Please read the below Campaign announcement and ACT, especially those of us based in the United States - as our government is moving to use this base in Brazil for hemispheric dominance.
I. Brief History of the Base: Alcântara Rocket Launch Center (CLA)
1. In 1982 the Brazilian government created the launch site in the municipality of Alcântara and expropriated an area of 52,000 hectares. Five hundred families were affected, the majority descendents of escaped slave communities who lived on fishing and subsistence agriculture. Those families were moved to seven villages and granted 15-hectare lots, far from fishing access. In 1990, the Collor government increased the size of the base by expropriating an additional 10,000 hectares, giving the CLA a total of 62,000 hectares.
2. In October 2000, the Cardoso government signed an agreement with the U.S. government to cede the base or, in other words, the 62,000 hectares of land. Under the accord, the United States would control the area and Brazilian authorities would not even be able to monitor it. In practice, the CLA would be a U.S. military base.
3. Analysts warn that the real objective of the U.S. government is not just to launch rockets, but to use nuclear warheads, as a way to maintain military control of the Amazon. The geopolitical strategy of the United States in the Amazon region already includes military bases in Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, which can benefit from intelligence provided by the Amazon Intelligence System, or SIVAM, which was set up by U.S. corporations. Consequently, what is at stake is the sovereignty of the Amazon and the control of its riches, its biodiversity and water resources.
II. Principal Demands of Base-Area People
The population that is being affected by this policy has organized the Movements of those Affected by the Base (MAB). Its principal demands are:
1. That the families living in the affected region be identified and their needs accessed.
2. That no more families be relocated, especially the 210 that are currently threatened by the 10,000 hectare expansion of the base.
3. That the families be given the right to work the lands within the original 52,000 hectares, even if access has to be granted through concession.
4. That legalization of those landholdings within the CLA be guaranteed, since they were part of former escaped slave communities.
5. That the families be guaranteed education for their adolescent children, technical assistance, and training and resources in order to develop agricultural production on their land.
6. That a social fund be created, equal to 15% of each space rocket launch. Of this money, 5% would be for the mayor's office and 10% for the relocated communities.
7. That the Brazilian government not concede the base to the United States.
III. Current Situation of the Agreement between the Brazilian and U.S. Governments
1. By the Brazilian Constitution, all international agreements must be approved by Congress. The Brazilian government has sent the agreement to Congress for approval.
2. In 2001, the agreement was evaluated by the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Chamber of Deputies. The member reporting on the agreement, PT Deputy Waldir Pires of the state of Bahia, produced a document, approved by consensus, which rejected it and proposed changes that would guarantee Brazilian sovereignty over the area.
3. The accord was then evaluated by the Committee on Science and Technology. The member in charge of reporting on the agreement, PFL Deputy José Rocha of Pará, produced an evaluation in favor of the original agreement. That document was approved by the Committee.
4. In March 2002, the agreement was sent to the Committee on the Constitution and Justice, where PSDB Deputy Zenaldo Coutinho of Pará drafted a report. The deputy must now produce a new report, which will be voted on by the Committee.
5. After that, the Committee report will be voted on by the full Chamber, where the deputies generally follow the lead of the committees. This should occur within the next few weeks.
IV. National Campaign Against the Agreement
It is necessary to block this agreement, because its approval would allow the U.S. government to assume control over the entire base area of 62,000 hectares, with serious consequences for local communities and national sovereignty.
Please send messages demanding that Deputy Zenaldo Coutinho, like Waldir Pires, reject the agreement.
Write NOW to:
Deputado Zenaldo Coutinho dep.zenaldocoutinho@camara.gov.br
Fax: 011 55 61 318 2266 (from the United States)
Mailing address:
Camara dos Deputados, Anexo 3
70000 Brasília, DF, Brasil
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