Government changes program for Marajó, criticizes Damares and she rebuts

Marajó Island (PA), which has had serious cases of sexual exploitation and abuse for decades, will have yet another program to combat these crimes, now led by Lula’s Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC). Launched in May, the Marajó Citizenship Program replaces Abrace o Marajó, created during the administration of former minister and current senator Damares Alves (Republicanos-DF).

According to Lula’s Ministry, the old Damares program was revoked due to the low social participation in the project and the low effectiveness of the actions. A report produced by the Lula administration, after a technical visit to the region, pointed out that the actions taken during the Bolsonaro government would not have brought “positive results in the region”. Damares denies this diagnosis (see below).

The island is home to around 500,000 people and includes the municipality with the worst Human Development Index (HDI) in Brazil: Melgaço. In addition to this, another seven of the 16 municipalities that make up the region are on the list of the 50 worst HDIs in the country: Chaves, Bagre, Portel, Anajás, Afuá, Curralinho and Breves.

“The current program will emphasize the confrontation of systematic violations of human rights that historically occurred in the region, a territory with a scenario of high social vulnerability and precarious access to public policies. The actions are already underway and involve integration with different government entities and support from the private sector”, says the ministry.

With the launch of the program, the government also intends to ensure improvements in internet access; expand the distribution of equipment to care for the riverside population; installation of river bases that can cover, in addition to inspection and policing services, the execution of social policies to promote human rights.

The Damares program was revoked through a decree, where the ministry pointed out that “the program had a Management Committee in which there was no participation of civil society and some guests could participate in the discussion of policies, but without the right to vote”. The folder also reinforced that “in 2021, the Federal Public Ministry, Public Defender of the Union (DPU), Public Ministry of Pará (MPPA) and Public Defender of the State of Pará (DPE-PA) issued a recommendation in which they questioned the governance and pointed out a deficit of social participation in the program”.

The situation in Marajó gained strong repercussions after the release of a video, in which former Minister Damares made allegations of rape and child trafficking in the region. The complaints are being investigated by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), especially because the former minister mentioned the removal of all children’s teeth for sexual abuse and did not present evidence. Cases of sexual exploitation and pedophilia have been investigated for decades in the region and were the subject of an inquiry initiated at the request of the Commission on Human Rights and Minorities (CDHM) of the Chamber of Deputies in 2006.

Damares management program

Abrace o Marajó, launched in 2019, aimed to improve the HDI of municipalities in the region by expanding the reach and access of the Marajoara population to human rights. In all, 133 actions were created, divided into four axes: social development, infrastructure, productive development and institutional development.

Among the major problems in Marajó that triggered the project are the high rates of sexual exploitation and violence against children, adolescents, women and the elderly.

According to members of the Damares administration, the first phase of the Program showed positive results, with medical and legal consultations being carried out, in addition to public hearings to accept claims; lectures on domestic violence against women and child sexual exploitation; and free axle cover services in order to prevent accidents at work, such as scalping.

In the field of health, the government has carried out work to prevent scalping accidents and offered free mammography services and preventive examinations for cervical cancer. 277 medical consultations and 712 dental procedures were carried out free of charge, and more than 4,000 medicines were distributed. The Navy provided two doctors, two dentists, a radiologist and a pharmacist to work in the region.

At the time of the program’s inception, Damares installed a Ministry office in Pará to focus on “Abrace o Marajó”. In addition, Caixa Econômica Federal employees arrived in the region to start the Minha Casa Minha Vida project. In 2019, according to data from the Bolsonaro government, there were more than a thousand unfinished houses from old housing projects that were abandoned or occupied irregularly. The intention of the former folder was to resume these projects.

In the second phase, new axes were included to help expand and improve the quality of public services provided and contribute to improving education, health, security and income indicators.

According to Damares, when talking about tackling sexual violence against children in Brazil, the cases of Ilha do Marajó are always cited. “The number of incest there is absurd. The sexual exploitation of children and adolescents there is a reality. “, commented the minister in an article by Gazeta do Povo in 2019.

Damares denies “low effectiveness”

In response to criticism from the current management, the former minister and current senator sent a series of reports and presentations with a balance sheet of the management that cites the results of Embrace the Marajó.

Regarding the low effectiveness, Damares mentions that more than BRL 1.1 billion were invested “in the territory in partnerships complementary to government action in the archipelago”. He also mentioned the distribution of more than 130,000 basic food baskets and 486,740 personal hygiene items to families in the most isolated municipalities; qualification of around 500 young people, aged between 18 and 29 years old, for entrepreneurship with training, mentoring, workshops and lectures in remote exchanges; telemedicine services; land regularization programs, access to electricity and internet.

Damares regretted that the current government is wanting to “dispute” with such a serious agenda. “They changed the name of the program, just to make an unnecessary political fight. I hope they do more than us, they can criticize, but do more, save children. This agenda cannot be an agenda for political dispute,” he said.

According to the senator, the Marajó program was not only aimed at combating sexual violence, but at “territorial development”. “I hope they develop the territory. There are no human rights without basic sanitation, without schools, without child protection and without a police station”, she says.

“It is necessary to ensure that people in that region have work and income, so that they do not sell their children into prostitution”, reinforces Damares.