www.brazzil.com Joanne Blaney

Once again Brazilians are commemorating International Women's Day. There isn't that much to celebrate though. Among the problems plaguing women are high unemployment, low wages, gender inequality, machismo, violence, and prostitution.

International Women's Day (3/8) has been strongly commemorated throughout Brazil since the early 1970's. The focus of this day is to celebrate advances in equality for women and to focus on struggles within the context of eliminating all discrimination against women. The date is incorporated in the national calendar reaffirming the necessity to educate society in respect to equal rights between women and men as well as to formulate public policies that guarantee women's rights.

Advances in women's rights have been made throughout the years; however, much remains to be done to achieve true equality for women. This year, many groups are emphasizing key issues such as employment, health, merchandising of women's bodies, gender equality, eliminating violence against women, and being a voice for peace and against war.

Employment and Gender Equality

The concentration of wealth in Brazil is well documented—the richest 10 percent of the population possess 50 percent of the income; the poorest 50 percent of the population have less than 10 percent of the income. This concentration of wealth is also connected to sex and race. Women now constitute 41 percent of the economically active population in Brazil. However, according to a 2002 study, men earn 29.2 percent higher salaries than women for the same work.

More than one-half of women workers are in the informal sector receiving even lower salaries. Women are employed in manual and repetitive work which contributes to health problems while jobs in technology and information areas are reserved mostly for men. Unemployment of women grew 7.2 percent between 2001-2002 and has now reached 22.3 percent. This social inequality also shows itself strongly in the areas of inadequate housing, education, and day care centers for women.

Brazil has the second highest population of African descendants in the world, numerically lower only to the country of Nigeria in Africa. Afro-Brazilian women, on the average, receive a 40 percent lower salary than white women. Women are more likely to be poor than men and an Afro-Brazilian women over the age of 60 is three times more likely to be poor and 4 times more likely to be indigent than other women of the same age.

Workers' rights continue to be weakened. Law #9.032/95 (2002) reduced workers' compensation. Employers may now report a work accident or work-related illness as a common sickness. This releases the employer from obligations connected to worker compensation. Another effect is the lack of legal notification of worker-related accidents or illness. This has serious implications for women. The number of accidents at work has greatly increased among women because of the repetitive, and at times, dangerous work that they do. The weakness of workers' rights means even lower salaries and lack of rights in part-time work for women.

The 2002 national plebiscite against the Free Trade Act of the Americas (ALCA) indicated a strong rejection of Brazilians to the proposed treaty and showed strong support for a model of development that guarantees Brazil's sovereignty and equality. Women's groups, in particular, are concerned about the effect of ALCA in exploiting women even more in the area of employment. The privatization of services that would result from ALCA would make health and education less accessible to women and generate more exclusion and discrimination.

Half of the Brazilian population that lives in the rural area are women. According to the Minister of Agrarian Development (MDA), only 11 percent of the titles to land are in the name of women. MDA is working to eliminate discrimination against women and increase micro-credits to women in the Northeast so that they may remain on the land with their families. Thirty percent of leadership slots in MDA organizations are now reserved for women.

According to the Brazilian Electoral Tribunal, 50.8 percent of the electorate is composed of women. In the 2002 election, 43 women were elected to the Federal Congress resulting in a 48 percent increase since the 1998 elections. There was a 25 percent increase of women state and district representatives. The Workers' Party had the greatest increase in the number of women elected across the country. Women are occupying more and more public space but are still far from having political power due to machismo.

Health Issues

In 2000, the World Health Organization's analysis of health conditions in 191 countries, indicated Brazil in 125th place because of precarious or nonexistent health services. Especially for women the situation is serious. Where they exist, most health posts lack medical personnel and proper equipment.

Maternal mortality rates are very high as compared to other countries. The latest statistics indicate that 110 women die for every 100,000 infants born. Millions of women do not have access to prenatal programs or competent assistance at the moment of the birth of their babies. There is a lack of emergency services to aid women suffering from hemorrhages, eclampsia (caused by high blood pressure), and infections in the post-delivery period. There continue to be a large number of caesarian birth as well as insufficient hospital beds.

In Brazil, the number of women between the ages of 45 and 64 with hypertension has grown significantly since the 1980's. A recent study indicated that in Salvador, state of Bahia, there is one woman with hypertension for every 2 men as compared to one woman to 6 men in France or Finland.

AIDS is now a major cause of death of Brazilian women between the ages of 15-49 years. The growth of HIV contamination cases is greatest in married women infected by their husbands. In 1985, one woman was HIV contaminated as compared to 25. In only 4 years, between 1994-1998, the number of women contaminated grew 9 times more than men and continues to grow.

Violence and Sexual Exploitation

According to the latest statistics of Foundation Perseu Abramo, every 15 seconds a woman is beaten in Brazil and 43 percent of Brazilian women suffer domestic violence. Domestic violence is also an indirect cause of high maternal mortality rates. There are only 47 houses throughout the entire country to protect victims of domestic violence. Machismo and impunity of aggressors continue to be root forces contributing to the increase in violence against women. Women's groups are working to change the laws that allow for impunity and to improve the women's police stations in the country that deal with domestic violence cases.

According to Unicef (2002), 100,000 women and children are sexually exploited commercially in Brazil. They are taken through Manaus to Venezuela, through Suriname to Holland, or through Argentina to Spain. Some also remain in Brazil and are moved from state to state in order not to be found. The exploiters of these women and children are men, of whom 68 percent are Brazilians, a majority being lawyers, businessmen, police, politicians and employees of the judicial branch of the government.

The neoliberal model with its high levels of female unemployment and absence of economic and financial perspectives for women as well as the daily merchandising of women's bodies by the media has increased prostitution and trafficking in women.

(Sources: National Brazilian Report: CEDAW Convention to Eliminate all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (2002); Policies for Women: National Council of Rights of Women and the Secretary of State for Women's Rights, 2002; SOF Newsletters: Women and Health, 2001-2003)

Joanne Blaney, an American Maryknoll missioner and former elementary school teacher and principal, works in Brazil with women who are prostitutes, prisoners or victims of domestic violence. You can contact her writing to sejup1@alternex.com.br 

This material was supplied by Sejup, which has its own Internet site: www.oneworld.net

www.stuff.co.nz 08 March 2003

SINGAPORE: Oil prices held strong on Friday after President George W. Bush accused Baghdad of playing a "willful charade" and said he would push for a UN vote on a new resolution authorising the use of force to disarm Iraq.

US light crude for April delivery climbed nine cents to $37.09 a barrel.

Traders said steeper futures price gains for later months delivery reflected uncertainty over the timing of any war.

May crude rose 19 cents to $35.73, while June was up 27 cents at $34.03.

"Market sentiment is bullish but confused about the timing of a military strike. There may be two to three weeks delay as governments try to find some common ground for action," said Sydney-based independent oil analyst Simon Games-Thomas.

At a news conference, Bush said he would within days force a vote seeking UN authorisation to invade Iraq.

"We're days away from resolving this issue at the security Council," Bush said. "It's time for people to show their cards, to let the world know where they stand when it comes to Saddam Hussein."

Washington, backed by Britain, has met stiff opposition for a new UN resolution paving the way for war from Russia, France and China, which hold veto powers on the Security Council and have called for more time for weapons inspections to continue.

The United States and Britain have moved about 300,000 troops into the Gulf region ready to launch an invasion of Iraq, which they allege has stocked biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.

Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix is due to deliver later on Friday his latest assessment of the inspections mission and Iraq's cooperation with the searches.

Bush needs nine votes of the 15-members of the UN Security Council, but to date has only three certain backers - Britain Spain and Bulgaria.

VENEZUELA LIFTS FORCE MAJEURE

Iraq is the world's eighth biggest oil exporter, selling roughly two million barrels per day overseas, and traders worry that a military strike may stop supplies.

In addition, they fear oil flows may be disrupted from other producers in the Middle East, which pumps about 40 percent of globally traded crude.

The threat of war comes as world fuel stocks are running below normal levels, partly due to an continuing anti-government strike in Venezuela, which slashed the country's oil exports at one point to a trickle.

Venezuela is the world's fifth biggest exporter of crude and refined oil products, supplying 13 percent of imports into the United States.

President Hugo Chavez on Thursday lifted a force majeure - invoked when a supplier cannot meet its contractual obligations - on Venezuela's exports, the strongest signal yet that South America's biggest producer was restoring petroleum operations.

The force majeure has been in operation since soon after the strike to topple Chavez began on December 2.

"We have decided to suspend the force majeure on all of (state oil company) PDVSA's operational activities...we guarantee operations to the entire world," Chavez said.

He said crude production had been restored to 2.658 million bpd plus an additional 150,000 bpd of condensate, or super light crude. Rebel PDVSA workers on Wednesday pegged production at 1.1 million bpd.

Venezuela pumped 3.1 million bpd in November before the strike, with oil shipments abroad running at 2.7 million bpd.

Before the strike, Venezuela was the third largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which raised its production limits in January by 1.5 million bpd to largely offset the loss of Venezuelan supplies.

Opec, which is dominated by Middle East producers, has pledged to make up for any losses in Iraqi supplies due to war. The cartel will meet in Vienna on Tuesday.

www.agweb.com 3/7/2003 by Roger Bernard

Rising gasoline prices are catching consumers' attention across the country. And with good reason as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is noting that pump prices have hit record marks in 16 states, and a U.S.-wide record is in danger of falling. Here's a link to a story we ran on AgWeb.com yesterday on the situation.

But for agriculture, the impacts run across several areas like diesel fuel, fertilizer and nitrogen costs. We want your feedback on what you're experiencing as spring approaches. Have you had trouble locking up N supplies or diesel fuel? How much have your costs gone up, etc.?

Drop us a line using this email link. We'll compile the responses as they come in. As usual, please include your location -- we won't use your name.

Here's what one grower email us already this morning:

"The last time we had a quote on anhydrous it was $385 and going higher. The said $400-$450 would be the norm for this spring. What irritates me is that this fertilizer was produced with cheap natural gas last fall. This is the same thing that happened two years ago. You would think that there are always going to be about the same amount of acres planted year in year out. So don't the fertilizer companies buy natural gas ahead of time if they see it going up? In my opinion it is beyond gouging.We need to call it for what it really is LEGITIMATE STEALING!

"As for fuel prices when Venezuela went on strike Saudi Arabia stepped up to the plate and in no uncertain terms said they would fill ANY gaps in oil production. There is no disruption in production right now such as the war so what the heck is going? Oh, I forgot it is the same thing as my previous paragraph -- LEGITIMATE STEALING! I haven't bought any because I still think that once the war with Iraq starts and they find no real disruption then prices for gas and diesel should retreat quickly.

"There is a silver lining in all this: If prices for gas and diesel double or triple or even more. Then that will create a call for more self reliance on renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Maybe that is exactly the catalyst we need. The American public has always wondered why we buy oil from the very countries that want our demise. It doesn't make sense to fund terror thru the back door. I wonder what the true price of fuel is when you add in the cost of military protection of the oil tankers that come out of the Persian Gulf."

biz.yahoo.com Friday March 7, 11:21 am ET

BOGOTA, Colombia, March 7 (Reuters) - The Colombian Stock Exchange said on Friday it will hold an auction of about $13 million worth of shares in Colombian supermarket Almacenes Exito (IMI.CN).

A subsidiary of France's Casino (Paris:CASP.PA - News), Bergssar BV, which already owns 27.2 percent of Exito, has said it is looking to boost its stake.

Choose loan type:Go! The sale of 6.22 million shares in Exito -- a 3.08 percent stake -- will take place on April 4, the stock exchange said in a paid advertisement.

It did not say who was selling the shares, which are priced at 6,200 pesos ($2.09) each, a premium of 77 percent above the last closing price of the stock, which last traded on Feb. 24.

Exito, which is Colombia's largest supermarket chain and also operates in Venezuela, is controlled by Colombian conglomerate Grupo Empresarial Antioqueno (GEA).

Exito saw sales rise 2.2 percent to about $1 billion in 2002, but its net profits fell 44.5 percent to about $11 million.

www.stockhouse.ca 3/7/03

Crystallex International Corporation will be displaying its mining activities during the upcoming Prospectors and Developer's Association of Canada annual convention (PDAC) and would like to extend an invitation to its shareholders to visit the Company at Booth number 2214 in the Investors Exchange.

Crystallex is currently building on the strength of its strategic acquisitions over the past several years, which now include its recently executed mining agreement for the Las Cristinas properties in Venezuela. The Company is focused on building both its mining infrastructure and human resources to position it as an emerging intermediate gold producer.

Senior management will be available at its booth to discuss the Company's projects. The PDAC will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Center in Toronto, Ontario from March 9 through March 12, 2003. Admission to the Investors Exchange area of the convention is free of charge.

Information on the conference can be viewed at www.pdac.ca

About Crystallex: Crystallex International Corporation is a Canadian based gold producer with operations and exploration properties in Venezuela and Uruguay. Crystallex shares are traded on the TSX and AMEX Exchanges and Crystallex is part of the S&P/TSX Composite Index, the most widely followed benchmark index in Canada. Crystallex has been focused on strategic growth in South America and recently signed a definitive agreement with respect to the Las Cristinas mining properties in Venezuela and has taken possession of those properties. Crystallex is currently reviewing drill data and studies previously completed in preparation for the completion of a feasibility study to support its development plans for the properties.

Crystallex International Corporation Quick Quote: T.KRY 1.51 (+0.01)

CONTACT: TEL: 1-800-738-1577 Crystallex International Corporation