{"id":50030162,"date":"2019-09-11T17:27:48","date_gmt":"2019-09-11T16:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.dialogochino.net\/?p=30162"},"modified":"2023-03-12T16:03:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-12T16:03:19","slug":"30051-sao-luis-megaport-conflict-intensifies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/justice\/30051-sao-luis-megaport-conflict-intensifies\/","title":{"rendered":"S\u00e3o Luis megaport conflict intensifies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Demonstrators warned police that there was a pregnant woman among them. They stood in front of a queue of diggers, trying to protect their homes against repossession by a private company. But the police pushed through to let the machines pass and soon used pepper spray.<\/p>\n

The pregnant woman staggered away from the diggers, her hands over her eyes.<\/p>\n

It was August 12. Residents of the Cajueiro community in the Brazilian Amazon were continuing a struggle they have waged since 2014. They are trying to save their houses from a government-authorised plan that will dispossess them \u2013 a megaport linking S\u00e3o Lu\u00eds, in the Amazonian state of Maranh\u00e3o, to the world\u2019s markets.<\/p>\n

The S\u00e3o Lu\u00eds Port project, headed by China Communications Construction Company<\/a> (CCCC) and the Brazilian company WPR-S\u00e3o Lu\u00eds Gest\u00e3o de Portos e Terminais, and part-financed by a US$2.6 billion loan from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), aims to facilitate the export of Brazilian iron ore and soy.<\/p>\n

There are other ports in the region, but this would be the first to be operated by a company from China, the main buyer of Brazilian commodities.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Destruction
Destruction of a house in the Cajueiro community on August 12 to make way for the S\u00e3o Luis port project (image: Ingrid Barros)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Repossession<\/h2>\n

On that August day, 22 tracts of land were repossessed and even more houses destroyed. Today, 34 of the original 250 inhabitants live there. Only seven lots have not yet been repossessed.<\/p>\n

Last month, more than 100 Brazilian and international signatories concerned about authorities\u2019 treatment of the community sent a letter<\/a> in support of Cajueiro residents to Leilani Farha, the UN\u2019s special rapporteur for housing.<\/p>\n

The conflict between the police and the community demonstrated the government\u2019s brutal commitment to ensuring that the project go ahead, even as the state and federal prosecution services questioned its legality.<\/p>\n

How can the state grant a public deed to the community and then, years later, someone appears claiming to be the owner of the area?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

S\u00e3o Lu\u00eds Port is part of the \u201cNorthern Arc\u201d<\/a> initiative, a recipient of a flurry of public and private investments in ports, railroads, and highways designed to expedite the transit of mining and agricultural products from the Amazon and Cerrado regions.<\/p>\n

The project reveals conflicting visions for the Amazon \u2013 those who see it as a new frontier for industrial and agricultural development, and those view forest protection as vital.<\/p>\n

\n

18%<\/p>\n

\n
\nof the Amazon region's forest cover has already been lost
\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

The Amazon has already lost 18% of its forest cover, while half of the Cerrado savannah\u2019s original vegetation is gone. Preserved areas are often home to indigenous people, quilombola<\/em> communities of slave descendants, and small rural producers like those defending Cajueiro.<\/p>\n

“There used to be community members who had lived there together for decades, who had a good life and helped preserve the forest”, explained Ademar Pereira (age 70), one of the villagers who lost his home.<\/p>\n

“Now, it is complete sadness.”<\/p>\n

Investigations and protests<\/h2>\n

Construction of the port has already deforested an area equivalent to 200 football pitches. In order for the project to progress, it must displace more families from Cajueiro, a community dating back to the mid-nineteenth century.<\/p>\n

Houses at the site have been demolished since 2014, some with, others without legal authorisation, as revealed in the investigation Besieged by Progress<\/a><\/em>. Some residents have been threatened to leave by hired gunmen, according to the Pastoral Land Commission.<\/p>\n

Criminal activity could underpin much of the venture, as many land purchases and sales are dubious.<\/p>\n

Investigations by the Maranh\u00e3o public prosecutor\u2019s office indicate that a criminal operation has been forging titles for public land in order to enable to work on infrastructure projects in the area surrounding S\u00e3o Lu\u00eds. In April, prosecutors seized enough computers and documents to fill four pickup trucks.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Carlos
Carlos Augusto Barbosa, a fisher who lives in one of the communities in Cajueiro fixes a net for fishing crab, which are increasingly scarce in the region (image: Ingrid Barros)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The land title scheme appears to be led by a group comprised of companies, deed registry offices, and public servants, according to Haroldo Paiva de Brito, who specialises in agrarian conflicts at the Maranh\u00e3o state prosecutor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

“How can the state grant a public deed to the community and then, years later, someone appears claiming to be the owner of the area?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what we have found, private individuals have usurped public land and sold it to companies linked to the port construction project. This can lead to the annulment of the private land deed and project licensing.”<\/p>\n

No slowing down<\/h2>\n

According to Ana Carolina Carvalho Dias, a lawyer for the Jesus do Cajueiro Residents Union, land repossession for the port was illegal since it was not determined who owns the land.<\/p>\n

Nor were residents given any warning that they would be removed. Dias said they began to be removed on Monday 12, but the court order authorising repossession only arrived the following day.<\/p>\n

Taken by surprise, residents soon found themselves and their belongings in the street and with their houses demolished.<\/p>\n

“In a democratic state, the parties involved in proceedings should be summoned and informed prior to actions such as these,” Dias said. “The repossession was not in line with this process, and treated the residents like squatters.”<\/p>\n