Articles by Mario Osava

We found 13 results.


Slave Labour, another Setback for the Government of Brazil
Mario Osava – Inter Press Service-IPS, 6 Nov 2017

31 Oct 2017 – The wave of conservativism is testing its limits in Brazil, as reflected by a Labour Ministry decree that seeks to block the fight against slavery working conditions. The powerful “ruralist” parliamentary bloc that represents agribusiness has been chalking up victories, such as keeping Michel Temer in the presidency, despite the disapproval of more than three-quarters of the population who see him as corrupt and are calling for his resignation.

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Brazil: A Hostage to Parliament, Pres. Temer Sacrifices Indigenous Rights to Save Himself
Mario Osava | Human Wrongs Watch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 Aug 2017

7 Aug 2017 – Brazilians now have new reasons to yearn for and at the same time fear the parliamentary system of government. It facilitates quick solutions to political crises such as the one that is currently affecting the country, but it also further empowers reactionary forces and has led to backsliding on gains such as indigenous rights.

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Corruption Brings Down an Empire: Odebrecht in Brazil
Mario Osava | Human Wrongs Watch – TRANSCEND Media Service, 20 Feb 2017

6 Feb 2017 – The business empire built by three generations of the Odebrecht family is falling apart after three years of investigation by the Lava Jato (car wash) operation launched by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s office. People in Brazil have been overwhelmed by the flood of news stories about the huge web of corruption woven by the country’s biggest construction company that is active in dozens of fields and countries.

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Freedom of the Press Faces Judicial Harassment in Brazil
Mario Osava – Inter Press Service-IPS, 24 Oct 2016

The latest high-profile case involves the Gazeta do Povo, the main daily newspaper in Curitiba, the capital of the southern state of Paraná, which is facing 48 lawsuits from judges and public prosecutors who are suing the paper and several of its employees for reporting their incomes in February.

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Olympic Games – More Media Show than Sports Event
Mario Osava – Inter Press Service-IPS, 22 Aug 2016

Brazil’s first gold medal of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics gave it a new multipurpose heroine, Rafaela Silva, whose defeat of the favourites in judo has made her a strong voice against racism and homophobia. Not only is she black and poor, but she just came out as gay. Colourful figures like Silva or Jamaican runner Usain Bolt, or unbeatable U.S. swimming legend Michael Phelps, are crucial in the Olympics, which have become a huge global media event, more than the leading international sports competition.

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Electoral Revolution in Brazil Aimed at Neutralising Corporate Influence
Mario Osava, IPS – Human Wrongs Watch, 5 Oct 2015

29 Sep 2015 – From now on, elections in Brazil will be more democratic, without corporate interference, which had become decisive and corruptive. A September 17 Supreme Court ruling declared unconstitutional articles of the elections act that allow corporate donations to election campaigns.

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Brazil: Lending a Hand to Less Developed Countries
Mario Osava – TerraViva Europe, 7 Feb 2011

Mothers’ milk banks that are helping reduce infant mortality in Guatemala and are starting to be set up in Africa as well form part of the numerous social technologies developed by Brazil that are driving the fast growth of its international development cooperation.

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WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: RECONCILING SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL NEEDS
Mario Osava - IPS/TerraViva, 1 Feb 2010

One of the greatest challenges facing the world today is to attend to the urgent social needs of the planet’s population, and particularly the one billion people living "on the brink of survival", while dealing with the equally urgent demands of the environment. This warning came from Brazilian Social Development Minister Patrus Ananias at the […]

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WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: BACK SEAT DRIVER OF SOCIAL CHANGE
Mario Osava – Terraviva Europe, 26 Jan 2010

The World Social Forum (WSF) is only "a tool" and must not be confused with the global movement for another world, says Chico Whitaker, one of the founders of this meeting which is celebrating its tenth year with a seminar to assess its track record Jan. 25-29, in its southern Brazilian place of origin, Porto […]

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WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: TALK VS ACTION – THE TUG-OF-WAR CONTINUES
Mario Osava – Terraviva Europe, 26 Jan 2010

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (IPS) – A call issued by social movements to evolve towards a more active role in generating concrete action marked the opening session of a seminar assessing the 10 years of the World Social Forum (WSF) Monday in this southern Brazilian city, the birthplace of the annual global civil society gathering. "It […]

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CLIMATE CHANGE: BRAZIL TO RECOVER LEADERSHIP ROLE WITH CO2 LIMITS
Mario Osava – Terraviva Europe, 18 Nov 2009

Brazil’s decision to adopt voluntary reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions is an indication that the planet’s climate change emergency has joined strategic, economic and ideological issues as a new factor on the global political agenda. At the World Climate Change Conference to be held Dec. 7-18 in Copenhagen, the Brazilian government will table its […]

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LATIN AMERICA: SUMMIT MARKS DISTANCE FROM U.S.
Mario Osava, 18 Dec 2008

A motion calling for an end to the United States embargo against Cuba accentuated the anti-imperialist tone taken on by the summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders that ended Wednesday in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. The motion, approved by all of the countries of the region, including several that have conservative governments […]

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ENVIRONMENT-BRAZIL: CLICK HERE TO PLANT A TREE
Mario Osava, 14 Sep 2008

It has become fashionable in Latin America to pursue initiativestowards "zero carbon", neutralising the climate-changing greenhousegases produced by industry, commercial aviation and even the footballWorld Cup — and along with it, atoning for the environmental sins ofpolluters.Read more

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