As we celebrate Enero Zapatista resistance, I would like to highlight the struggles of #BRAZIL After some 300,000 people protested in June 2013, initially sparked by an increase in bus fares in São Paulo, the uprising soon spiraled nationwide amid outrage over government corruption, inequality, failing public services and police brutality against demonstrators. Protesters have also condemned the high level of government spending on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Right after indigenous peoples vowed to continue resisting Amazon dams, Brazil has been flooded with a huge wave of massive street protests coinciding with the opening of the Confederations Cup, reportedly the largest the country has seen in the last 40 years. The protests have been met with violent repression, a sign of whats to come in the next year as the country prepares to host the World Cup Recent protests have united a diversity of citizens frustrated by billions invested in World Cup stadiums, while the people suffer. Frustrations range from increases in public transportation fees, to lack of access to a responsible healthcare system, quality education or reliable services, despite a heavy tax burden and outrageous salaries given to politicians. Brazilians claim they were pushed to the edge and cant stay quiet anymore. Indigenous peoples of Brazil agree. Our fight has no end. The government needs to respect our rights and our Constitution. They dont want to listen to indigenous people but we wont stop until they do, said indigenous leader Cândido Munduruku. For the Afro-Brazilian Quilombola people, they were forced from their land in Brazil in order to make way for eucalyptus plantations, which produce toilet paper destined for Western markets. But they are resisting by replanting native trees and food crops, and working for a post-eucalyptus reality. The principal use for the cellulose found in eucalyptus plants in Brazil is disposable paper products, such as toilet paper and paper towels – products most in demand in first-world markets. Yet these types of paper products generate social and environmental impacts in places in Brazil where many communities have never even had access to them. The region known as Sape do Norte, which includes the cities of Sao Mateus and Conceicao da Barra, in the state of Espirito Santo, in Brazil, has been heavily affected by eucalyptus plantations. For the rights of indigenous peoples and all Brazilian civil society, the environment, and provides institutions with sufficient resources to provide for a dignified life for all Brazilians. With its bountiful resources, and its current position in the world stage, Brazil has the opportunity to be a global leader in sustainable and equitable development by listening to the demands of its people and the global communitys call for clean and alternative energy. Please join in this call to #ChangeBrazil. Thank you for your support of this ongoing and growing movement for a better Brazil, a Brazil that respects human rights and the environment. lasc.ie/content/indigenous-people-brazil-500-years-resistance
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 02:08:12 +0000