Brazil

BRAZIL With the return to democracy and the election of President Collor, the 1988 Constitution set out the new legal framework for the press. The old Press Law 5250, in effect since the dictatorship, was not repealed and the new Constitution established two conflicting measures, one fully guaranteeing freedom of information, the other creating rules which have the effect of restricting the first measure. Several bills were introduced in Congress with the intention of removing doubts. The Brazilian bar, the National Association of Journalists and the Nationai Federation of Journalists all suggested ways to replace the old law, still in force. Meanwhile, other bills were already making their way through the legislature. Some other suggestions run counter to the spirit of press freedom. For example, the possibility of suspending a publication in the name of good morals and customs, the philosophy regarding the exptic "conscience clause"; and the establishment of an "editing council", a Marxist inspired body. The various proposals are now under preliminary study, for later review by the federal Senate with the participation of Senator Josaphat Marinho, substituting for Senator Foga~a. Some points aim to define controversial elements that interest and sensitize Brazilian society. Outstanding among these are the so-called "proof of truth," the trial, the sanctions, and the "right to reply." Undoubtedly one of the aims of this specific law is to define the penalties to be applied in the case of less serious charges, replacing imprisonment for the journalist with punitive damages to be paid the plaintiff. The intention is to restore the libeled honor of the plaintiff. The report also deals with assaults directed at the free exercise of the profession. It cites the disappearance of broadcaster Valdeci de Jesus, who fraudulently used the name and documents of his cousin, Ivan Santos Rocha. He had received death threats after reporting on the activities of gunmen in the extreme southern area of Bahia. Another broadcaster, a sergeant and two military policemen have been implicated in the case. When charges were brought following a police investigation, two of the accused, broadcaster Salvador Rodrigues and policeman Adilson Ramos had fled. The other two, sergeant Jorge Mattar and a soldier, Antonio Carlos Ribeiro de Souza, were arraigned. Elemar Bandeira, a mine owner who shot at four reporters from the Agencia Estado news agency and Jamal da Tarde, was arrested for illicit gold panning operations. One of the shots he was said to have fired struck reporter Coeli Mendes. The incident occurred in Porto Velho, the Rondonia state capital, the night of June 27. Still unresolved are the circumstances surrounding the death of columnist Maria Nilce Magalhaes in July 1989. For several months Federal Police have been pressuring Tom Murphy, correspondent, and Patricia Saldanha, stringer, of Knight-Ridder Financial News-UNICOM to disclose their sources for a news story about the Brazilian government's closing of coffee export registrations last March 21. The two claim to have been interrogated six times, one time for three hours, verbally abused and threatened with imprisonment. The Foreign Press Association of Brazil and the Brazilian Journalists Union protested the incidents, the last of which occurred October 20.