by other countries.

Geopolitical interests versus control society

According to Francisco Alambert, PhD in Social History, U.S. economic hegemony, which has existed since the 80s, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, increase the importance of practices in the field of control of states and businesses, mainly because of the wars that the U.S. began in order to control the oil and Middle East politics. “That’s why they spy ‘allies’. In Brazil’s case, the question is only trades involving companies that will explore the pre-salt,” said the professor.

T h e i s s u e , h o w e v e r, g o e s f a r beyond mere economic interests. In the controlled society in which we live today, the search for information that may be used strategical ly is seen as rule and occurs in different situations. According to the Professor of Contemporary Political Processes, Rafael Araujo, all computers are mapped and all the information out of a machine from exchange protocols. “A third of all the information circulating on the web is controlled by just 30 companies. It is true that companies are concentrated in the U.S., but they are not government agencies. These are companies that operate from the moods of capital and

#international

By Andressa Vilela

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may serve the interests of those who can afford it,”says the sociologist.

Jul ian Assange, founder of the website Wikileakes, responsible for exposing secret U.S. documents, said in videoconference in Centro Cultural São Paulo, on September 18 , that spying means a collapse of the state of rights in the West, especially when it comes to human rights. “We are being invaded by a foreign jurisdiction”, he said, reiterating that the Obama follows, under the Spionage Act, more people than all previous presidents combined. The author of the book “Cypherpunks - Freedom and the Future of the Internet” on mass surveillance, censorship and Internet freedom, declared that “the structure of communication in Brazil was stolen.”

It is undeniable that the practice is a clear violation of the sovereignty of any country , apart from confirming the existence of an anti-democratic imperialism in the figure of the United States. In order to make this clear and demanding explanations, Dilma canceled the state visit that would

make, shortly thereafter, to Washington. France and Germany, at first, announced that they would take steps together to end the Amer ican espionage. The attitude, however, changed and was restricted to a proposal of good conduct and cooperation between the departments of American intelligence, French and German according to what other EU countries can join.

The three heads of state had their decisions heavily criticized by the media, because the fact is that much more could have been done. It is believed that lacked categorical measures, which in fact would affect economic and political advantages that the U.S. gets relating with these countries. However, a l l instances of power, including the hegemonic media, know how such geopolitical relations work: it is dangerous to bother structures, which in the words of French President François Hollande means “create more problems” and not to solve them. In the opinion of Alambert, “Any action is just scene from various scenes. In the current situation, the U.S. can do

Stan Honda AFP

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anything you want, virtually. One can’t entirely displease Russia’s interests because the nuclear issue still exists, as shown by the radical change in the U.S. position on the decision to invade Syria since the Russians tightened the game. This is the only limit, because the Cold War hasn’t ‘finished’.”

A stronger posi t ion Di lma was demonstrated in her opening speech at the 68th UN General Assembly, held in New York, September 24. The president used the space to fend off espionage: “Without the right to privacy, there will be no true freedom of expression and opinion and therefore no effective democracy. Without respect for sovereignty, there is no basis for the relationship between nations”, said the head of state, who also stated that the technologies of information and communication can’t be the new battleground between countries. Rousseff reiterated the need for the adoption of the Civil RightsFramework of Internet, so users would ensure privacy, a democratic and multilateral governance and a more inclusive society.

The i ssue of pr ivacy invas ion, however, deserves a slightly closer look. The world population is frightened by the possibility of having violated their privacies, but don’t realize that voluntarily contributes to this process. This happens, for example, every time a citizen accepts the terms of use of an application without even reading them. We live in an era where technology exists to accumulate enough data from any machine, any citizen. “The information that matters most in the control society is one that allows you to map behaviors because it is strategic for

capital, especially for production and consumption. More than knowing what are the economic policies of a country, it’s more interesting for companies to know the interests of the citizens from this country and this information, although they may be (and are) tracked by robots , are provided by us, the users of social networks and search engines”, says Rafael.

FutureJulian Assange, through video-

conferencing, said he believed a new global civil ization is being formed because a new group can communicate broadly and harmoniously. However , when a third of the the NSA’s work is spent with surveillance and 98 % of all communication in Latin America passes through the hands of the U.S., this is a terrible picture. The journalist believes that once contemporaneity is marked by a new international political body, is also needed a new foreign policy that takes into account the problems of globalization of technology.

Professor Rafael, meanwhile, points out that the American nation is today compared to what it was during the imperialism of the 19th century, one can say that there is an imminent decline. “With the society of control, the U.S. remains at the center of the game, not as one that controls the world, but as one who earns more economically with the new reality. But this advantage is more related to unequal concentration of capital in U.S. compared with other countries than to his military or political power”, he concludes.

The truth is that not much wil l change in the limit relations between the countries that were spied and the

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United States. Meanwhile, people try to protect themselves against the abuse suffered, requiring stronger measures of their heads of states and governors, who just try to avoid the situation. There is, however, a key issue that will only be answered over time: why U.S. companies abstained from participating in the auction of Campo de Libra, leaving the area for their Chinese rivals when U.S. power is extremely

dependent on foreign oil? Regarding this case, the NSA said: “We do not use our ability to international espionage to steal trade secrets from foreign companies in order to give competitive advantage to American companies”, which directly contradicts some of the reports leaked by Snowden. Petrobras, in turn, did not state anything about this issue.

Reuters

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Interview: Betty MartinsMovie: I wasn’t always dressed like this By Priscila Bellini

- How did the project of the documentary began?

The documentary began with a question I had when I saw many women wearing the veil here in London, and always associated the veil with oppressive and patriarchal attitudes. Then I started researching and started to understand the other side of the story.

- What themes attracts you more, for future documentaries?

Cultural memory, personal stories, w o m e n , f e m i n i s m , p o l i t i c s , deconstruction of speeches. This all interests me! I’m already in the

development of my next documentary, which will be about a fantastic woman, a former militant against the dictatorship in Brazil, an amazing woman.

- Why did you choose to talk about the veil?

For being an “object” so misunderstood and satirized, and for having its meaning ideologically manipulated. It bothers me that the mediated speech about these women is so large that make people believe that they have knowledge of it, and thanks to this speech people become paralyzed, unable to reflect on their own assumptions. It bothers me that Muslim women and her veil are the victims of a bigoted anti-Muslim sentiment. That they are attacked in the streets, and are still used as a political tool. Everyone seems to know them, all have strong opinions about them, and despite strong image and message built by the mainstream media, they are not the ones who are speaking.

- What was your goal in making the film?

Deconstructing the mediated discourse that exists about them. The whole movie works within a specific filmic methodology that seeks to respond to the mechanisms of representation in mainstream media when treating Muslim women and the veil.

- How your own views and ideas have changed over the production of the documentary?

Betty Martins

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Many ideas changed, I still struggle sometimes when it comes to the niqab. The important thing here is not to like or dislike something, you can’t only find that you have authority or power of knowledge about them because of the use of the veil. Therein lies the problem. I think the discussion about the use of the veil is valid because its practice is still conducive to abuse. But then you need to know this debate unlinked from its colonialist, sexist, orientalist and Islamophobic veins. In this way, of course, then we can only grant this debate to Muslim women.

- You think you’ve changed since you started the film production?

Surely I changed my position and understanding of this topic. For a documentary , the deconstruction of yourself is first more important than deconstruct your theme.

- How do you evaluate the approach the media about the situation ofMuslim women?

D a n g e r o u s , m a n i p u l a t i v e a n d Orientalist. There are vehicles that clearly work behind a political, colonial and nationalist interest, and in order to satisfy these interests create unrealistic narratives, here in Europe. We can see how people that are mediated in these narratives always have a very strong opinion on the subject, those who are against the apologists. They forget that there is a woman who thinks, reflects and makes decisions.

- What inspired you to make this documentary?

Surely the problem of these narratives mediated, and because the woman and

her body again is subject to certain ideologies that are foreign to them. Having never had the opportunity to listen to these women. I always say that the documentary is not meant to take the opportunity to speak in their place, but to listen to them.

- How did you select the women who appear in the documentary?

I met them and it was so. He had no time to check. I wanted to work with real women. The woman who wears the niqab was the biggest surprise. I was seeking for the third woman to join the documentary and I was finding it difficult to find it. I called once to an organization and the woman who answered instantly volunteered, “I am very passionate about this issue,” she told me. Then met at the mosque in Regent’s Park. I saw a woman wearing niqab approaching and felt it was her, and it was. Of course, this all shooked all my senses, all my prejudices. Of course despite not having had that asgoal, I couldn’t refuse her, since she wanted it so much. As a documentarian,we shouldn’t have this obsession with the truth, but to represent realities, where we find the knowledge of things.

- What fascinated you the most in the situations and testimonials of these women?

The private relationship of the body, the feminine sphere. I present them to the public , in the same way they would present themselves personally don’t have intrusion. I think that’s important.

- How do you evaluate the role of women in society , in predominantly Muslim countries? And in the revolts

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of the Arab Spring?

A woman stands in f ront of the revolutions in politics, in society, as in religion. What people do not realize (because they are contaminated by ideologically constructed narratives) is that these women do not reproduce r i tuals - they produce, recreate, reframe. There is an extremely feminist movement within it all! But people are still blocked because of prejudice with veil! They think the barriers are produced by the veil, but actually are the same barriers that people build. But, within the ideological and authoritarian structures of colonialism , we learn to see them as “the other” and it completely paralyzes us, not challenge ourselves to reflect on rethinking our assumptions.

- Have you screened the film somewhere? What was the public reaction to the documentary?

The reaction is always very positive. But I had very specific answer, a British woman who is very annoyed with the woman who wears niqab in the film. Basically , I propose a different visual work with a woman wearing niqab, because she herself challenge our perspectives on the body and the individual knowledge of it. The British girl bothered too much about it. She wanted to see the woman in niqab the way it is normally represented, she believes she can’t know it without seeing it. I found it interesting that the placement of it was clearly disturbing and uncomfortable and clearly the

movie touched her on a very particular way. Another woman asked me why I shoot the woman in niqab inside the train, as this visual “composition” generates controversy. Sure, she was operating within a speech, the niqab related to terrorism, the attacks in London. So these issues are interesting and valid. After we discussed it, I think she has rethought her question, and even felt ashamed.

- Plans to come to Brazil to talk about the documentary?

Yes, I’m going to Brazil in October, staying for an indefinite time, when I wi l l make presentat ions of the documentary and work on my next one. If any institution is interested in presenting the film with discussions, they can contact me by email bettymartins@d-aep.org

Joerg Brunsendorf

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The recent mobilization of students from the University of São Paulo (USP) was mainly marked by the occupation of the building of the rectory and willingness of students to fight for their rights, and the unwillingness of the administrative staff - especially the university president, João Grandino Rodas. The intention was to negotiate the guidelines proposed by the entire student movement, and the strike can’t be understood completely without having in mind what the uprisings in June meant for Brazilian society - particularly for social movements.

T h e s t u d e n t s t r u g g l e f o r t h e democratization of their university is not restricted to USP, it aims to ensure that all those responsible for giving life to the university (faculty, staff and students) are also responsible for defining the direction of the institution. It is necessary to reflect the true claims of the USP community - not just the will of bureaucrats elected indirectly, who are directly imposed. It is also a battle against an elitist university project which aims not to the emancipate the population, but the maintenance of knowledge in hand of those who already have economic, political and social power.

The physical space of the University of São Paulo, also used by citizens as a recreational area and for cultural agenda during the weekends becomes increasingly restricted, so that society becomes less and less a part of the

university. Not even the university bus, connecting points of the Butantã metro station to USP remained free. The current university president, João Grandino Rodas, created links with SPTRANS and introduced a single own ticket for the two options of circular buses, the BUSP, which guarantees free tickets just for students, excluding the majority of internal university staff and entire community that circles the campus and must pay for the transportation that was supposed to be free. Furthermore, the number of buses that run along those places is insufficient, making them two of the most crowded in São Paulo.

All this exclusionary scenario can be explained by the structure of power in the current USP, which reduces and limits the participation of students and staff in decision-making, from “simple” decisions that matter to courses, to those that impact the entire university life.

Democracy in universitiesBy Ana Almeida and Igor Leonardo

Folha Press

#opinion

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The voting for university president in three shifts

At first, about 2 % of the university community chooses 8 names to run for the position. This unrepresentative percentage consists on the General C o u n c i l s a n d C o n g r e g a t i o n s - 88% are teachers, 8 % of students (undergraduate and graduate) and 4 % employees.

In the second round, it decreased to only 0.5 % of the academic community, only the Central Councils and the University Council vote. In this new selection, the voters are 87 % teachers, 12 % students and employees only 1 %.

As a result, we obtain the “Triple List” which contains the three leading candidates in the second round. These names are forwarded to the Governor of the State of São Paulo, solely responsible for deciding which one will be the new president of the university. In summary: indirect election, direct imposition.

Being handpicked by Governor of the State of São Paulo, the appointment of the university president of USP will always correspond to a political project, and this does not necessarily - as many like to insist - correspond to the will of the majority of the population. Although democratically elected, the governor a n d t h e g o v e r n m e n t c o m m o n l y implement policies that don’t fit in the expectations of the community. The repression by the military police thanks to the command from Governor Alckmin is a clear example: most people, during the debate regarding the legitimacy of the June demonstrations,

vehemently rejected the truculent action of the Military Police.

We saw in June an exercise in democracy in which the people’s voice emanated from the streets. Although many were first-time protesters and even had confusion in what they claimed and fought against, it proved that there’s a willing to risk a new way of doing politics, in which decisions were not made exclusively by a certain group interested in their own business, but through the debate made with a large part of society. And the debate enabled to uncover the real intentions of the demonstrations and what was done by the municipal government service, and the state government, and the federal government: the profits of public transportation companies.

E v e n t a k i n g s e c o n d p l a c e i n elections, the current rector was chosen by Governor José Serra, which demonstrates the complete lack of democracy in the process. Similar is the choice of directors of each unit (directly responsible for the care of each course), and among the three final names chooses who will be the next director. It was expected that the lack of representativeness generate dissatisfaction. Many of the claims of students and staff are left out, and their opinions have minimum force in congregations today, in the decision processes of the university. And now we come to the current historical struggle of USP students for direct elections for university president.

During the month of July, in the heat of the achievements of social movements, João Grandino Rodas has

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created a website sharing his willing to speak on the subject of democracy. Since then, discussions have been created for presentation and discussion of proposals overwhelmingly without any participation by the rectory. On October 1, occurred the meeting of the University Council that would decide the changes in the election system of the university - a space with locked doors and low representation of students and staff. Requiring an open meeting so that all community could participate in the discussion, the two sectors gathered in front of the building of the rectory during the conduct of the University Council.

As decided by the General Assembly of Students, student representatives at the meeting led this claim to vote, but the majority of the members voted not to open the meeting of the University Council. When they tried to leave to communicate the decision to the demonstrators, students who rightfully could attend the meeting were also prevented from leaving and returning, being temporarily retained in an room. In this situation, it was decided that they would occupy the rectory.

To g e t h e r s t u d e n t s a n d s t a ff took possess ion of the bui ld ing, which remains occupied today. An extraordinary meeting held on the same night decided by conducting meetings of courses in the shortest possible time, in which the result was the incorporation of over 30 courses to strike, including several courses that don’t have a tradition in the student movement, as the graduations of Chemistry, Pharmacy and Physical

Education. And the movement, still growing, became even stronger with the denial of the Judiciary to the request for repossession of the rectory, making it clear that legit imacy is unquestionable and so are its political demands, with legal support in the constitution, condemned the rectory by unwillingness to negotiation and give the Student Movement 60 days to peacefully vacate the building.

At the moment, demonstrations and discussions throughout University of São Paulo claim for opening dialogue. In the last negotiation meeting held on October 29, the rectory seemed to not be interested in the debate on direct elections for university president. Until the demands of the movement are not considered, the rectory remains occupied and the strike continues, showing the importance of democratizing the university.

Together, we wil l continue the fight to defeat the exclusionary and repressive political inequalities. Long live the struggle of students, university and staff in USP!

Facebook USP

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#proseandpoetry

“The train stopped, and I saw the carefully lined seats. They are all occupied. All of them are sleepy, exhausted workers. Their head is fallen slightly to one side - always the same side. They’re all deep sleeping, tired, waiting for the train that arrives with crowded wagons. Shrunken, withdrawn, dominated. This is how the system wants to see them: dominated. Make them sleep, rendering them: slaves. Leave them there, victims of the profit, victims of ill-treatment. They are the critical mass of the system - carefully and quietly disarmed. And the soulles middle class? Dream on, proletarians. Nothing more, nothing less: dominated proletarians, attacked proletarians. Meanwhile, heads are falling to the right. Oh, proletarians.”

anonymouS

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Walls of Belo HorizonteGabrIela FIlIppo is studying Publicity and Advertising at

UFMG and works in Cria Jr.

#photocontext

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