A synod is a meeting of representatives of Church
communities to discuss issues of doctrine or Church governance. So far, for most people, so boring. But when, in February 2019, General Augusto
Heleno, President Jair Bolsonaro’s senior security adviser, described October’s
Catholic Church synod on the Amazon as ‘relevant to Brazil’s national security’
and having a ‘left-wing agenda’, he was...
Amazon fires
show Bolivia needs a new economic model
Global coverage
of the recent Amazon fires has focused on Brazil, but Bolivia has suffered a
similar catastrophe. Over the last two months, some 2.4 million
hectares of the
country have burned, almost half of which is forest. At least six people have died and around 2,000 families
have...
This interview, by special correspondent Bruno Meyerfeld, appeared in Le Monde on 12 September 2019. The original, in French, can be read here. It was translated for LAB by Francis McDonagh.
With a firm stride Lula comes into an anonymous room
at the headquarters of the Brazilian Federal Police...
Dear LAB Supporter and Friend,
11 September 2019
Amazon fires caused by land-grabbing on an industrial scale
Amazon burned -- at Terra Nossa, near Altamira, Pará. Neighbouring land occupied illegally by grilheros, was untouched. Photo: José Cícero da Silva/Agência Pûblica.
In addition to our...
This open
letter, from a distinguished group of Brazilian mental health academics and
professionals, was first published in El Pais Brazil on 2 September 2019. You
can read the original here.
It was translated for LAB from the Portuguese by Diane Grosklaus Whitty.
Greta Thunberg gives life to the climate cause, just
as the climate cause gives her...
***** to sign, click here
Rainforest fires: put Amazonian people's rights first.
LAB partner Christian Aid is inviting the public to sign a new petition calling on the UK Prime Minister to put the Amazonian people at the heart of any response to the wildfires raging in the...
Rios de Encontro presents the origins and eco-cultural vision of the AfroRaiz Collective of young afro-indigenous performance-educators from the Brazilian Amazonian fishing community of Cabelo Seco. We advocate a sustainable future through powerful dance and percussion!
Dance collective Rios de Encontro sets out in 10...
Folks, I live in Porto de Moz, Pará,
on the Xingu river. We’re in the middle of Amazonia, and you have no idea what’s
going on here. The press is focussing on the question of the fires, but that’s
just one of the things that’s happening. It’s horrendous to realize that it’s
much, much worse.
Since...
Commenting on UK prime minister Boris Johnson's announcement of new funding to tackle deforestation in the Amazon, Christian Aid’s Bolivia country manager Emma Donlan said:“While we welcome the announcement of a £10 million increase in funding to step up efforts to protect and restore the Amazon rainforest...
Post by Jan Rocha, 11 August 2019, São Paulo.
Each day the list of outrageous, insulting, untruthful comments by the president grows longer as President Jair Bolsonaro takes aim at scientists, environmentalists, lawyers, foreigners, gays, indians, civil servants, anyone who crosses his sights, while at the same time declaring his ‘passionate’ love for...