A new issue of Vibrant – Virtual Brazilian Anthropology, the on-line journal of the Brazilian Anthropological Association is now available. It contains a dossier entitled “Cultural heritage and museums” edited by Antonio Arantes and Antonio Motta, as well as other articles and reviews. http://www.vibrant.org.br
Novos Debates is the new publication organized by the Brazilian Association of Anthropology. This is an online forum aimed at Anthropology students, but also open to contributions from professionals and professors. The publication is a space of wide dissemination and critical reflection on contemporary anthropological production through alternative models of debates and contributions. Novos Debates is the creation of a dynamic space for dialogue and opinions necessary for the formation of new generations of anthropologists. Check the website: http://novosdebates.abant.org.br/
The Brazilian Association of Anthropology took part in the Public Hearing “Defending the human rights of immigrants in São Paulo”, which discussed the need for public safety policies and to combat discrimination of immigrants, taking into account the growing number of immigrants who are victims of violence. The event gathered immigrants of various nationalities, representatives of human rights organizations, the consul General of Peru and Ecuador in Sao Paulo, representatives of the Federal Police, among others. The participants of the Public Hearing highlighted the difficulties faced by immigrants to regularize documentation, lack of policing and the high number of deaths in the neighborhoods that concentrate immigrant population, as well as discrimination and xenophobia against Latinos and African immigrants by the police. Among several claims, the creation of a Specialized Police Services to Immigrants was proposed by the State Government of São Paulo. In addition, the State Representative Marcus Aurelius proposed to submit a Motion to Congress which asks for the right of immigrant political participation (voting and being voted in Brazilian elections).
The Brazilian Association of Anthropology (ABA) released a public statement which requests the suspension of bidding of the Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP), which offer 240 new blocks for exploration and production of oil and gas. This exploitation endangers the environment and people who inhabit these regions, including indigenous peoples of the basins of Acre Madre de Dios, Paraná, Parnaíba and Parecis. The technology is to be used in exploration has been considered as very high risk for environmental and scientific institutions, which can cause contamination of aquifers and waterways. ABA believes that the auction should be suspended, and more studies on the properties of the deposits and the conditions of their exploitation and the environmental impacts must be carried out.
The Seminar on Indigenous Higher Education in Brazil – Balance a decade and subsidies for the future was held on 25 and 26 November in Brasilia. The President of the Brazilian Association of Anthropology, Carmen Rial, represented the Association at the Opening Ceremony. The meeting was organized by the LACED (Laboratory of Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Development) of the National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Ministry of Education, in partnership with ABA, and the support of the Ford Foundation, CNPq and FAPERJ (Brazilian institutions of scientific support). During the event, there were round tables and working groups on the policies and access for indigenous people in undergraduate and graduate courses in Brazilian Universities. The participants analyzed the challenges, successful initiatives, strategies of access and governmental programmes.
As a result of the National Seminar “The rights of Quilombos and the duty of the Brazilian State: analysis of 25 years of the Constitution of 1988”, held in Vitoria, Brazil, the Quilombo Committee is launching a National Campaign for Land Regularization of Quilombos. Quilombos are areas which once sheltered fugitive African slaves in Brazil. The Quilombolas, people who are remnants of Quilombos, have been struggling for the ownership of these lands for decades. According to the committee, technical decisions and policies of the Brazilian government agencies are hampering the completion of procedures for land titling of Quilombos in Brazil. These decisions violate international laws, the Brazilian Constitution and the human rights, which guarantee the ownership and security of the territories, education, health, food security, among others.
A Hot Spot series, written by anthropologists, activists, and writers across several generations, aim to understand the rallies and protests occurred in major cities in Brazil in
June and July, 2013, which started as a protest over an increase in bus fares. The series contains essays that discuss Brazilian society, and reflect on democracy, transportation, violence, the role of police, social networks and provide an analysis of the demands made by Brazilian civil society.
According to the editors Alex S. Dent and Rosana Pinheiro-Machado, the authors are aware that they are opening up new questions not only in the anthropology of Brazil and/or Brazilian anthropology, but also in the understanding of social movements, mediation, and policing writ large. http://www.culanth.org/fieldsights/426-protesting-democracy-in-brazil