A passionate defender of the poor and landless in Brazil, Darci serves as an attorney and human rights advocate with Terra de Direitos, an NGO he cofounded and leads. He was a key architect of the land reform plank within President Lulaís successful electoral campaign and is currently working to develop alternative funding strategies for its implementation. Darci's focus on land reform includes a number of inter-locking facets, among them the need to ensure food security (click here for Darci Frigo on food security, see pages 8-9), biodiversity restoration and conservation, and the fight to end modern-day slavery in the Amazon and elsewhere in Brazil.

Overview

Brazilís social movements overwhelmingly welcomed President Lulaís ascent to power in January 2003, due to his strong emphasis on a speedy implementation of a land reform initiative. Darci Frigoís NGO, Terra de Direitos (TDD), was no different, as Darci was a key architect of the land reform portion of Lulaís Zero Hunger poverty- and hunger-alleviation package of reforms. The distinct challenge, though, became apparent a few months after Lulaís inaugural when his vow to steadily pay down Brazilís massive foreign debt made it seemingly impossible to simultaneously tackle the critically-needed social programs on which he had campaigned successfully for high office. The National Institute for Agrarian Reform (INCRA), the government organ charged with implementing the land reform program mandated by the Brazilian Constitution, is practically bankrupt. However, anything that resembles defaulting or asking forgiveness on the debt seems to be politically unpalatable to Lula and thus something he would not attempt. On the other hand, vocal civil society organizations, many of whom voted for Lula, are calling for a moratorium on debt payments.

Thus, while the implementation of land reform was buttressed by strong political will at the highest levels of the Brazilian government, it was impeded by the need to reassure the international investment community through committing a significant portion of the Brazilian budget to paying off the external debt incurred by Lulaís predecessors. It is precisely that confluence (and seeming financial incompatibility) of objectives that presents the challenge that the CHR has been tackling together with Darci. Our work has revolved around providing a steady stream of ideas, based on meetings with stakeholders and research, strategies, and information for Darci and the social movements that will assist them in finding the so-called ìthird wayî to enable the Brazilian government to financially tackle both goals in the immediate term. This is not an easy nor short-term task and has presented political obstacles, such as Lulaís unwillingness to countenance plans that would include, or even appear to include, a debt-forgiveness mechanism (for fear of scaring off future international investment).

This partnership between Darci and CHR focuses on the ultimate social change goal being pursued ñ the implementation of an equitable, widespread land reform program. However, we realize that first the financial ìhowî must be resolved before the ìwhenî and ìwhereî of the programís implementation can be addressed. By involving a wide variety of individuals in Darciís Support Group (SG), the CHR receives the names of useful contacts to widen the network of informants, as well as research and strategizing assistance for use in this campaign. This partnership has insured that Darci has become a leading voice in the movement and provided him with the informational resources to organize fora and conferences in which the debt-versus-social programs and impunity issues are discussed with other civil society organizations, the Catholic Church, and the Brazilian government.

Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy led a Journeys for Justice delegation from May 8-15, 2003 to ascertain and define the obstacles to the land reform process and to develop ideas to overcome them. The delegation also tried to help get some of the last land rights activists in Brazil out of jail. Members of the delegation included: Bruce Babbitt (former Secretary of Interior in the Clinton Administration); the Honorable Christine Stewart (Canadaís former Minister of Environment; Secretary of State for Africa & Latin America; and Member of House of Commons); Hattie Babbitt (former US Permanent Representative to the OAS and Deputy Administrator for USAID; currently, Director of Women Waging Peace); and Dr. Rafael Espada (cardiovascular surgeon at The Methodist Hospital in Houston; clinical professor of surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston; and medical director at a Guatemalan clinic providing cardiac care for the indigent).

The delegation traveled to the northeastern states of ParaÌba and Pernambuco, as well as BrasÌlia, to support Darciís courageous work on the forefront of the landless struggle. With Lula strongly supporting land reform and then-recently inaugurated, the delegation was well-timed to support Darciís work at the highest levels of the Brazilian government. Darci and his colleagues in TDD, in partnership with Brazilís other social movements, work to insure concrete land rights resulting in the sustainable use and conservation of the land and its natural resource base, as well as an improvement in the rural standard of living and preservation of traditional culture. Many landless people ñ a majority of them in the northeast ñ are under constant threat of eviction, intimidation, and outright violence (covered up by official impunity) resulting from their attempts to ìoccupyî and farm unused land, which under the Brazilian Constitution is available for redistribution to landless people. Terra de Direitos, Darci's human rights organization based in Curitiba, Paran·, is currently (August 2004) accompanying two cases before the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights related to the murder of an elderly landless worker in Brazil and the unlawful wire-tapping of the MST (Landless People's Movement). Darci Frigo is seeking the pro bono assistance of lawyers to file amicus curaie briefs for these two cases. Information on assisting Frigo in such a fashion can be found on the Subcommitee on Inter-American Human Rights section of the American Bar Association webpage, under "Pro Bono Opportunities."

Leverage

The visit of the delegation helped provide critical entrÈe for Darci and his organization to key decision-makers in the Brazilian government, and increased the political ìspaceî within which he can operate as he works with the CHR to develop financial mechanisms for land reform implementation. The delegation stimulated Darciís and TDDís position and visibility with the government vis-‡-vis the debt versus land reform issue, and positioned him as a valuable resource for information that the Lula Administration can turn to for assistance.

Synergy

Darciís SG has met monthly since June 2003 and is initiating research on alternative funding ideas to present to Darci and the social movements that would help them in their work with the Lula Administration regarding the debt-versus-land reform issue. CHR staff has also been conducting extensive meetings with a wide variety of organizations ñ such as the World Bank, IDB, OAS, Environmental Defense, The Development Gap, Oxfam, Brazilian Embassy, law firms, and others ñ to discuss ideas for funding land reform in the near-term.

Darci visited DC in September 2003 and the CHR organized meetings for him with the World Bank, OAS, Brazilian Embassy, Departments of State and Agriculture, human rights NGOs, and hunger-related civil society organizations in which he was able to discuss Lulaís funding quandary and explore alternatives. He also discussed the highly-contentious issues of the use of agrotoxins and genetically modified organism (GMOs), both very important to the rural base of the Brazilian social movements.

Sustainability/Replicability/Lasting Effects

The main goal of the CHRís work in support of Darci Frigo is about leveraging more resources for the Brazilian government to implement a sustainable land reform policy that has been developed by the landless movement. The movement is years ahead of its time, given its integration of ecological agriculture and efforts to positively impact the demand chain and distribution to insure better prices for producers and government consumers (e.g., schools, hospitals, and prisons).