The Brazilian government’s ruthless and politicized attacks on the Ministerio Publico Federal (MPF), in particular its targeting of the key Altamira-based Judge Antonio Carlos de Almeida Campelo, has seriously undermined the legal case against the controversial Belo Monte dam. Judge Campelo was responsible for issuing three injunctions against Belo Monte’s auction and license, based on his hearing of evidence presented by federal prosecutors and NGOs, including arguments denouncing the project’s illegal use of water resources on indigenous territories. The Tribunal Regional Federal (TRF) stripped two of these injunctions in record time while the project’s auction went ahead in spite of a standing restraining order.
Due to his investigations and judgments against Belo Monte, Judge Campelo was subjected to intimidation tactics; he told the press that his phone was tapped by the ABIN (the Brazilian Intelligence Agency) and that the cases he was hearing were victims of “haste” and authoritarianism on the part of the federal government. He said in a statement that “Not even during the dictatorship did this happen. One thing is to disagree with judicial decisions and address these through appropriate methods. Another is the failure to follow judicial decisions and even threaten judges. It will become like Venezuela where there is a judge who’s been imprisoned because she ruled against the government.”
Now in an administrative maneuver Judge Campelo has been removed by the TRF from ruling over environmental cases, like those pertaining to Belo Monte. The cases he was presiding over will be transferred to a new circuit court in Belém where they could be tied up in red tape until they lose relevance and the dam moves forward uncontested. In the place of Campelo’s court a new Environmental Law Court was established, whose judge – Ruy Dias de Souza Filho – is not a specialist in environmental law. In fact, after his appointment Judge de Souza confessed his ignorance of the Belo Monte case to the press.
According to the MPF, this administrative maneuver that removes Campelo – which will also affect 3,500 other environmental cases – is a “disaster” for those attempting to challenge Belo Monte through judicial means. In fact, it is part of a larger process of government intimidation of the MPF, preventing the ministry’s ability to do its job protecting Brazilian law and the Federal Constitution.
Shorty after Belo Monte’s environmental license was issued, the Advogado-Geral da União (AGU) issued a warning that it would sue the MPF and civil society groups that attempt to challenge the project’s auction. While the MPF sternly responded that the AGU had no authority to carry out these threats, this is another indication of the severe tactics the Brazilian government is employing to undermine the autonomy of federal prosecutors and judges. The recent action to strip Judge Campelo of his jurisdiction is a case in point.
Without a doubt, the MPF will employ clauses in the Federal Constitution to challenge the TRF’s decision to relocate the Belo Monte legal cases to a new circuit court in Belem. However, it is clear that the pursuit of justice will continue to be hampered by politically motivated attacks from the Lula government.
For more information, please see these links:
An excellent article on the topic by Telma Monteiro
The Folha article on Judge Campelo’s removal from environmental cases
