Carnaval Bait and Suit
What would be Carnaval in Brazil without a few scandals and controversies? This year, the controversy parade started a couple of weeks before the big "escolas" (samba clubs) went to the avenue with their topless and/or bottomless female attractions. Luma de Oliveira, aging-but-still-fit former model caused more than frisson and drooling oglings, while rehearsing with the Unidos da Viradouro escola de samba, for which she is the "godmother".
Wrapped in a red microdress that left very little to the imagination she ended up leaving nothing at all to fantasy when the
following morning papers showed her most hidden intimacy in the front page. In the picture she seems to be wearing nothing under her dress.
It happens that Luma, 36, as she explained later, went to the rehearsal wearing comfortable skin-color cotton panties under the skimpy
dress and the sweat brought about by the highly energetic samba made her underwear completely transparent.
Did Luma do the trick on purpose? Far from it, according to the belle. She complained that the photographer who snapped the candid picture acted in bad faith and as proof of her determination she slapped the photojournalist with a 200,000-real ($80,000) suit for defamation and injury to her reputation.
Rio's photojournalists' association, the Associação Profissional dos Repórteres Fotográficos e Cinematográficos do Rio de Janeiro, came in defense of news agency Agência Estado's photographer Wilton Júnior asking its members for a boycott of Luma during her Carnaval show. They reminded the former model that she owed her fame to the exposure she had had over the years in the press.
Luma de Oliveira loves exposure and provocation. In 1987 she broke in the Carnaval parade showing up topless. In 1998, for the consternation of the feminists, she paraded on the front line of the escola de samba wearing a dog collar sporting the name of her husband, industrialist Eike Batista.
Last year, Luma posed for the Brazilian Playboy
and she was served naked in 22 pages. The day the magazine was released with
a bash and plenty of fanfare, the model got more print mileage showing up at the happening in panties that revealed her husband's initials.
Also last year, during the Viradouro parade she brought about ahs and ohs from the crowd when she kneeled on the asphalt together with the percussion section of the escola. Soon after, the flu that took over Rio was named after her. Why Luma flu? Because it made everybody kneel down.
Commenting on the model's antics, renowned columnist Tutty Vasquez wrote: "I don't know! When she giftwraps herself in these tiny dresses—the red one with a high slit this year was a hit—we wonder why we fight for ideas, rights, citizenship, social justice, freedom, health, transportation, security, those little dumb things. When Luma de Oliveira starts to samba, the world gets filled with joy and laziness, in a postmodern version of what Caetano Veloso called one day "the sun in the newsstands."
"This personal drooling state doesn't differ a lot from the intellectual affliction of half a dozen of intelligent men whom I talked
to in the last few hours. They all were completely dumbfounded. It would be tragic if it weren't seasonal. It lasts until Carnaval, then
Luma disappears, the sky gets overcast in the newsstands and we once again can be solidary with the fight of our brave women
companions for the species's emancipation. This struggle we won't abandon."
In 1994, another picture involving Carnaval and a pantyless woman went to the front pages and the cover of Veja and Isto É, the two most important Brazilian weekly magazines. Then model Lilian Ramos, who didn't have anything between her intimacy and her T shirt (she wasn't wearing anything else), made photographers very happy after having been invited by bachelor President Itamar Franco to see the parade on the stand by his side.
Every time she raised her arms—a necessary gesture when you are `jumping' Carnaval—her southern anatomy was all exposed.
Ramos fame didn't last until the next Carnaval even though she became later a celebrity of sorts on an Italian racy TV program. Franco
became governor of Minas Gerais and still carries on his coat of arms the distinction of very macho man.
Behavior Everlasting Tunes
How sad would be Carnaval without the lovely marchinhas. Fads come and go, crazes like axé in the early 90s and neo-funk more recently had a brief life. But marchinhas resist and every year they are repeatedly sung by heart by several generations of Carnaval merrymakers. The oldest of them ("Ô abre alas") is from the 19th century. Most of the tunes were composed in the '30s and the most recent ("Maria Sapatão") appeared 22 years ago.
What's the secret for such longevity? Producer Ricardo Cravo Alvim thinks he knows the answer. In an interview with webzine no. (it reads no ponto = ripe, ready), Alvim said: "The old Carnaval songs resist because they were marchas and sambas created with the popular artist's best inspiration and during a time in which commercialism wasn't so rampant. They have an unbeatable spontaneity."
Starting in the '70s, the marchinha practically disappeared and the samba-enredo (the theme songs created by the escolas de samba as a kind of sound track for their elaborate parade) took its place. Commenting on this demise, Leon Barg, the owner of the recording label Revivendo (Reliving)—his company has already released 23 CDs of the collection "Carnaval, Sua História, Sua Glória" (Carnaval, Its History, Its Glory) is forthright: "This substitution of the marchinha with samba-enredo was Carnaval's undoing."
Jota Júnior, 78, co-author of "Saçaricando" (1952), one of the perennials of Carnaval, believes marchinhas are like an heirloom: "Those marchinhas profoundly marked the older generation. During Carnaval these people continued singing them passing them to their children and so forth. This way the youngsters keep on singing these songs without ever noticing how old they are. Even now I keep receiving royalties for "Saçaricando" and also for "Lata d'Água" from almost every state in the country."
These tunes can be a treasure of the Brazilian popular music, but many of them wouldn't be released in our politically correct times without a threat of a day in court. Blacks, Indians, gays, bald and old people, are all made fun of or treated in what would be considered today the utmost disrespect. Listen for example to this song from 1932 called "O Teu Cabelo Não Nega". Lamartine Babo, its author, would probably be sued for his insensibility:
O Teu Cabelo Não Nega
(Lamartine Babo - Irmãos Valença)
O teu cabelo nao nega mulata
Porque és mulata na cor
Mas como a cor não pega, mulata
Mulata, eu quero o teu amor
Tens um sabor bem do Brasil
Tens a alma cor de anil
Mulata, mulatinha, meu amor
Fui nomeado teu tenente interventor
Quem te inventou, meu pancadão
Teve uma consagração
A lua te invejando fez careta
Porque, mulata, tu nao és deste planeta
Quando, meu bem, vieste à terra
Portugal declarou guerra
A concorrência então foi colossal
Vasco da Gama contra a batalhão naval
Your hair doesn't deny
Your hair doesn't deny, mulata
Because mulatto is your color
But since color doesn't catch, mulata,
Mulata, I want your love
You have taste that's from Brazil
You have a blue colored soul
Mulata, dear mulata, my love
I was appointed your interventor lieutenant
Who did invent you, my knockout
Was a big hit
The moon envying you, made faces
Because, mulata, you're not from this planet
When, darling, you came to the land
Portugal declared war
The competition was huge then
Vasco da Gama against the naval battalion
Some other jewels of Carnaval that continue as popular as when they were released:
Saca-Rolha
(Zé da Zilda - Zilda - Waldyr Machado)
As águas vão rolar
Garrafa cheia eu não quero ver sobrar
Eu passo a mão no saca saca
saca-rolha
E bebo até me afogar
Deixa as águas rolar
Se a polícia por isso me prender
Mas na última hora me soltar
Eu pego um saca saca saca
saca-rolha
Ninguém me agarra, ninguém
me agarra
Mamãe Eu Quero
(Jararaca - Vicente Paiva)
Mama, mama, mamãe eu quero,
Mamãe eu quero mamar
Dá a chupeta, dá a chupeta
Dá a chupeta pro bebê não chorar
Dorme benzinho do meu coração
Pega a mamadeira e entra pro cordão
Eu tenho uma irmã que se chama Ana
De tanto piscar o olho já ficou sem
a pestana
Cabeleira do Zezé
Roberto Faissal and José Roberto
Olha a cabeleira do Zezé
Será que ele é?
Será que ele é?
(bichaaaaa)
Será que ele é bossa nova
Será que ele é Maomé
Parece que é transviado
Mas isso eu não sei
Se ele é
Corta o cabelo dele
Corta o cabelo dele
Corta o cabelo dele
Cachaça
Mirabeau Pinheiro, L. de Castro
and H. Lobato
Você pensa que cachaça é água
Cachaça não é água não
Cachaça vem do alambique
E água vem do ribeirão
Pode me faltar tudo na vida
Arroz, feijão e pão
Pode me faltar manteiga
E tudo mais não faz falta não
Pode me faltar o amor
Isso eu até acho graça
Só não quero que me falte
A danada da cachaça
Me Dá um Dinheiro Aí
(Ivan Ferreira - Homero Ferreira -
Glauco Ferreira)
Ei, você aí
Me dá um dinheiro aí
Me dá um dinheiro aí
Não vai dar,
Não vai dar não
Você vai ver
Que grande confusão
Eu vou beber
Beber até cair
Me dá, me dá, me dá, oi
Me dá um dinheiro aí
Bota Camisinha
Chacrinha
Bota camisinha,
Bota meu amor,
Que hoje tá chovendo,
Não vai fazer calor
Bota a camisinha no pescoço
Bota geral
Não quero ver ninguém
Sem camisinha
Prá não se machucar
No Carnaval...
Índio Quer Apito
(Haroldo Lôbo - Milton de Oliveira)
Ê, ê, ê, ê, ê
Índio quer apito
Se não der
Pau vai comer
Lá no Bananal
Mulher de branco
Levou para índio colar esquisito
Índio viu presente mais bonito
Eu não quer colar
Índio quer apito
Cork-Puller
The waters are going to roll
I don't want to see any full bottle left
I get a hold of the cork cork
cork-puller
And drink until I drown
Let the waters roll
If the police lock me up for that
And at the last minute release me
I get a hold of the cork cork
cork-puller
Nobody catches me, nobody
catches me
Mommy, I Want
Mom, mom, mommy I want,
Mommy I want to suckle
Give the sucker, give the sucker
Give the sucker so the baby will not cry
Sleep little darling of my heart
Take your baby bottle and join the gang
I have a sister whose name is Ana
She winks so much that she lost
her eyebrow
Zezé's Mane
Look at Zezé's mane
Could he be?
Could he be?
(fairyyyy)
Could he be bossa nova
Could he be Mohamed
He seems to be deviated *
But this I don't know
If he is
Cut his hair
Cut his hair
Cut his hair
* (a play on the word veado that in
Brazil means deer and also
queer or faggot)
Booze
Do you think booze is water?
Booze is no water
Booze comes from the still
And water comes from the stream
I can do without anything in life
Rice, beans and bread
I can do without butter
And all the rest means nothing
I can do without love
Even think this is funny
The only thing I can't do without
Is the blasted booze
Give me some money
Hey, you there
Gimme some money now
Gimme some money now
You won't give
You won't give, no
You gonna see
The big melee
I'm gonna drink
Drink until I fall
Gimme, gimme, gimme, hey
Gimme some money now
Put on the rubber
Put on the rubber
Put it on, my love,
Today is raining
It's not getting hot
Put on the rubber on the neck
Put it on all over
I don't want to see anybody
Without a rubber
So no one will get hurt
This Carnaval…
Indian Wants Whistle
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
Indian wants whistle
If you don't give
I'll beat you with a stick
There in Bananal
White man's woman
Brought Indian weird necklace
Indian saw a prettier gift
Me don't want necklace
Indian wants whistle
These lyrics were based on a
widespread joke in the early
'60s. The whistle to which the song
refers is the sound of breaking wind.
These are the marchinhas that continue alive, according to a list published by no. (http://www.no.com.br):
1899 — "Ô abre-alas" (Chiquinha Gonzaga)
1930 — "Ta-hi (Pra você gostar de mim)" (Joubert de Carvalho)
1932 — "O teu cabelo não nega" (Lamartine Babo/Irmãos Valença)
1933 — "Linda morena" (Lamartine Babo)
1934 — "Linda lourinha" (Braguinha)
1935 — "Cidade maravilhosa" (André Filho)
1936 — "Pierrô apaixonado" (Heitor dos Prazeres/Noel Rosa)
1937 — "Mamãe eu quero" (Jararaca/Vicente Paiva)
1938 — "As pastorinhas" (Braguinha/Noel Rosa)
"Yes, nós temos bananas" (Braguinha/Alberto Ribeiro)
1939 — "A jardineira" (Benedito Lacerda/Humberto Porto)
1941 — "Aurora" (Mário Lago/Roberto Roberti)
"Ala-la-ô" (Haroldo Lobo/Nássara)
1942 — "Nós, os carecas" (Arlindo Marques Jr./Roberto Roberti)
1944 — "Eu brinco" (Pedro Caetano/Claudionor Cruz)
1949 — "Chiquita Bacana" (Braguinha/Alberto Ribeiro)
1951 — "Tomara que chova" (Paquito/Romeu Gentil)
1952 — "Saçaricando" (Luiz Antonio/Jota Júnior/Oldemar Magalhães)
1953 — "Cachaça" (Mirabeau/L. de Castro/Lobato)
1954 — "Piada de salão" (Armando Cavalcanti/Klecius Caldas)
"Saca-rolha" (Zé da Zilda/Waldir Machado)
1955 — "Maria Escandalosa" (Armando Cavalcanti/Klecius Caldas)
1956 — "Quem sabe, sabe" (Carvalhinho/Joel de Almeida)
"Turma do funil" (Mirabeau/Milton de Oliveira/Urgel Castro)
1957 — "Vai com jeito" (Braguinha)
1960 — "Me dá um dinheiro aí" (Ivan/Homero/Glauco Ferreira)
1961 — "Índio quer apito" (Haroldo Lobo/Milton de Oliveira)
"A lua é dos namorados" (Armando Cavalcanti/Klecius
Caldas)
1962 — "Marcha do Cordão do Bola Preta" (Nelson Barbosa/Vicente Paiva)
1964 — "Marcha do remador (Se a canoa não virar)" (Antonio Almeida/O. Magalhães)
"A cabeleira do Zezé" (João Roberto Kelly/Roberto Faissal)
1965 — "Mulata iê-iê-iê" (João Roberto Kelly)
1967 — "Máscara negra" (Zé Keti)
1970 — "O primeiro clarim" (Klecius Caldas/Rutinaldo)
"Bandeira branca" (Laércio Alves/Max Nunes)
1980 — "Maria Sapatão" (João Robreto Kelly/Chacrinha/Don Carlos/Leleco)
Politics Looking Ahead
John Fitzpatrick
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso held a two-hour long ministerial meeting in front of the press on February 6 during which he outlined some priorities of his government in the last 11 months of its lifetime. These included putting bills before Congress on improving public security, granting the Central Bank independence from political pressure, making labor laws more flexible and reforming the social security system.
He emphasized that his administration would govern until the last day of his mandate and said the presidential electoral campaign would not deflect him from ensuring that the central plank of his economic policy—maintaining a tight grip on inflation—was adhered to.
The president resisted the temptation to spend a lot of time hailing the successes of his seven years in office. Although he gave himself some pats on the back he acknowledged failures particularly in the energy field. This failure led to electricity rationing, which is still continuing almost a year after it was introduced.
He hoped the next government would be better than his but warned his successor against destroying the changes, which he said the "people" had made.
Overall it was a workmanlike performance, but with a certain element of wishful thinking rather than common sense as he knows it is unlikely that Congress will pass most of the bills.
The reason has to do with the election campaign, which will shortly get into top gear. Under Brazil's electoral law, candidates for the presidency, state governorships, Senate and House of Representatives have to leave any government posts six months before the election. The deadline this year is April 6.
This means that 12 of Cardoso's 22-strong team will shortly be quitting. These include three possible presidential candidates—health minister José Serra (PSDB), agricultural development minister Raul Jungmann (PMDB) and agriculture minister Pratini de Moraes (PPB). Other departing ministers hold the justice, labor, education, environment, social security, communications, national integration and sport portfolios plus the secretary-general of the presidency.
Serra, of course, is the favorite to be the government candidate if the allies unite behind one person. However, Serra is languishing in the opinion polls with 11 percent compared with the PFL's Roseana Sarney who has around 24 percent. These figures are from a national telephone poll made by the Instituto Vox Populi and show that Serra has gained some ground and for the first time has reached double figures.
Serra has anticipated his departure from the government and will step down at the end of February to reassume his position as a Senator. Losing several of these ministers will be a headache for Cardoso who will have to reshuffle his cabinet to the liking of the four-party governing alliance. This will make it difficult to maintain the kind of political pressure needed to get his laws through Congress.
As the new ministers face short terms in office we can expect little of them. Technocrats and lightweights rather than political heavyweights will be the likely replacements.
Within the next few weeks the battle lines should be drawn up and campaigning will begin in earnest. Leading politicians will be concentrating on the electoral trail and Congress could grind down to a virtual halt.
There is, however, one bright spot for Cardoso. His trusty right-hand man the finance minister, Pedro Malan, will not be leaving and will almost certainly serve until the last day of the Cardoso mandate. The planning and budget minister, Martus Tavares, will also stay. The Central Bank chief, Arminio Fraga, although not a minister, is another key member of the economic team and he is remaining for the moment.
By maintaining this impressive economic team Cardoso appears to be showing that he will continue with his economic policies until the end. It was, therefore, interesting to see that the PFL leadership had a meeting with Fraga during which they are reported to have said that if Roseana Sarney wins, her government will continue with Cardoso's economic policies.
By doing this so early in the campaign the PFL is hoping to exploit any differences which may appear during the campaign between Serra and the government. Although he is seen as a safe pair of financial hands Serra has often complained that there should be more emphasis on social programs.
John Fitzpatrick is a Scottish journalist who first visited Brazil in 1987and has lived in São Paulo since 1995. He writes on politics and finance and runs his own company, Celtic Comunicações, which specializes in editorial and translation services for Brazilian and foreign clients. You can reach him at Johnfitz@osite.com.br
Church Joining Hands
The 2002 Fraternity Campaign (CF) was officially launched February 13th by the secretary-general of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), Dom Raymundo Damasceno. The topic of the 39th Fraternity Campaign is "Fraternity and indigenous peoples" and its motto is "For a land without evil." Sitting next to the executive secretary of the Cimi (Conselho Indianista Missionário—Indianist Missionary Council), Egon Heck, Dom Damasceno explained that the overall objective of the campaign is to pay off the social debt of the Church in relation to indigenous people and invited all those attending the ceremony to show solidarity toward them and to fight prejudice and the marginalization of indigenous peoples, defending their rights.
This year, the message of pope John Paul II, who traditionally sends greetings from the Vatican to be read in the opening ceremonies of all fraternity campaigns, underlined a sentence from the 2nd Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians: "Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation," to warn Christians that Lent is a time to renew our alliance with God. "The Church will always be there to assist all those who suffer the consequences of poverty and marginalization, and will continue to lend its maternal hand to all indigenous peoples and work with them in building a society where every individual, created in the image and likeness of God, will have his or her rights respected and appropriate living conditions as children of God and brethren in Jesus Christ," the pope stressed.
The CF 2002 has six specific objectives: support the demarcation of indigenous lands and the approval of the Statute of Indigenous Peoples; demand concrete actions in favor of indigenous peoples from the federal administration; fight the prejudice that marginalizes indigenous citizens and humiliate them; create a space for reflection and discussions about our diversity and wealth; promote a dialogue with other churches that work with indigenous peoples and, finally, enhance the involvement of international groups that are responsive to the indigenous cause.
Based on these principles, the campaign intends to encourage Christians to learn with the cultural wealth and wisdom of indigenous people, for whom community values and solidarity are a way of life and who respect the earth as a source of resources for the survival of human beings.
Health threat
Egon Heck mentioned how it is taking a long time for the government to demarcate indigenous lands. Although the constitutional deadline has expired, of the 756 indigenous lands existing in Brazil, only 236 have been fully demarcated. The demarcation of indigenous lands is a fundamental requirement for the indigenous population to multiply and keep their customs and traditions alive.
Cimi's executive secretary also reported that the health system available to indigenous peoples has been deeply affected by changes in the governmental policy in relation to the Special Indigenous Sanitary Districts (DSEIs). Cuts in the budget for joint activities with indigenous organizations and NGOs may lead to the adoption of standardized salaries and to the dismissal of middle-level technicians (nursing assistants, microscopists, health agents) who will not be able to be hired again in the future.
In a public note, Cimi points out that the dismantling of the DSEIs "is part of the strategy of the government, which expects to
kill many rabbits with one stone: discrediting and demobilizing indigenous organizations, accusing them of improper handling of
resources, as a result of which they will not act as inspectors of the obligations of the government any longer and will begin to be inspected by
it in a complete inversion of roles. The perverse and cynical conclusion one could reach is that this `evidence' that indigenous people
cannot manage health actions confirms that the DSEIs are not feasible." Situations like this will be denounced throughout the fraternity
campaign with the hope that, together with indigenous peoples, we will be able to move on to conquer a "Land Without Evil."
Society Other Worlds
Melanie Gillbank
The second coming of the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, in Southern Brasil, has drawn 60,000 delegates from all over the world, a six-fold increase from its inauguration last year. Under the banner of "Another World is Possible" the forum opened on January 31 with a march attended by more than 60,000 people.
The WSF includes participants from a wide spectrum of political views within the left: from the reform agenda (all the world needs is more regulation and another global governance body), to abolitionists (nothing less than a process of "deglobalization" will do), and everything in between.
Renowned professor of linguistics, philosopher and social commentator, Noam Chomsky received star billing on the first day of seminars, urging the audience to challenge the commentators who dismiss the movements around the world as "anti-globalization". Instead he said there was a need to define the movements as in favor of just, equitable and ecologically sustainable form of globalization.
Bernard Cassen, who with Susan George was a founder of ATTAC (Association pour la Taxation des Transactions Financières pour l'Aide aux Citoyens— Association for the Taxation of financial Transactions for the Aid of Citizens), an international network of organizations campaigning for the introduction of the Tobin Tax, (of 1 percent on all international financial transactions), called for "the globalization of peace."
On the same panel as Cassen, Martin Khor, director of the Third World Network, claimed that neoliberal policies and the institutions that enforce them are in fact responsible for the "deindustrialization" of the poor countries, and was a direct form of colonization. "The World Trade Organization and the World Bank are the two greatest mechanisms generating poverty in the world," declared Khor.
Despite the WSF claim that "Another World Is Possible," the majority of the presentations revolved around the identification of the problems and relatively little time was devoted to the discussion of alternatives and concrete strategies. Some participants had come specifically to showcase alternative communities and ways of living. Indigenous participants, principally from the Americas, emphasized that their traditional lifestyles and relationships allowed them to live self sufficiently and sustainably.
José Pereira, a tribal leader from central Colombia, said he had come to Porto Alegre to teach people "the way." Author of "When Corporations Rule the World," David Korten, stated simply that we need to "walk away from the suicide economy and to support many of these local initiatives and weave into being webs of relationships that emerge to become a new kind of economy."
North American academic, Genevieve Vaughan, suggests one such alternative. She advocates a paradigmatic shift to a "gift economy" in which transactions between people will develop into circles of giving which focus on providing directly for human needs.
Famous Indian scientist, ecofeminist and academic, Vandana Shiva, denounced the form of globalization that is based on "the principle of organized greed." Instead, these "unstable pyramids of power need to be transformed into concentric circles of compassion," and that "the world we build in the future needs to be built on women's ways." Illustrating the distance that needs to be walked to realize this vision, Shiva was one of the few women who made it into the ranks of graying men on the plenary panels and seminar sections of the WSF.
A statement issued by a coalition of Brazilian unions claimed that the WSF was merely concerned with "putting a human face on globalization" and not tackling the root causes of environmental destruction, inequity and cultural colonization around the world. Many claim that this is a fair critique of the forum. Its sheer enormity and the bureaucratization of its organizational structure have limited the forum to traditional modes of organization and presentation.
Two of the principal supporters of the WSF are the local and state level governments of Rio Grande do Sul. In the lead up to the Brazilian national elections in November this year, conference venues, materials and merchandise provided constant reminders of their support. The Brazilian independent media web site claims that this has resulted in the cooption and watering down of the forum's agenda.
On the flipside however, such a forum would not be possible without the massive levels of financial and infrastructural support which have been provided by the local and state governments. For this reason, no other countries are prepared enough to embark on this task for next year and the forum looks set to remain in Porto Alegre for 2003.
Article supplied by SEJUP (Serviço Brasileiro de Justiça e Paz—Brazilian Service of Justice and Peace).
http://www.oneworld.org/sejup
Economy New Hope
Conrad Johnson
British Gas, in Brazil at least, had another frustrating month in January 2002. After finally last year getting effective action from the ANP (Agência Nacional do Petróleo—Brazil's oil and gas independent regulatory agency) against special Petrobras privileges in use of the Gasbol pipeline (through its control of that line's operating subsidiary, TBG), Petrobras took its monopoly power to Bolivia and shut-off much of the BG gas BG's distributor affiliate, Comgás (Companhia de Gás de São Paulo), needed to supply the São Paulo market. Petrobras was, of course, there with its own imported Bolivian gas to pick-up the BG `shortage' Petrobras had so cleverly engineered.
In other words, despite repeated clear policy statements and legal rulings by ANP that mandate free access to all Brazilian
natural gas pipelines, now for well over one year, Petrobras uses its vertically and horizontally structured economic monopoly to frustrate
national public policy. Petrobras had `over-nominated' its proportion of the natural gas imported through the Gasbol (Gasoducto
Bolívia-Brasil or the Bolivia-Brazil
Gas Pipeline), first in Brazil and then in Bolivia. In Bolivia it denominated a quantity sufficient that the Petrobras quota alone
exceeded pipeline capacity, necessitating eliminating BG-owned gas. ANP is now planning a closer audit of Gasbol imports to determine that
Petrobras, in each case, really has customers for the natural gas quantities it `nominates' for transport through the Gasbol.
Despite such setbacks "BG is in Brazil for the long-run," Francois Moreau, a director of BG's South American group operations told Power in Latin America in an exclusive February interview. Moreau believes that "market-oriented foundational beliefs and desires of ANP reflect the desires of both the federal administration and most public opinion makers concerned with long-term energy solutions in Brazil."
Mr. Moreau cites not just the regulatory victories BG, and before them Enron, has had in its ANP arbitrated disputes with Petrobras, but the actions of the GCE (the federal emergency executive committee empowered to deal with Brazil's supply crisis in electric power) in addressing long-term structural conditions that will work to bring investor interest and eventually a market-model into the electric sector.
"Price blending works well if you are talking about state control" Francis Moreau argues. "Given the present market control Petrobras has in gas there is really no available present alternative to the now three-tiered, government-controlled pricing of natural gas. But in electric, the new GCE plan has done something very encouraging for a market model. It is taking the so-called `old' energy out of the competitive sector, taken it out of the competition to create `new' electric generation for Brazil's growing demands and is leaving that to market forces.
The planned subsidy for transportation of imported gas and special price for gas thermo generated electricity is, at heart, a scheme to maintain `water insurance' or a margin of protection against further droughts, while at the same time, affording gas generation a level playing field against `new' hydro-based generation: something in the projected range of US$33 MWH."
Moreau believes that "one way or another Brazil will be dominated by free market pricing in the entire energy sector within 10 years". Still parts of the old model are still to be `perfected' in the gas market. Petrobras is being strongly encouraged by ANP to give-up its majority control of the Gasbol. Petrobras indeed reports it is negotiating sale of 2 percent of its 51 percent of TBG shares. While at the same time, Petrobras seeks to increase its vertical participation in the Rio de Janeiro gas distributors CEG (Companhia Distribuidora de Gás do Rio de Janeiro) and CEG-Rio. Petrobras is negotiating with the bankruptcy court in New York to buy Enron shares in those companies, respectively 25 percent and 33 percent of outstanding shares, giving Petrobras effective control of the Rio de Janeiro natural gas distribution market.
Conrad Johnson, the author, is an American attorney, permanently residing in Brazil. He writes for various publications on development and legal issues in Latin America. You can reach him at conrad@alternativa.com.br