海角大神

RioRealblog cheated on Rio de Janeiro earlier this [month], running off to S茫o Paulo for two days and a night.

There were the constant comparisons: an art Biennial that didn鈥檛 hold a candle to the recent wharfside ArtRio fair, an unbeatable crunchy听beirute听sandwich, much cleaner streets, and the surreal听paulistano听penchant for the upscale. How could anyone seriously name a building in the Jardins section of the city 鈥淟es Jardins des Jardins?"

And there was also an inspiring, imaginative breath of life: the launch of听Pense Livre, a network to urge a rethink of Brazil鈥檚 drug policy. Policy debate is such a rarity here; though the launch was one-sided, it did throw down a useful and provocative gauntlet.

鈥淩ich people are users; poor people are dealers,鈥� said network member Pedro Abramovay, a lawyer and law professor who served as national Justice Secretary under President Lula, and runs the听Brazilian branch听of the cyber activist NGO, Avaaz.

Brazil鈥檚 drug law changed in 2006, ostensibly to make distinctions between users and dealers that would be helpful for its justice and penitentiary systems. It seems to have backfired,听say听Pense Livre members, with police labeling many young black users from favelas as dealers. They can do this because the 2006 law doesn鈥檛 specify quantities of drugs to define who is who. It also increased minimum drug trafficking prison terms from three to five years.

RELATED: Think you know Latin America? Take our geography quiz!

As a result, the country鈥檚 drug trafficking prison population ballooned, up 118 percent from 2006 to 2010, according to an article in the听Folha de S茫o Paulo听newspaper听citing Justice Ministry data. Over the same period, the total prison population grew 37 percent, to almost 500,000.

He was dead by then

This week鈥檚 event consisted of brief testimonials from some of the sixty young leaders who make up the network, in a series of three panels. Former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who anchored last year鈥檚 pioneer documentary advocating drug decriminalization,听Quebrando o Tabu听[Breaking the Taboo], followed the panels with a (surprisingly)听short speech.

Fernando Grostein Andrade, director of the film, told of a pre-interview with an armed young drug trafficker, already a father of six. 鈥淲e asked him what his dream was,鈥� Mr. Grostein recalled. 鈥淗e said he wanted to be a dancer. We set a date to film the interview the following week, but he was dead by then.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 time to say 鈥榚nough鈥�,鈥� Grostein added. 鈥淭he money spent to buy weapons could be used to end all this [violence]. If you can鈥檛 wipe out drugs in a maximum security prison, you can鈥檛 do it in society at large.鈥�

Other network members noted that听legal and bureaucratic restrictions make听drug research nearly impossible in Brazil; that Portugal and twenty other countries have decriminalized and seen no surge in drug use; that there are 1.5 million cannabis users (80 percent of all drug users) in Brazil, which points to a need for a regulatory agency; that prohibition creates more damage to society than drug use; that drugs are neither a problem nor a solution, but something that human beings consume and听this should be collectively recognized; and that drug policy amounts to social control with racial undertones.

鈥淲ho benefits from the drug trade, who are the big fish?" asked Miguel Lago, political scientist and founder of the digital mobilization NGO,听Meu Rio. 鈥淲ho benefits from the current drug policy? We don鈥檛 know!鈥�

Pense Livre, organized by the听Igarap茅 Foundation, has four objectives:

• Decriminalize all drugs and invest in a public health approach to drug use;
• For cannabis, regulate medicinal use and home cultivation for personal use;
• Invest in programs for youth at risk, and offer alternative sentencing for non-violent first offenders; and
• Make medical and scientific research possible, for all drugs.

The large group on the stage of the Ita煤 Cultural building鈥檚 auditorium on Avenida Paulista presented a united front and counts on strong allies, such as the NGO VivaRio, part of a consortium which recently began听a consciousness-raising advertising campaign. Last year also saw the launch of the film听Cortina de Fuma莽a [Smokescreen], in addition to听Taboo 鈥� so Brazilians have had a chance to begin thinking about decriminalization. Congress has already听begun work on revising the law.

Another side to the debate

These liberals face an entrenched听conservative opposition, buoyed by a media that often fails to report with nuance and depth. The high visibility of official attempts in Rio and S茫o Paulo to听get crack users off the street and into treatment听may reinforce听conservative positions. And the yearly Marcha da Maconha (Marijuana March), which dates back to 1994,听still stirs up conflict.

Those who support drug decriminalization point to Prohibition in the United States, saying its repeal helped to regulate alcohol consumption and reduce crime and violence.

It is quite something to imagine a Rio de Janeiro where cariocas [locals] tranquilly grow and smoke their own, with no more gun-toting dealer armies, or trigger-happy cops. Ideally, the city would become fully integrated, fully accessible and safe.

But drug trafficking as we know it听may be on its way out in Rio de Janeiro, anyway. Ten years from now, some 鈥淔riquon么micas鈥� analyst may 鈥渄iscover鈥� that the听Internet, cell phones and full employment had more to do with the success of pacification听than the hundreds of police and dozens of security cameras used this week, for example, to set up听Rio鈥檚 28th police pacification unit, in Rocinha.

Or maybe the story will be that so many young black men were killed in Rio鈥檚 long undeclared wars among and against drug traffickers, that听in the second decade of the second millennium听few were left to father those who would roll the joints and raise the rifles.

RELATED: Think you know Latin America? Take our geography quiz!

No such thing as being poor enough, if you鈥檙e a cop

All of 听which makes one wonder what the militias 鈥� often consisting of off-duty or former cops and firemen 鈥� will be up to in ten years. Soon,听they鈥檒l be听more easily investigated and brought to justice, by way of听a new congressional bill. Still, wage and training issues, plus the swelling ranks of the Rio military police force, meant to grow from the current 44,000 to 60,000 by 2016, could provide eager recruits for the still-poorly regulated transportation, bottled gas, cable tv and other businesses run by paramilitary gangs.

Despite investigations and some arrests, a strong connection persists betweenmilicianos听and city and state government. Rio鈥檚 regional electoral court says听it鈥檚 watching thirty city council candidates in the upcoming October election, whose profiles are shady. Only a wholesale push for political transparency, responsibility and accountability can change this picture.

Last weekend, a former elite squad commander with the incredibly befitting last name of Pr铆ncipe (Prince), refused to take a Breathalyzer test at an听Opera莽茫o Lei Seca听[Dry Law Operation] roadblock, when stopped driving a Porsche worth $ 325,000 dollars. Mr. Pr铆ncipe said he鈥檇 paid for the car with his own money, earned from a sideline in security, and that before the Porsche, he drove a Jaguar.

Pobreza pouca 茅 bobagem, he added, making reference to the popular saying,听desgra莽a pouca 茅 bobagem听[When it rains, it pours]鈥� 鈥淭here鈥檚 no such thing as being poor enough.鈥�

RioRealblog thanks Andr茅 Gordirro for his translation help.