

Currently released so far... 12478 / 251,287
Browse latest releases
2010/12/01
2010/12/02
2010/12/03
2010/12/04
2010/12/05
2010/12/06
2010/12/07
2010/12/08
2010/12/09
2010/12/10
2010/12/11
2010/12/12
2010/12/13
2010/12/14
2010/12/15
2010/12/16
2010/12/17
2010/12/18
2010/12/19
2010/12/20
2010/12/21
2010/12/22
2010/12/23
2010/12/24
2010/12/25
2010/12/26
2010/12/27
2010/12/28
2010/12/29
2010/12/30
2011/01/01
2011/01/02
2011/01/04
2011/01/05
2011/01/07
2011/01/09
2011/01/10
2011/01/11
2011/01/12
2011/01/13
2011/01/14
2011/01/15
2011/01/16
2011/01/17
2011/01/18
2011/01/19
2011/01/20
2011/01/21
2011/01/22
2011/01/23
2011/01/24
2011/01/25
2011/01/26
2011/01/27
2011/01/28
2011/01/29
2011/01/30
2011/01/31
2011/02/01
2011/02/02
2011/02/03
2011/02/04
2011/02/05
2011/02/06
2011/02/07
2011/02/08
2011/02/09
2011/02/10
2011/02/11
2011/02/12
2011/02/13
2011/02/14
2011/02/15
2011/02/16
2011/02/17
2011/02/18
2011/02/19
2011/02/20
2011/02/21
2011/02/22
2011/02/23
2011/02/24
2011/02/25
2011/02/26
2011/02/27
2011/02/28
2011/03/01
2011/03/02
2011/03/03
2011/03/04
2011/03/05
2011/03/06
2011/03/07
2011/03/08
2011/03/09
2011/03/10
2011/03/11
2011/03/13
2011/03/14
2011/03/15
2011/03/16
2011/03/17
2011/03/18
2011/03/19
2011/03/20
2011/03/21
2011/03/22
2011/03/23
2011/03/24
2011/03/25
2011/03/26
2011/03/27
2011/03/28
2011/03/29
2011/03/30
2011/03/31
2011/04/01
2011/04/02
2011/04/03
2011/04/04
2011/04/05
2011/04/06
2011/04/07
2011/04/08
2011/04/09
2011/04/10
2011/04/11
2011/04/12
2011/04/13
2011/04/14
2011/04/15
2011/04/16
2011/04/17
2011/04/18
2011/04/19
2011/04/20
2011/04/21
2011/04/22
2011/04/23
2011/04/24
2011/04/25
2011/04/26
2011/04/27
2011/04/28
2011/04/29
2011/04/30
Browse by creation date
Browse by origin
Embassy Athens
Embassy Asuncion
Embassy Astana
Embassy Asmara
Embassy Ashgabat
Embassy Apia
Embassy Ankara
Embassy Amman
Embassy Algiers
Embassy Addis Ababa
Embassy Accra
Embassy Abuja
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Embassy Abidjan
Consulate Auckland
Consulate Amsterdam
Consulate Adana
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Embassy Bujumbura
Embassy Buenos Aires
Embassy Budapest
Embassy Bucharest
Embassy Brussels
Embassy Bridgetown
Embassy Bratislava
Embassy Brasilia
Embassy Bogota
Embassy Bishkek
Embassy Bern
Embassy Berlin
Embassy Belmopan
Embassy Belgrade
Embassy Beirut
Embassy Beijing
Embassy Banjul
Embassy Bangkok
Embassy Bandar Seri Begawan
Embassy Bamako
Embassy Baku
Embassy Baghdad
Consulate Barcelona
Embassy Copenhagen
Embassy Conakry
Embassy Colombo
Embassy Chisinau
Embassy Caracas
Embassy Canberra
Embassy Cairo
Consulate Curacao
Consulate Ciudad Juarez
Consulate Chennai
Consulate Casablanca
Consulate Cape Town
Consulate Calgary
Embassy Dushanbe
Embassy Dublin
Embassy Doha
Embassy Djibouti
Embassy Dili
Embassy Dhaka
Embassy Dar Es Salaam
Embassy Damascus
Embassy Dakar
Consulate Dubai
Embassy Helsinki
Embassy Harare
Embassy Hanoi
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Consulate Hermosillo
Consulate Hamilton
Consulate Hamburg
Consulate Halifax
Embassy Kyiv
Embassy Kuwait
Embassy Kuala Lumpur
Embassy Kinshasa
Embassy Kingston
Embassy Kigali
Embassy Khartoum
Embassy Kathmandu
Embassy Kampala
Embassy Kabul
Consulate Kolkata
Embassy Luxembourg
Embassy Luanda
Embassy London
Embassy Ljubljana
Embassy Lisbon
Embassy Lima
Embassy Lilongwe
Embassy La Paz
Consulate Lahore
Consulate Lagos
Mission USOSCE
Mission USNATO
Mission UNESCO
Embassy Muscat
Embassy Moscow
Embassy Montevideo
Embassy Monrovia
Embassy Minsk
Embassy Mexico
Embassy Mbabane
Embassy Maputo
Embassy Manila
Embassy Manama
Embassy Managua
Embassy Malabo
Embassy Madrid
Consulate Munich
Consulate Mumbai
Consulate Montreal
Consulate Monterrey
Consulate Milan
Consulate Melbourne
Embassy Nicosia
Embassy Niamey
Embassy New Delhi
Embassy Ndjamena
Embassy Nassau
Embassy Nairobi
Consulate Naples
Consulate Naha
Embassy Pristina
Embassy Pretoria
Embassy Prague
Embassy Port Of Spain
Embassy Port Louis
Embassy Port Au Prince
Embassy Phnom Penh
Embassy Paris
Embassy Paramaribo
Embassy Panama
Consulate Peshawar
REO Basrah
Embassy Rome
Embassy Riyadh
Embassy Riga
Embassy Reykjavik
Embassy Rangoon
Embassy Rabat
Consulate Rio De Janeiro
Consulate Recife
Secretary of State
Embassy Suva
Embassy Stockholm
Embassy Sofia
Embassy Skopje
Embassy Singapore
Embassy Seoul
Embassy Sarajevo
Embassy Santo Domingo
Embassy Santiago
Embassy Sanaa
Embassy San Salvador
Embassy San Jose
Consulate Strasbourg
Consulate St Petersburg
Consulate Shenyang
Consulate Shanghai
Consulate Sapporo
Consulate Sao Paulo
Embassy Tunis
Embassy Tripoli
Embassy Tokyo
Embassy The Hague
Embassy Tel Aviv
Embassy Tehran
Embassy Tegucigalpa
Embassy Tbilisi
Embassy Tashkent
Embassy Tallinn
Consulate Toronto
Consulate Tijuana
USUN New York
USEU Brussels
US Office Almaty
US Mission Geneva
US Interests Section Havana
US Delegation, Secretary
UNVIE
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Embassy Vilnius
Embassy Vienna
Embassy Vatican
Embassy Valletta
Consulate Vladivostok
Consulate Vancouver
Browse by tag
AU
ASEC
AE
AF
AORC
AEMR
AMGT
ABUD
AFFAIRS
APER
AS
AMED
AY
AG
AR
AJ
AL
AID
AM
AODE
ABLD
AMG
AFIN
ATRN
AGAO
AFU
AN
AA
ALOW
APECO
ADM
ARF
ASEAN
APEC
AMBASSADOR
AO
ASUP
AZ
AADP
ACOA
ANET
AMCHAMS
ACABQ
ASECKFRDCVISKIRFPHUMSMIGEG
APCS
AGMT
AINF
AIT
AORL
ACS
AFSI
AFSN
ACBAQ
AFGHANISTAN
ADANA
ADPM
AX
ADCO
AECL
AMEX
ACAO
ASCH
AORG
AGR
AROC
ASIG
AND
ARM
AQ
ATFN
AC
AUC
ASEX
AER
AVERY
AGRICULTURE
BL
BR
BO
BA
BD
BM
BK
BG
BU
BB
BH
BTIO
BY
BEXP
BP
BE
BRUSSELS
BF
BIDEN
BT
BX
BC
BILAT
BN
BBSR
BTIU
BWC
BMGT
CA
CASC
CVIS
CM
CH
CO
CU
CD
CWC
CI
CS
CY
CMGT
CF
CG
CR
CB
CV
CW
CE
CBW
CT
CPAS
COUNTERTERRORISM
CJAN
CODEL
CIDA
CDG
CDC
CIA
CTR
CNARC
CSW
CN
CONS
CLINTON
COE
CROS
CARICOM
CONDOLEEZZA
COUNTER
CL
COM
CICTE
CIS
CFED
COUNTRY
CJUS
CBSA
CEUDA
CLMT
CAC
COPUOS
CIC
CBE
CHR
CTM
CVR
CITEL
CLEARANCE
CACS
CAN
CITT
CARSON
CACM
CDB
CAPC
CKGR
CBC
EC
EG
EPET
ECON
ETRD
EFIN
EIND
EMIN
ENRG
EAID
EAGR
EUN
ETTC
EAIR
ENIV
ES
EU
EINV
ELAB
ECIN
EFIS
ELTN
EWWT
ECPS
ECONOMIC
ENGR
EN
EINT
EPA
ELN
ESA
EZ
ER
ET
EFTA
EINVECONSENVCSJA
EUMEM
ETRA
EXTERNAL
EI
EUR
EK
ERNG
ENGY
ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS
ENERG
EINVEFIN
ENVR
ECA
ELECTIONS
ETC
EUREM
ENNP
EFINECONCS
EURN
ECINECONCS
EEPET
EXIM
ERD
ENVI
ETRC
ETRDEINVTINTCS
ETRO
EDU
ETRN
EAIG
ECONCS
ECONOMICS
EAP
ECONOMY
EINN
EIAR
EXBS
ECUN
EINDETRD
EREL
EUC
ESENV
ECONEFIN
ECIP
EFIM
EAIDS
ETRDECONWTOCS
EUNCH
EINVETC
IZ
IT
IR
IS
IN
IC
IAEA
IO
ICAO
IWC
ID
IV
ISRAEL
IAHRC
IQ
ICTR
IMF
IRS
IDP
IGAD
ICRC
ICTY
IMO
IL
INRA
INRO
ICJ
ITU
IBRD
INMARSAT
IIP
ITALY
IEFIN
IACI
ILO
INTELSAT
ILC
ITRA
IDA
INRB
IRC
INTERPOL
IA
IPR
IRAQI
ISRAELI
INTERNAL
ISLAMISTS
INDO
ITPHUM
ITPGOV
ITALIAN
IBET
INR
IEA
IZPREL
IRAJ
ITF
IF
KDEM
KU
KPAL
KNNP
KCRM
KZ
KN
KS
KJUS
KTFN
KSCA
KV
KISL
KPAO
KPKO
KIRF
KTIA
KIPR
KFLO
KFRD
KTIP
KAWC
KSUM
KCOM
KAID
KE
KTDB
KMDR
KOMC
KWBG
KDRG
KVPR
KTEX
KGIC
KWMN
KSCI
KCOR
KACT
KDDG
KHLS
KSAF
KFLU
KSEO
KMRS
KSPR
KOLY
KSEP
KVIR
KGHG
KIRC
KUNR
KIFR
KCIP
KMCA
KMPI
KBCT
KHSA
KICC
KIDE
KCRS
KMFO
KRVC
KRGY
KR
KAWK
KG
KFIN
KHIV
KBIO
KOCI
KBTR
KNEI
KPOA
KCFE
KPLS
KSTC
KHDP
KPRP
KCRCM
KLIG
KCFC
KTER
KREC
KTBT
KPRV
KSTH
KRIM
KRAD
KWAC
KWMM
KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KOMS
KX
KMIG
KRCM
KVRP
KBTS
KPAONZ
KNUC
KNAR
KPWR
KNPP
KDEMAF
KNUP
KNNPMNUC
KERG
KGIT
KPAI
KTLA
KFSC
KCSY
KSAC
KTRD
KID
KOM
KMOC
KJUST
KGCC
KREL
KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG
KFTFN
KO
KNSD
KHUM
KSEC
KCMR
KCHG
KICA
KPIN
KESS
KDEV
KCGC
KWWMN
KPAK
KWNM
KWMNCS
KRFD
MOPS
MCAP
MPOS
MARR
MO
MNUC
MX
MASS
MG
MY
MU
ML
MR
MILITARY
MTCRE
MT
MEPP
MA
MDC
MP
MAR
MASSMNUC
MARAD
MAPP
MZ
MD
MI
MEETINGS
MK
MCC
MEPN
MRCRE
MAS
MIL
MASC
MC
MV
MTCR
MIK
MUCN
MEDIA
MERCOSUR
MW
MOPPS
MTS
MLS
MILI
MTRE
MEPI
MQADHAFI
MAPS
NO
NATO
NL
NP
NZ
NSF
NI
NH
NG
NAFTA
NU
NASA
NR
NATOPREL
NSSP
NSG
NA
NT
NW
NK
NPT
NPA
NATIONAL
NPG
NSFO
NS
NSC
NE
NGO
NDP
NIPP
NRR
NEW
NZUS
NC
NAR
NV
NORAD
OTRA
OPCW
OVIP
OAS
OREP
OPIC
OIIP
OPRC
ODIP
OEXC
OPDC
OSCE
OIC
OSCI
OECD
OFDP
OFDA
OMIG
OPAD
OFFICIALS
OVP
OIE
OHUM
OCS
OBSP
OTR
OSAC
ON
OCII
OES
PGOV
PREL
PHUM
PTER
PINS
PINR
PREF
PK
PROP
PA
PARM
PBTS
PMAR
PM
PGIV
PE
PRAM
PHUH
PHSA
PL
PNAT
PO
PLN
PAO
PSA
PHUMPGOV
PF
PEL
PBIO
POLITICS
PHUMBA
PAS
POL
PREO
PAHO
PMIL
POGOV
POV
PAK
PNR
PRL
PG
PREFA
PSI
PINL
PU
PARMS
PRGOV
PALESTINIAN
PAIGH
POLITICAL
PARTIES
POSTS
PROG
PORG
PTBS
PUNE
POLICY
PDOV
PCI
PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA
PBT
PP
PS
PY
PTERE
PGOF
PKFK
PSOE
PEPR
PPA
PINT
PRELP
PSEPC
PGOVE
PINF
PNG
PGOC
PFOR
PCUL
POLINT
PGGV
PHALANAGE
PARTY
PGOVLO
PHUS
PDEM
PECON
PROV
PHUMPREL
RS
RU
RELATIONS
RW
RO
RM
RP
ROOD
RICE
RUPREL
RSO
RCMP
REACTION
REPORT
REGION
RIGHTS
RF
RFE
RSP
RIGHTSPOLMIL
ROBERT
SU
SCUL
SNAR
SOCI
SF
SA
SHUM
SENV
SP
SR
SY
SANC
SC
SMIG
SZ
SARS
SW
SEVN
SO
SEN
SL
SNARCS
SNARN
SI
SG
SN
SH
SYR
SAARC
SPCE
SHI
SCRS
SENVKGHG
SYRIA
SWE
STEINBERG
SIPRS
ST
SNARIZ
SSA
SK
SPCVIS
SOFA
SIPDIS
SAN
TC
TI
TBIO
TH
TSPL
TRGY
TSPA
TPHY
TU
TW
TS
TAGS
TK
TX
TNGD
TZ
TF
TL
TV
TN
TD
TIP
TR
TP
TO
TT
TFIN
THPY
TERRORISM
TINT
TRSY
TURKEY
TBID
US
UK
UNGA
UP
UZ
UNMIK
USTR
UNO
UNSC
UN
UNESCO
UNAUS
UNHRC
UY
UG
UNHCR
UNCND
USOAS
USEU
UNICEF
UNEP
UV
UNPUOS
UNCSD
USUN
UNCHR
UNDC
USNC
UE
UNDP
UNC
USPS
USAID
UNVIE
UAE
UNFICYP
UNODC
UNCHS
UNIDROIT
UNDESCO
UNCHC
Browse by classification
Community resources
courage is contagious
Viewing cable 08SAOPAULO170, HUMAN RIGHTS AND PUBLIC SECURITY CHALLENGES IN MATO GROSSO DO SUL STATE
If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs
Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
- The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
- The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
- The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #08SAOPAULO170.
Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
08SAOPAULO170 | 2008-04-02 12:52 | 2011-02-11 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Consulate Sao Paulo |
VZCZCXRO1259
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHSO #0170/01 0931252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021252Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8097
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 9230
RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 3353
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 3106
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 2658
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ 3763
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0710
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 2354
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 4061
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8663
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHMFIUU/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SAO PAULO 000170
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR WHA/BSC, INL, DRL
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR DS/IP/WHA, DS/IP/ITA, DS/T/ATA
NSC FOR TOMASULO
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
USAID FOR LAC/AA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI KCRM SNAR ASEC BR
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS AND PUBLIC SECURITY CHALLENGES IN MATO GROSSO DO SUL STATE
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY
Summary -------
¶1. (SBU) Mato Grosso do Sul's public security and human rights challenges are typical of those found in many Brazilian states today. The state's geographic location, sharing an international border with Bolivia and Paraguay, however, creates an additional set of public policy tests for the state government. These relatively open borders allow Mato Grosso do Sul to serve as a conduit for illicit trade in drugs, arms, trafficking in persons and pirated goods which in turn have increased the scope of organized crime in the state. In addition to these external pressures, internally the state is already beset with a number of human rights issues such as protecting marginalized peoples and addressing poor prison conditions. The situation in Mato Grosso do Sul highlights the number of problems at least one Brazilian state is confronting and demonstrates how economic growth, the country's current focus, is not resolving all of its social challenges. End Summary.
International Borders Create Public Security Challenges --------------------------------------------- -------
¶2. (SBU) During a March 3-6 visit by Poloff to Mato Grosso do Sul State, Jose Mandu, State Secretariat for Justice and Public Security (SEJUSP) Supervisor for Intelligence, highlighted the difficulties of working in a state with two international borders. Mandu told Poloff that increasing foreign commercial activity has resulted in an expansion of cross-border crime. This phenomenon has created law enforcement problems in all the state's border towns and has stretched to other areas throughout the state. He gave the example of Ponta Pora (PP), across a land border from Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay. PP is infamous for having one of Brazil's highest per capita murder rates which Mandu stated was a direct result of the regional drug trade. Beyond murder, he said that stolen Brazilian vehicles are finding their way to Paraguayan purchasers and that proceeds from these car sales are then used to pay for drugs in Paraguay for re-sale throughout Brazil. Finally, Mandu stated that beyond drugs, contraband and pirated products, particularly consumer goods, flow easily across the porous border, including small arms from Paraguay that are being sold in Brazil.
¶3. (SBU) In addition to the illegal trade in drugs, arms, consumer goods and other contraband, the state is also a transit and source point for trafficking in persons. According to Delasnieve Miranda Daspet de Souza, President of the Mato Grosso do Sul State Bar Association's (OAB-MS) Human Rights Commission "the state's geographic location leads it to be not only a center of drug trading but also a highway for trafficked persons entering Brazil from Bolivia and Paraguay."
Prisons Focus -------------
¶4. (SBU) SEJUSP's Mandu claimed that aside from regional crime, the state faces a major domestic public security issue because of its poor prison infrastructure. Besides unsanitary conditions, prison overcrowding is a serious concern, Mandu admitted. He noted that the state plans on building two small penitentiaries this year and a mega-complex for both semi-open and traditional jail units for women and younger criminals as a first step. Lack of staff support -- Mandu acknowledged the state employs only half of the total number of security guards it should have to ensure safety -- makes administration difficult and rehabilitation projects even more challenging. (Comment: While Mandu stated that tight budgets resulted in the staffing shortage, rapid economic growth in Mato Grosso do Sul should increase tax receipts, which may help improve prisons in the long-term. End Comment.) A more serious issue arises when inmates belonging to gangs from other states are
SAO PAULO 00000170 002 OF 003
transferred to Mato Grosso do Sul and their followers create support networks within the state. He said that when Sao Paulo's First Capital Command (PCC) criminal organization initiated a wave of violence during May 2006 in Sao Paulo State, the PCC's affiliates in Campo Grande participated locally through a prison uprising that burned down a penitentiary. Mandu pointed to the 2007 creation of the intelligence center which he now heads as the key to preventing similar revolts. (Note: According to Mandu, the information hub is involved in not only stopping large-scale activites but also monitoring the PCC's "standard" crime including drug purchases and sales statewide. nd Note.)
¶5. (SBU) During visits to the federa prison and the Penal Institute of Campo Grande,a state penitentiary, Poloff observed the vast dfferences between the two facilities: the first one well-maintained and the latter decrepit and rifewith human rights concerns. According to Assistnt Warden of the state prison, Aurintheo de Olivira Pedreira Junior, the facility was built to hld 280 prisoners, yet because of lack of penitentiary space throughout the state, today houses 1085 inmates. Only eight staff members are employed to administer the prison and maintain order, leading the warden and his subordinates to have to rely on prisoner informants to learn about inmate attitudes and potential escape or revolt plans, Pedreira said. Pedreira showed Poloff cells that were meant to hold 6 inmates, where 45-60 had to reside in cramped and unsanitary conditions and in which prisoners had to take turns sleeping. The limited space is partly due to a recent uprising in which inmates held several staff hostage and burned an area within the facility due to complaints about prison conditions. The Penal Institute of Campo Grande contrasted starkly with the federal prison, one of only two such facilities in Brazil, both holding some of the country's most notorious criminals. According to Federal Police Chief and prison warden Arcelino Vieira Damasceno, the facility was built a year and a half ago to house 210 inmates. Unlike its overcrowded state counterpart, it currently holds only 73 inmates. The clean and ultra-modern facility has the most high-tech security infrastructure available as opposed to rusting doors and no apparent camera recordings in the Penal Institute. Lack of hygiene does not seem to be an issue in the federal facility, owing partly to the presence of a full-time physician and dentist, luxuries that do not exist in the state penitentiary.
More Human Rights Problems --------------------------
¶6. (SBU) Highlighting additional civil liberty concerns, OAB-MS Human Rights Commission President Souza relayed her anger about the length of time necessary to move a case through the judicial system. The state only has a small number of judges who have to review an enormous number of proceedings. When poor Brazilians cannot afford to post bail, they "rot" in the prisons, sometimes for several years while awaiting trial. She added that in a February 2007 uprising in the overcrowded Agricultural Penal Colony of Campo Grande, a policeman's death led Governor Andre Puccinelli to announce a policy -- condemned by a range of local human rights groups -- of shooting first and asking questions later.
¶7. (SBU) Paulo Angelo de Souza, President of the Marcal de Souza Center for Human Rights (CDHMS), highlighted other human rights problems in the state, including the struggle of the local gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community. Souza said that CDHMS is providing legal support for several former Campo Grande city government employees who believe they were fired from their jobs because of discrimination against them for being from the GLBT community. He added that lack of police protection for homosexuals is an increasing problem in a city, which although largely conservative, has a growing number of people who are openly gay. Both OAB-MS's Souza and CDHMS's Souza also complained about police treatment particularly as it relates to the homeless. According to both, in February 2008, a military police squad aggressively rounded
SAO PAULO 00000170 003 OF 003
up dozens of street dwellers, forced them into police vans and took them to a processing center far away from where they were located, interrogated them for being a public nuisance (though no criminal charges were brought), and then told the homeless that they would have to find their own way back.
Afro-Brazilians Allege History of Mistreatment --------------------------------------------- -
¶8. (SBU) Leaders of the local Afro-Brazilian movement claimed that the state was taking little action to address racism. Coordinator of State Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality Raimunda Luzia de Brito stated that throughout Mato Grosso do Sul, as in all of Brazil, blacks face discrimination and are treated as second class citizens. The state government focuses on economic growth rather than social and racial policies, leaving Afro-Brazilians to "fend for themselves," she said. Aleixo Paraguassu Netto, who runs an NGO that researches affirmative action policies and prepares minority and poor youth to take college entrance exams, said that civil society has had to step in where the government has failed to help raise the lives of the state's Afro-Brazilian community. His NGO, the Luther King Institute (named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) has tried to highlight racism and discrimination repeatedly with a long line of successive state administrations and legislatures only to see little success in terms of measures seeking to address racial inequalities. Antonio Borges dos Santos, president of the government's State Council on the Rights of the Black Population, said that while his organization works to defend Afro-Brazilian rights, he receives little support from higher-level decision-makers. He stated that he believes the government is guilty of racism for limiting the council's budget and staff.
Comment -------
¶9. (SBU) Mato Grosso do Sul State is enjoying significant economic growth due to its booming agricultural sector and high commodity prices for its products, especially soybeans. Unfortunately, the state is also in the midst of transnational criminal problems as well as domestic concerns regarding how to deal with some basic human rights issues. The set of challenges the state faces today -- including protecting prisoner and minority rights while at the same time combating drug and human trafficking -- is illustrative of the issues Brazil must address as it continues on its path to economic and democratic development. End Comment.
WHITE