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- Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
- Path: sparky!uunet!europa.asd.contel.com!darwin.sura.net!wupost!mont!pencil.cs.missouri.edu!rich
- From: cmcl2!acf3.nyu.edu!petrescd@uunet.UU.NET (Deivy Marck Petrescu)
- Subject: Brazil: AGRARIAN REFORM COMES BACK TO THE CONGRESS
- Message-ID: <1992Sep3.021152.8225@mont.cs.missouri.edu>
- Followup-To: alt.activism.d
- Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Sender: news@mont.cs.missouri.edu
- Nntp-Posting-Host: pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Organization: New York University
- Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 02:11:52 GMT
- Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
- Lines: 185
-
- PASTORAL LAND COMMISSION
- Phone: (062) 224 44 36
- Fax: (062) 225 49 67
- Address: Caixa Postal 749 - 74001 - Goiania-GO - Brasil
-
-
- AGRARIAN REFORM COMES BACK TO THE CONGRESS
-
- The last events happened in land struggles clearly
- demonstrate the lack of a political will, by the authorities
- at different levels of the Governament, for solving the
- serious social problems attaining land people. The final
- report of CPI (Parlament Commission of Inquire) on rural
- violence concluded that the State is not only conniving, but
- is also an active agent of this violence. The shameful
- conviction of 6 landless farmers in RS (absolved for proofs
- absence, but convicted because their presence in "Praca da
- Matriz" caused the dead of a soldier), the unconstitutional
- actions by Policy in MS, impeding the return of thousands of
- brasilian families which emigrated towards Paraguay, and
- other recent events, are the incontestable demonstration of
- the violence and impunity of large estate (latifundium), the
- connivance and participation of the State and the unjust
- situation to which millions of workers are submitted.
-
- As a reaction to these facts, made heavier by the inoperation
- and connivance of the laws judged and Justice Department,
- rural workers are actively pretending that their rights on
- accessing lands and on better life conditions are guaranteed,
- pressing the National Congress to review and discuss
- constitutional law articles related with Agrarian Reform.
-
- The discussion of the Law Project n.11, taken in the Chamber
- of Deputies, which regulates articles 184, 185 and 186 of
- Federal Constitution about the Agrarian Reform, well proved
- the force relationship that exists therein. Otherwise, this
- was been already evident from the time of the creation of
- Federal Constitution itself, when landowners and their
- representatives in the Congress made unpracticable the
- Agrarian Reform by the creation of the "productive property"
- concept (proprietade produtiva) excluding it from
- dispossession for social interests (art. 185, II, single
- paragraph).
-
- The text, approved on the 6th of June by the Chamber of
- Deputies, is a proof that, since the creation of Federal
- Constitution till now, did not things change very much in
- solving the serious land social problems, beginning from the
- large land concentration question. The text, in spite of its
- ambiguity, maintains the same aim that guided the
- Constitutional articles, because:
-
- 1 - the fundamental question on implementation of an Agrarian
- Reform through an institutional way, exactly lays upon the
- definition of what a productive property is and into the
- requirements related to the accomplishment of its social
- function. These points are not well clarified in the approved
- text. In its article n.2, the text determines that
- accomplishment of social function is a requirement of the
- property rigths. A landed property, that doesn't accomplish
- it, is susceptible of dispossession, but "complying with
- article 185 of Federal Constitution". The defence of the
- social function of property is annulled with art. 185 of
- Constitution, in which "the productive property is not
- susceptible of dispossession, for the Agrarian Reform aims".
-
- The single paragraph of the same article of the Federal
- Constitution refers to the principles related to the
- accomplishment of the social function of the productive
- property. These principles would be fixed in the regulation,
- but this didn't happen. The official text leaves a seriuos
- gap. The definition of productive property consists only of
- the requirements of Efficiency Degrees in Land Exploration
- and Use, that are eminently economic aspects, leaving the
- social function aspect aside. Therefore, questions are solved
- by the Justice Department's decision, but to become
- fundamental they would be clearly defined in the text. This
- process is at least hazardous.
- Expecially if we consider the conservative profile
- demonstrated by the Justice Department, that is in favour of
- the advantagies of the fews against of the rigths of the
- majority.
-
- One of the reasons of struggling for a regulamentation of the
- Agrarian Reform Law is to envisage the excuse, used by the
- Justice Department, of the impossibility of lands
- dispossession because of lack of regulamentation by the
- constitutional articles related to this topic. Unfortunately
- in this way there is no progress because the Justice
- Department will be responsible for the interpretation of the
- text about the accomplishment of the social function
- requirements in a productive property.
-
- 2 - Moreover, the text provides owners skills to escape from
- dispossession. This is the case of art. n 7, incised and
- single paragraph, when regulates that the landed property,
- comproving the establishment of a technical project, will not
- be passible of dispossession, for the Agrarian Reform aims.
-
- In the same way, art.n. 6 paragraph 7, disposes that a landed
- property will not loose the qualification of productive
- property if, for major force, casually or for renovation of
- pasture, leaves to present in this year the degrees of
- efficiency in exploration.
-
- Obviously, in these articles is claimed the proof of experts'
- technical reports, and it would not be different. But now it
- is important to remember the large farms benefitted by the
- subsidies, that created ghost projects and never had
- fiscalization proving the use and application of these
- impulses. The large farms located in rural border areas also
- benefitted of these articles. In fact it is enough to be
- inscribed into projects, for example, for environmental
- preservetion, not to become susceptible of despossession.
-
- 3 - Starting from the idea that a landed property is
- dispossessed if it doesn't accomplish a social function,
- dispossession would consist of a punishment of the faulty
- owner.
-
- However, art. 12 determines an indemnity to propiciate the
- dispossessed with a "replacement of the corresponding value
- of the property lost for social interests". This article
- transforms dispossessions into pure lands purchases made by
- the Federal Organisms. This purchasing process moves through
- society the burden of lazy lands, that will be bought by
- means of public capital. Moreover, art. 5, asserting
- "previous and honest indemnity", offers a chance for land
- estates speculation in place of dispossession processes.
-
- 4 - On the other side the text is partial in line C, incised
- III of art. 4, where only small and medium property will not
- be susceptible of dispossession when its owner doesn't own
- another rural property. But, what does it happen when a small
- or medium owner owns two properties and both were
- accomplishing the social function requirements? Will be one
- of these passible of dispossession? Therefore the text seems
- to be more than a defence of property. IT WAS ESTABLISHED TO
- DEFEND THE LAND ESTATE.
-
- 5 - Finally, articles 3 and 13 don't leave doubts on what the
- "agrarian reform" (or better , the distribution of public
- lands) could be in public lands and, once again, the crucial
- problem of land concentration in the State will not be faced.
-
- The law project, approved by the Federal Chamber (it has also
- to pass through the Senate and be confirmed by the President
- of the Republic) could mean a political success of the
- progressive branches in the Congress because, in a first
- study, it leaves few chances to implement an Agrarian Reform
- project. Although, the lack of clearness of the text can open
- a gap to interpret the law in favour of the landless farmers
- struggle. For this, it is important to enhance, in the land
- struggling process, the pressure both at Executive level
- (responsible for the Dispossession Decrets) and Justice
- Department level, to interpret and apply the law starting
- from its social and human aspects, above the positivist
- aspect, in favour of the LIFE RIGHT.
-
- After the National Congress, the law project went to the
- Senate. The conservative parties removed the "urgent urgency"
- label of the Agrarian Reform from their agenda. This means
- that the law project probably will not be voted during this
- year. In this way, authorities' position, in not
- dispossessing because of lack of law's regulations, is
- reinforced. Various groups of civil society are pressing the
- Senate to approve the law proposal, already approved by the
- Federal Chamber. However, the present political situation, in
- which the president of the Republic is involved in a
- corruption impeachment, leaves out of priority all the other
- national demands.
-
-
-
-
- CPT National Office
-
-
- Goiania, August 26th 1992
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