Travelling to Rio

Bh,

For my recollection, you are right: there are two kinds of park
attendants. If I am not wrong, it used to be an type of
underemployment--what kids would do in the 70s to get a buck or two. As
unemployment rates increased in the 80s and 90s, the age of the
"flanelinhas" (they used to carry flannel rags to polish the cars they
"took care of") or "guardadores autônomos" also increased--they were
rather adults complementing their income, sometimes making it their only
income sources. I think it was in the late 80s, early 90s, that a group
of those decided to get organized - therefore the name "guardadores
autonomos" (self-employed park attendants). I remember that when the
city decided to charge for public parking in mid-90s, public officers
negotiated with these organized groups, in order to incorporate them in
the new structure.

"Official" park attendants, however, never replaced completely the
"self-appointed" ones. Wherever they have the chance, they will
act--particularly in areas where public parking is legally free.

I have certainly heard stories in which someone who failed to pay the
"flanelinhas" had one's car scratched. It was always a story that
someone heard from someone else, but I don't doubt it may happen. From
there to say there is a mafia, it may really be going too far. Again, I
don't doubt that some "flanelinhas" may collaborate in petty crimes and
misdemeanors--but organized crime tends to pay well enough to its
"soldiers" that you don't have to complement your gains by working as a
parking attendant.

L.

PS. Kurko is right when he says that it also happens in other poor or
developing countries. I know that they became common in Buenos Aires
during the 1990s. It is quite common in Mexico and Colombia, at least.
And some friends told me that it was possible to find "flanelinhas" in
many European cities in the 1970s, specially Portugal, Spain and
southern Italy, before the state regulated urban public parking. It was
rather unofficial, as far as I know, and I don't know if there were the
same stories of car-scratching.



B H wrote:

I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official
ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least.
But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There
is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood
with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

After reading all the Rio posts, why with all the wonderful places to go,
would anyone travel to Rio?
"Lise Sedrez" wrote in message
...
Bh,

For my recollection, you are right: there are two kinds of park
attendants. If I am not wrong, it used to be an type of
underemployment--what kids would do in the 70s to get a buck or two. As
unemployment rates increased in the 80s and 90s, the age of the
"flanelinhas" (they used to carry flannel rags to polish the cars they
"took care of") or "guardadores autônomos" also increased--they were
rather adults complementing their income, sometimes making it their only
income sources. I think it was in the late 80s, early 90s, that a group
of those decided to get organized - therefore the name "guardadores
autonomos" (self-employed park attendants). I remember that when the
city decided to charge for public parking in mid-90s, public officers
negotiated with these organized groups, in order to incorporate them in
the new structure.

"Official" park attendants, however, never replaced completely the
"self-appointed" ones. Wherever they have the chance, they will
act--particularly in areas where public parking is legally free.

I have certainly heard stories in which someone who failed to pay the
"flanelinhas" had one's car scratched. It was always a story that
someone heard from someone else, but I don't doubt it may happen. From
there to say there is a mafia, it may really be going too far. Again, I
don't doubt that some "flanelinhas" may collaborate in petty crimes and
misdemeanors--but organized crime tends to pay well enough to its
"soldiers" that you don't have to complement your gains by working as a
parking attendant.

L.

PS. Kurko is right when he says that it also happens in other poor or
developing countries. I know that they became common in Buenos Aires
during the 1990s. It is quite common in Mexico and Colombia, at least.
And some friends told me that it was possible to find "flanelinhas" in
many European cities in the 1970s, specially Portugal, Spain and
southern Italy, before the state regulated urban public parking. It was
rather unofficial, as far as I know, and I don't know if there were the
same stories of car-scratching.



B H wrote:

I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed
parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official
ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official)
and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least.
But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but
of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer,
but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants.
These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There
is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood
with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

Simply because in normal daily life its next to impossible to encounter all
these
drug lords, thieves, muggers and murderes. In Rio more annoying are
beggars, shoeshiners and all kinds of sellers not to mention "samba bands".

Rio is very beautiful city (Cidade Maravilhosa), quite safe too for
tourists as long as you understand
and obey the "rule": Don't be stupid.

Kurko

On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 21:40:02 -0500, clint wrote:

After reading all the Rio posts, why with all the wonderful places to go,
would anyone travel to Rio?

Lil' Pete!

You've made your point. What's bugging you? **** happens everywhere, my
buddy got
beaten up in Liverpool, England. Should we start looking for statistics of
violence
in there and tell everybody not to go to England anymore?

Face it faq, you ****ed up by being stupid. Stop blaming others on your own
stupidity. Take your responsibility!

Kurko

On 12 Mar 2004 17:08:52 -0800, P E T E R P A N
wrote:

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m.../article.jhtml

Hot in the city: crowded jails and drug economics push Latin American
cities to their limit on crime.

Latin Trade, Jan-Feb, 2003, by Mery Galanternick

On a recent Friday night, Fernando Gamma bumped his Ford Corsa into
another car in Copacabana. He called the police on his cellular phone
to report the crash so his insurance company would pay for the damage.
After 45 minutes, the police did not show. He called again. The voice
on the other side said: "Listen, mister, we're living in a chaotic
city with shootings everywhere. Yours is not a serious case. Please be
patient:'

A wave of violence has taken over this city Criminal gangs have forced
businesses, schools and banks to close and fired machine guns at the
governor's palace in Rio de Janeiro. A gang member threw a band
grenade at a large shopping center, and their members have assaulted
police stations and patrol cars.

It's hard all over the region, as weakening economies fuel drug and
crime waves. In Sao Paulo, the murder rate hit 1,000 per month in
2002. Crime in Buenos Aires has tripled since 1991, the decade of its
supposed economic advance. Mexico City, meanwhile, hired iron-fisted
ex-New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to combat off-the-hook lawlessness
in the capital, where kidnapping has turned into an industry.

But violence in Rio is breaking scary new ground. On Sept. 30, known
as "Black Monday:' stores, banks, offices, schools and markets in this
city of 5.8 million were forced to close on orders of jailed drug
lords unhappy with their living conditions. It was the first time that
Copacabana and Ipanema neighborhoods in the posh south zone had
received lock down orders from gang leaders behind bars.

At Ipanema's fashionable Top Center building, retail store managers
blame violence for the sales slowdown. "Customers aren't coming to Rio
anymore; they are scared," says Marli Alves, manager of Gang, a store
that specializes in jeans.

Concerned with increasing chaos, Rio's 334,000-member Federacao do
Comercio issued a first-ever survey on security expenses for the
business community. In Rio's metropolitan area, companies now spend
US$56 million a month on security. Businesses spending the most are
jewelry stores, shopping centers and hotels.

"Violence permeates every major city, but when drug lords start giving
orders, this is not normal," says Alfredo Lopes, president of the
Brazilian Hotel Industry Association. Hotel occupation has fallen 15%
compared to a year ago, while Embratur, Brazil's Tourism Agency,
reports only 29% of foreigners traveling to Brazil visited Rio in
2001, compared to 41% a decade ago. A decline in traveling Argentines
and terrorism jitters have affected Rio, of course.

Fighting back. Despite the near state of siege in Rio, business
leaders are eager to point out that economic growth in metropolitan
Rio has not halted. Many multinationals have opened offices in Rio.
None of them have moved or closed doors because of crime--so far.

"We recently renovated the Sepetiba port. We're building a
petrochemical center' says Orlando Diniz, head of the Federacao do
Comercio. "We have good highways to distribute our products, and our
employees have a higher literacy


(JB) wrote in message
. com...
Peterpan,

you've seen a lot of crosstalk showing you the fact from basically two
different points of view, both were im my first post. Don't let some
harsh posts from some scb participants upset you. For some of them the
points I summarize below are so obvious that they are upset to find
somenone that ignores them.

First, don't walk after dark in any big city, unless you're looking
for trouble. It may be a valid advice even in your home town. Big
cities are, and have always been, a hideout for criminals because it's
the best place to be anonymous. Nighttime, again, is favourable to
such people. It seems you're kind of romantic and like to walk alone
at night, when everything looks different. But be realistic: it's not
wise to do it in big cities, dark and empty streets. That's what Kurko
meant whith "Actually these "thugs" should've removed you from the
genepool". The thugs were a lot wiser than you. They were exploring
"their" area as the spider inspects its net, and they are never alone.
You're very lucky. When I saw the list of cities where you walked by
at night I was astonished. For your information, I avoid Barata
Ribeiro (and many other places) at night, even by car.

Second, don't generalize, mainly when you're extending to a whole
country the impressions you've got from a big city at night. It's not
wise, again.

Brazil (and other countries as well) have thousands of fine places to
go and have big fun. Why do people insist in big cities, that look
almost the same all over the world. But if you really want to go,
don't forget the first paragraph.


(P E T E R P A N) wrote in message
m...
I walked many cities at night, including LA, San Francisco, New York,
Miami, London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala
Lumpur, Denpasar, Jakarta, Buenos Aires, Montevideo ... without any
problems!
It is the stupid, nasty *sshole like you and dumb thugs, thieves,
robbers and the savages, who would p*ss on sidewalks and someone else'
cars on the busy streets of Rio in broad day light, who should be
removed from the gene pool! Stupid, ignorant nasty trash like you are
a shame and a grave threat for all mankind!
As everyone can see, this nasty guy Kurko confirms that Brazil is a
very unsafe, lawless place, populated by a lot of dumb savages like
himself. Visitors to Brazil, Rio and Sao Paolo, have a very high
probability of getting robbed or beaten. Don't expect local people to
help when you need it!
Kurko wrote in message
...
Hello!
Excuse me, but by all means who is such a stupid **** to walk
during the night in any major
city in the world.
Actually these "thugs" should've removed you from the genepool.
Kurko
On 7 Mar 2004 18:10:33 -0800, P E T E R P A N
wrote:
Dear JohnM,

For one thing, the entire incident happened very quickly, in a
matter
of 1 or 2 minutes. I was in fear for my life and I did not have a
lot
of time or in position to think of all alternative courses of
actions.
I just acted instinctively. This was the first time I faced
potential
violence in some 30 years. I was never in more fear, even in
downtown
Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York City at night! The local
Brazilians all think I was very lucky to escape death or serious
injuries that night!

You could have suggested precautions or solutions, rather than
trying
to pick holes in my story, which just shows that you are not
sympathetic to a lone tourist in distress, but are probably siding
with the thugs, victimizing unsuspecting preys! I do not believe
you
have good, unselfish motivations in this case!

When the initial thug confronted me, I had walked past the café a
few
houses. The customers were sitting inside the cafe due to the
rain. I
was roughly past the Hotel Mirasol with its large glass front
across
the street. When I glanced other thugs running toward me from
other
corners, a vision of my lifeless body lying in a pool of blood was
very clear in my head! Instinctlively I felt back tracking
towards
the café would put me closer to the incoming thugs. I pulled the
first
thug out to the middle of the street, roughly in front of the
hotel
Mirasol, and screamed "HELP, HELP, HELP…" but there were no
response
from anyone, anywhere. In a matter of seconds, I decided that "
POLICIA …" may work better and immediately started bellowing. I
had
to make quick decisions and ran fast basically to save my own
life. I
saw running cars with head lights on Rebata Reveiro and I quickly
ran
towards them.

When I rethink the whole incident, the closest hotel would have
been
the Mirasol, which would have staff in the lobby. But I am not
sure
if they would bother to open their door to assist a tourist in
distress. The Copacabana Hotel Residencia was definitely not
interested in helping or taking any actions. The police also acted
very casually, as if they ran into these violent incidents many
times
everyday. Despite the warm personality of the policemen and their
willingness to help, I had reservations that they could be
effective
after dealing with them. I had my distrust then, and I declined
to
get into their patrol cars for the search or to return to the
hotel!

A number of people, presumably with more experience in Brazil,
have
since written me private emails suggesting I skip Brazil. I found,
through my own experience, some serious flaws of characters in the
Brazilian people in Rio, such as the couple guys I found the first
day
who would pee openly on the streets in broad day light, sometimes
on
someone else cars' doors, right on very busy streets like Rebata
Reveiro or Copacabana. Every street in Copacabana stinks of urine
and
fresh sewage! These are bad things that happened in the best parts
of
Rio, not in the favela, where the impoverished residents may
deserve
excuses for their uncivil actions. I also found some disturbingly
bad
attitudes among various young, old, educated and wealthy
Brazilians in
Rio, Sao Paolo etc… which I will write down when I have time.

My opinions of Brazil and her people, after much reviews of the
events, facts and rationalizations, to be honest, very low. I do
not
stand to gain or lose anything by posting my information and
opinions
on Brazil. I do it only to inform fellow travelers. I advised a
new
friend in Rio, a pretty girl from Spain, against walking in the
rain
at night in Rio which she felt was romantic! A number of people
emailed me suggesting not walking in Rio at all!

Your attitude helps convince me firmly that Brazil is not on top
of
the list of countries I want to visit!


JohnM wrote in message
...
In article , P E
T E R
P A N writes

-- snip snip --

I had gotten out of the internet store late at night and stopped
to
buy cigarettes at a small coffee shop next door, which still had
a
dozen people, customers and waiters. As I walked out of the
shop, I
stopped on the sidewalk to lit a cigarette. That was when this
dark,
scruffy guy, wearing a white shirt, came out of nowhere, talking
to me
in Portugeese. I thought he wanted a cigarette so I offered him
the
pack. He ignored my offer, kept talking firmly and
threateiningly in
Portugeeze, repeating the phrase "No problem...". I moved out to
the
street. He blocked my way, grabbing and holding my shirt firmly
with
both hands. I pulled away, he refused to let go. At the same
time,
out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a few other guys running
toward us
from the dark street corners. The street was dark, wet and
deserted.
Suddenly there was noone on the street but the thugs.

-- snip snip --

Erm, continuity problem there, as my editor might say. Was the
street
wet, dark and deserted, despite the coffee-shop you had just
walked out
of with its dozen people inside? Why didn't you just walk back in
if the
guy attacked you 'as you walked out'?





--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/

According to the articles I was able to pull out of the net on a quick
search, the organized crimes problems are far more serious in Brazil
than any big city in the world, with ambush and shoot outs of the
police, drug lords in prison ordering shut down of business, shcools,
banks, stores, shops, gas stations...in Rio, including the touristy
areas like Copacabana and Ipanema.

In this lawless situation, my feelings are that tourists have very
high probablity of being victims of violent crimes, or just caught in
the cross fires between the gangs with machine guns, grenades, and
police, compared to other cities.

By the way, the scenaries in Rio is much poorer than many places in
North America, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean...Rio is full of homeless,
undesirables people sleeping on the streets, watching tourists
intensely for the opportunities to commit crimes! Rio also reeks of
urine and feces on every street! In the scale of 0 to 10 on the fun
index, Rio is not even a 3 compared to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San
Francisco, the Hawaii islands, the US Virgin Islands...!

I will stay away from Rio, so Kurko can happily kiss the drug lords'
*sses, obey their harsh rules, and enjoy that hell hole by himself!

Everyone is urged to come to the US to enjoy beautiful, pristine and
peaceful sceneries every season, every climate, from high mountains,
to deserts, to wide open oceans, with excellent outdoor and indoor
sports and recreations, with safe, clean, lively cities, with the best
varieties of great foods, and the company of friendly, fun, warm,
honest, civilized, law-abiding Americans!


Kurko wrote in message ...
Simply because in normal daily life its next to impossible to encounter all
these
drug lords, thieves, muggers and murderes. In Rio more annoying are
beggars, shoeshiners and all kinds of sellers not to mention "samba bands".

Rio is very beautiful city (Cidade Maravilhosa), quite safe too for
tourists as long as you understand
and obey the "rule": Don't be stupid.

Kurko

On Fri, 12 Mar 2004 21:40:02 -0500, clint wrote:

After reading all the Rio posts, why with all the wonderful places to go,
would anyone travel to Rio?

Apparently V I E T T H I E T wrote:

These Italian citizens are permanent residents of West Palm Beach,
Florida, therefore they may be treated differently than residents of
Italy....

Why on earth would they travel on US documents, when their
Italian passports would let them go without visas?
Ridiculous.

They're probably about as Italian as your average New Yorker
[i.e. great-grandpa came over in 1897]

João Luiz wrote in message
z.tu-ilmenau.de...
P E T E R P A N schrieb:

I met some Italian tourists in Argentina who claimed they were charged
US$140 for the visa, which they promptly skipped! These Italian
tourists are wealthy and they could easily afford the visa fee. They
could easily spend US$3000 per person or more, 20 times the visa fees
on Brazilian products and services if they visit Brazil! However,
these Italians did not think highly of the Brazilian government by its
visa requirements, so they decide not to bother visiting Brazil.

Sorry to say, but this information is as false as it can be.
No citizen from the European Union needs a tourist visa for Brazil,
the same way no Brazilians need any tourist visa for any country
in the EU.

--
Ken Tough

clint wrote:

After reading all the Rio posts, why with all the wonderful places to go,
would anyone travel to Rio?

Because it makes a change from Habana? Viva Brasil!

--
Ken Tough

http://www.namibian.com.na/2002/june...2682E9E71.html

Thursday, June 13, 2002 - Web posted at 10:20:39 am GMT

Dead reporter unmasked Rio's macabre underworld

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, June 13 (Reuters) - The murder of a leading
Brazilian reporter who worked on a story about sex abuse and drugs in
a Rio de Janeiro slum shone a spotlight on the thin line dividing the
city's normal life from macabre underworld where drug gangs reign.


Answering accusations by reporter Tim Lopes' relatives that his
employer Globo television had failed to protect him, Globo editors
said Lopes was reporting in a public place, in a popular neighborhood,
and not on a clandestine event.

Indeed, hillside shantytowns that sprawl above the city's picturesque
skyline are home to hundreds of thousands of people who live in misery
but earn their bread honestly working as cleaning maids, waiters and
elevator boys in the city.

But dozens of gangs of gun-toting hoodlums who run the lucrative drug
and arms trade also operate in the slums.

Lopes, winner of the prestigious Esso prize for television journalists
last year for a report on an open-air drugs market, was this time
investigating a tip-off from residents of a slum about drugs and sex
abuse during wild dance parties.

Lopes, 51, had entered the Cruzeiro slum four times, twice reporting
with a hidden camera.

On June 9, a week after Lopes went missing, Rio police said a drug
lord known as Elias "the Mad" had tortured him and then shot him to
death.

Police arrested four suspects on Sunday and received the evidence from
them. Elias, who received his nickname for his extremely violent
methods, is at large.

Charred fragments and traces of blood were found in a cave near the
slum last week.

RISKY ASSIGNMENTS

Lopes' brother-in-law Andre Martins accused Globo of sending Lopes to
risky assignments and failing to protect him.

"He risked a lot, but he always acted on Globo's consent, fulfilling
its orders. It's the channel that has to evaluate risks, not the
reporter," Martins, in tears, told Reuters.

Workers Party parliamentary deputy Carlos Minc said some 700,000
people among Rio's 8 million live in slums run by drug gangs "in a
land without a state."

"They have the law of silence, curfew and have to produce foot
soldiers for gang wars," he said. "It's a return to barbarian times."

Drug gangs often outnumber and outgun the police force, and police are
accused of being on the bandits' payroll.

"The important thing is that residents were looking for help in the
media and not public authorities ... and it seems that we now cannot
do our work anymore," said Francisco Otavio, a colleague of Lopes who
also reports on crime.

"There used to be certain respect for journalists up the hill (in the
slums) that allowed peaceful coexistence, but now we run the risk of
turning into a Medellin," Otavio said, referring to the crime-ridden
Colombian city notorious for being the base of a drug cartel.

Lopes' murder was the first killing of a journalist from a nationwide
media outlet by drug gangs in Brazil, and prompted expressions of
indignation and concern by local and international media
organizations.

KILLINGS AND DANCE PARTIES

DNA tests of the remains and blood will be ready this week, police
said, but evidence points that it was Lopes' body been burnt in the
cave after he was shot, police said.

Detective Sergio Falante said the cave served as the venue for
killings in which victims' bodies are squeezed into several car tires
filled with gasoline and set on fire.

"Bandits call it a microwave and use it quite a lot with their
enemies," he said. "It was hard to tell whether we were dealing with
human remains before we found teeth in the mess."

Congressman Minc likened the method to those in Nazi death camps.
"Those who stand up against crime are being burnt in the oven, like in
Auschwitz," he said.

At the same time, police said on Wednesday they had found another body
in a clandestine slum cemetery and they were checking if that could be
Lopes.

Globo said Lopes was investigating a tip-off from slum residents that
drug gangs were hosting wild dance parties, known as "bailes funk," at
which drugs and sex flowed freely to lure new clients from the city
below.

"It seems they organized some kind of an erotic show in which they
offered young girls from the favela," Otavio said.

Bailes features loud music similar to rap, sometimes with songs that
call for killing informants or police, and youths staging mano-a-mano
fights to its beat.

WORKING ON THE EDGE

Lopes' colleagues and police said the journalist must have had an
agreement with the drug lords in order to simply enter the slum.
Strangers are not allowed in, and it is not uncommon for trespassers
to never return from a slum.

"You have to protect yourself by a treaty with the slum lords, but I
imagine filming with a microcamera wasn't part of any treaty," Otavio
said. "Tim always worked on the edge."

Just as in the case of the drugs market, Lopes, who was married and
had a son from a previous marriage, took a spy camera that can be
hidden in clothes on his latest assignment, his colleagues said.

"I'm sure bandits marked him to die since his program about the drug
market, which brought serious damage to them," said Falante, adding
that the slum where the first story was filmed and Cruzeiro were run
by allied gangs.

The Association of Brazilian Newspapers said Lopes' death would not
stop investigative reporters from doing their jobs.

"We declare that this tragedy will not stop us. As a tribute to our
slain colleague and to all Brazilian journalists, we reiterate the
commitment to truth that is our very reason for being," it said in a
statement. Nampa-Reuters





"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://www.colombiajournal.org/colombia122.htm

July 15, 2002

Brazil's Escalating Role in the Drug War

by Ronald J. Morgan

Brazil began bolstering its border security almost as soon as Plan
Colombia surfaced in 1999. After three years of military expansion,
the Brazil-Colombia border is bristling with new installations. Among
them is a new air force base, a naval base, and a set of border
platoons stretching from Tabatinga through an area known as the Dog´s
Head, where Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil meet. A new jungle brigade
based in the Amazon city of Tefe provides support for the 2,500 troops
stationed along the 1,000-mile border. These ground forces are
supplemented with naval and marine units as well as aircraft at the
new Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira airbase.

The Brazilian military has also been busy putting in new roads,
bridges, schools, health clinics, water wells and riverboat docks
throughout the heavily indigenous area with a population of some
100,000. The Brazilian buildup, part of a revamped older border
development program know as Calha Norte, includes $14.5 million in
military security spending and $10.5 million in social development,
most of it spent in the Colombian border region.

The government has also dispatched to the border a 200-man federal
police task force known as Operation Cobra to further bolster security
and fight drug trafficking. Brazil says its programs are preventive
medicine aimed at protecting the Amazon and that most activities are
directed at controlling drug trafficking, stopping illegal logging,
and clearing out poaching gold miners.

As early as 1996, Brazil and the Raytheon Corporation began
constructing a $1.4 billion radar system called System for Amazon
Surveillance (SIVAM). Announced with much fanfare at the 1992 Rio
Earth Conference, the project is about 70 percent complete and will be
inaugurated in Manaus on July 25. This system uses radar stations, air
reconnaissance and some satellite support to monitor air traffic,
maritime movement, border activity, and intercept communications of
all types. SIVAM will also keep track of weather patterns and land
use, while making rural telecommunications in the Amazon more
efficient.

While originally designed to save the Amazon rainforest from various
types of abuse, it is expected that its Manta FOL-type reconnaissance
abilities will also be used to stop drug pilots from entering Brazil
and provide timely information to border units. The Brazilian air
force estimates that some 200 planes flew into Brazil illegally in
2001 and is calling for the government to issue a shoot down
regulation similar to the type in place in Colombia and Peru. Last
year, the U.S.-Peruvian program resulted in the accidental shooting
down of a missionary plane.

Brazil stressed that it was not interested in becoming part of the
U.S.-backed Plan Colombia when the border buildup began. In October
2000, Admiral Hector Blecker, Brazil's assistant chief of
intelligence, told the Brazilian congress that while it was obvious
the probable impact of Plan Colombia would require Brazil undertake
police, environmental and social action programs in the border area,
"the idea of a multinational military operation in the Brazilian
Amazon is unacceptable."

During the congressional hearings it was stressed that the
environmental impact to the Brazilian Amazon from Colombian aerial
spraying, and the possible use of a mycoherbicide could destroy
legitimate crop production along Brazil's jungle rivers. Blecker is
concerned that "chemical agents such as glyphosate and biological
agents such as fusarium oxysporum in the Putumayo and Caquetá rivers
will flow into the Ica and Japura rivers respectively."

But just as the United States originally claimed that Plan Colombia
would confine itself to fighting drug trafficking but is now expanding
to include counterinsurgency operations, Brazil role in the war on
drugs has also experienced mission creep. Recent air, land, and sea
maneuvers along the Brazil-Colombia border involving 4,000 men sent a
clear signal that Brazil intends to use force to keep guerrillas and
drug traffickers out of its territory.

United States involvement on the Brazilian side of the border is also
ratcheting up. In September 2001, Brazil signed a bilateral letter of
agreement with the United States for counternarcotics activities that
call for mutual cooperation and U.S. aid for Operation Cobra and other
counter drug trafficking operations. The agreement also pumps funds
into the newly created National Secretariat for Public Security, which
has unified control over Brazil's Federal and local police forces.

Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, while still officially
claiming that Brazil is not involved in Plan Colombia, strongly
endorsed Colombian President Andrés Pastrana's decision earlier this
year to terminate the demilitarized zone granted to the rebel
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Cardoso also called the
election of Alvaro Uribe in May a "clear example of the vigor of
democratic ideas in South America."

Despite Brazilian contentions to the contrary, South America's biggest
and most prosperous country is slipping deeper into the drug war and
the Colombian Conflict. In March, Brazilian military officers visited
the Pentagon where they exchanged views with U.S. officers and gave
presentations on Brazil's border security and development program.

On a recent visit to Brazil, Otto Reich, assistant secretary of state
for the Western Hemisphere, expressed Washington's desire for
internationalizing intervention in Colombia's conflict, "We think that
the threat to Colombia's democracy is a common threat not just to the
United States and Brazil, but to the whole Hemisphere. And, if
countries are worried about the spillover effect of, say, 'Plan
Colombia', they should be even more worried about the effect of not
stopping the terrorists and the narcotics traffickers inside Colombian
borders."

Operation Cobra is also growing in scope and sophistication. In
December, Brazil opened a regional intelligence center at Tabatinga
whose mission is to sort through intelligence on border activities,
which it will then share with Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and the United
States. Additionally, Brazil has completed work on seven new police
installations along the border stretching from Tabatinga to Vila
Bittencourt.

Brazil has both shed blood and suffered casualties along the Colombian
border. In February Brazilian troops attacked a boat with suspected
FARC guerrillas, killing six persons near Apoporis. The same month a
Brazilian soldier disappeared under unclear circumstances. In March,
197 indigenous persons of the Maku nation sought refuge at Vila
Bittencourt charging that the FARC had threatened them. During
maneuvers in May, Brazilian soldiers suffered two casualties--one
wounding of a soldier outside Tabatinga apparently involved
Colombians, while another soldier disappeared along the Rio Negro.

Colonel Roberto de Paula Avelino, who manages Calha Norte from a
campus-like building in Brasilia, downplays the incidents, claiming
the border area is fairly quiet despite the FARC presence on the
Colombian side. He also believes that a major incursion by uniformed
FARC guerrillas is unlikely, "I don´t think the FARC is interested in
making a new enemy."

De Paula Avelino's analysis stands in sharp contrast to recent
statements about Colombia's illegal armed groups made by Reich, "If
these people work to ever gain control over larger parts of Colombian
territory, I think there is no doubt that they would take their
business, which is narcotics and terrorism, to other countries. I
don't think they are only interested in taking control by force of
Colombia. I don't think they know any borders. Terrorists sans
frontiers, to coin a phrase."

Not surprisingly, the FARC disagrees with Reich's analysis. Oliverio
Medna, the FARC International Committee representative in Brasilia,
said FARC commanders have been ordered to keep their troops out of
neighboring countries. "We are hoping for reciprocity from the
neighboring governments. Reciprocity in what sense? If we don´t cause
problems in the territories of the neighboring countries, that their
governments will abstain from intervening and getting mixed up in the
internal affairs of Colombia. We are not a problem for any state other
than Colombia."

Medna claims that talk of FARC border incursions is part of a policy
aimed at discrediting the rebel group, "If a tree falls in the
Ecuadorian jungle, they says its the FARC's fault. If in Peru a cow
shows up dead in the morning, it's the FARC. Our plans do not include
intervention in the territory of any country."

Alcides Costa Vaz, an international relations professor at the
University of Brazil, says Colombia is not a hot political issue in
Brazil, "Issues of national security have ranked very low on the
domestic political agenda. There is not a very strong position in
public opinion. The last few years economic issues have ranked very
high." He went on to stress that, "So far Brazil has resisted the idea
of having a active role," but if Colombia asks for regional alliances
and cooperation, Costa Vaz believes Brazil will probably cooperate.

Whatever the semantics, Brazil is involved in the Colombian conflict
through the sharing of intelligence and an escalation of military and
police activities inside Brazil aimed at stopping drug and arms
trafficking and preventing a spillover of the violence. This is likely
to continue even if the leftist Workers Party candidate Luiz Ignacio
Lula da Silva wins the fall elections for the presidency.

Workers Party Senator Tião Viana, who represents the Amazon state of
Acre, said the party opposes U.S. bases and U.S. troops in Brazil but
supports exchange of intelligence, training, and cooperation in
operations as long as Brazilians execute them. "In the Brazilian
Amazon there's a clandestine infiltration of groups from Bolivia, Peru
and Colombia involved in drug trafficking and clandestine wood
extraction," Viana said. "The Amazon is very unprotected. There's a
need for troops and intelligence operations."

The Cobra Program is a natural for U.S. involvement, and cooperation
between the two countries began to increase last year when DEA agents
toured Brazil's Amazon operations. Brazilian Federal Police and the
DEA also cooperated in the arrest in Colombia of Brazilian drug lord
Luis Fernando da Costa, know as Fernando Beira-Mar (Seaside Freddy)
and the bust a few months later of his top lieutenant Leomar Olviera
Barbosa in Paraguay.

According to recent congressional testimony by DEA chief Asa
Hutchinson, DEA agents in Colombia and Brazil are currently working to
capture of Tomas Molina Caracas of the 16th Front of the FARC. The DEA
is also fielding special teams of DEA and Brazilian police to
investigate money laundering. It has been estimated that as much as 25
percent of Colombian drug money may be hidden in Brazilian accounts.

Enticing Brazil into greater cooperation may be the increased
availability of funds for equipment, training, operations and
development projects, and a decade-long growth in domestic drug use
and drug-related violence. The Bush administration's Andean Regional
Initiative calls for Brazil to receive $6 million in counterdrug
assistance and $12.6 million in social development funds this year,
while a 2003 Bush administration request calls for another $12 million
in counternarcotics funds.

Recently, the presidents of Brazil, Peru and Ecuador joined together
to request $1.3 billion from the Inter-American Development Bank for
use in border social programs aimed at dealing with the spillover from
Plan Colombia. President Cardoso raised the fight against drugs to
front burner status in a national speech June 19 when he compared it
to the country's earlier struggle against hyperinflation. At the same
time the government released a study estimating that there were 1.7
million cocaine addicts in Brazil.

Both increased domestic consumption and the creation of cocaine
processing centers in Brazil are seen as potentially undermining U.S.
drug war efforts. Brazilian traffickers are building a niche for
themselves in designer drugs, while the nation's large chemical
industry provides an opportunity to obtain drug-processing chemicals.

Drug traffickers are active and powerful throughout the country. A
2001 Congressional inquiry into drug trafficking and impunity called
for the indictment of 800 persons, among them politicians and police.

Fearful that Brazil could rival the U.S. and Europe as a drug market,
the United States has been tinkering with Brazil's drug policies. It
has jointly designed with Brazil a new series of drug courts and it
finances a U.S.-style DARE school drug prevention program. It is also
backing a study of Brazilian attitudes toward drug use.

Drugs are seen as the fuel for the country's tremendous criminal
violence problem and increase in youth murders. In Rio de Janeiro some
10,000 persons are alleged to be active in local drug distribution and
street sales. According to a study by the International Labor
Organization, many of the persons involved are children. "What you
find is that since 1995 more children have taken up drug trafficking.
They start as young as eight years old," said Pedro Americo F.
Oliveira, head of the ILO Child Labor section in Brazil. "They come
from the poorest of the poor. They are one-parent families. The parent
works and the child doesn't go to school." What is the average life
expectancy for a child drug dealer? One year, says Oliveira.

According to a recent Human Rights Watch report the situation is
exacerbated by the regular use of torture and murder by the Brazilian
police forces. The gruesome killing of Brazilian Investigative
Journalist Tim Lopez by a drug trafficking gang has sparked a police
crackdown in the Rio de Janeiro favelas that may prove to be a
prototype for harsh action to come. A combined task force launched by
the federal government includes military intelligence units and the
use of combined federal and local police squads. Some people are
advocating military occupation of many of Brazil's troubled urban
areas.

The rapid escalation of the drug war in the last year by the Cardoso
administration runs the risk of exacerbating tinder box social
conditions. Costa Vaz warns that over-militarization of the drug war,
especially in poor neighborhoods, will backfire unless enforcement
programs are designed carefully. "We have a very sensitive and
dangerous domestic situation. What is going on in Rio right now is
generating a situation of social conflict. The door to civil war will
open if you bring in the military. We will not solve Colombia's
problems, we will probably reproduce them."

Ronald J. Morgan is a freelance writer who focuses on Latin America.

This article originally appeared in Colombia Report, an online journal
that was published by the Information Network of the Americas (INOTA).



"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getawa...99/dngr28.html

January 28, 1999
List names most dangerous stops for business travelers

POST-INTELLIGENCER NEWS SERVICES

Air Security International, a 10-year-old Houston company that
provides security services for traveling executives, has issued a list
of what it considered last year to be the most dangerous
business-travel destinations in the world.

The company's listing of travel dangers is largely based on the
detailed reports of paid agents -- including employees of airports and
international corporations, and owners of overseas businesses --
working in the field.

The dangerous destinations are divided into four risk categories:
crime, kidnapping, political violence and wars or insurgencies.

The only destination to appear in all four categories is Colombia.

That country is cited as the one with the most kidnappings, as home to
"the longest insurgency in the Western Hemisphere," and for its high
crime rate exacerbated by the cocaine trade, as well as bombings,
assassinations, guerrilla insurgencies and power struggles among drug
lords, politicians, judges and the military.

The 10 places cited for their dangerously high crime rate are
Johannesburg ("carjackings, robberies and assaults continue
unabated"), Mexico City (corrupt police and "taxi-related crime"),
Tijuana ("getting a reputation as the next Medellin"), Sao Paulo, Rio
de Janeiro, Papua New Guinea (gangs armed with high-powered rifles,
machetes, even grenade launchers), Kazakhstan ("corrupt officials and
police impostors continue to target foreigners"), Lagos (pickpocketing
to armed robbery and murder), Moscow and Colombia.

The company found a heightened threat of kidnapping in five places.
Besides Colombia, they were the Caucasus region of Russia ("extremely
common"), Mexico ("rings operate throughout the country"), the
Philippines (where it's on the decline, but still prevalent) and Yemen
(tribesmen seeking government concessions use foreigners as bargaining
chips).

The political-violence category cites Bangladesh, where labor strife
has been known to turn violent; Indonesia, where violence between
security forces and demonstrators still flares on occasion; Pakistan,
where "more than 4,000 people have died in ethnic, sectarian and
political violence in Karachi since 1995" and, yes, Colombia.




"B H" wrote in message ...
I think PETER PAN refers to my posting about crime/pickpocket aviodance
guide in a thread
further down here (rec.travel.latin-america).
I was the one who experienced the problem with the self-appointed parking
attendant.
I think there are at least two kinds of parking attendants. Official ones (I
think I have heard
that they have som kind of cloth or id to be sure they are official) and
self-appointed ones.
The one I met certainly looked highly unofficial to say the least. But from
there to say that
he is into some organised crime and mafia is taking it a bit far (but of
course I do not know that).
Can anyone shed some light on the facts here? Are there official and
self-appointed parking
attendants, or just official ones in Rio? I think I know the answer, but
would like a more
qualified statement than my own here.

Borge

"Kurko" wrote in message
news
3. In 3rd world countries there are JOBS like parking attendants. These
guys have
actually licence to operate as such (atleast in Rio they do). There is no
MAFIA involved here, just some people trying to get their livelihood with
honest way (read
not robbing the tourists).