The exception That Wants to Become the Rule

By Mario Osava

Brazil's Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, recognises she is an exception. But she believes she has arrived at her current post because of the opportunities she has been given, and not only because of her abilities.

There are millions of Marinas, Lulas, and Chico Mendes out there among the Brazilians who have unfulfilled vocations because present condition do not allow them to develop their potential, says Silva. Her dream is that the Lula administration will turn such exceptions – these exceptional people – into the rule, widening opportunities for everyone and serving as a counterpoint to the "reactionary, conservative discourse that preaches the exception," and condemns the powers who say "the people are poor because they were not willing to make the efforts Marina did."

The minister, two-term senator for the state of Acre, has worked since she was a girl, "scoring rubber trees" to help her rubber tapper father who had to provide for eight children. She walked 14 km a day, "seven to mark the trees, and another seven to collect" the latex from which natural rubber is made. With the early death of her mother, Marina took over the housekeeping chores. There was no school at the rubber plantation, which was 170 km from Rio Branco, Acre's capital. But she learned math so her bosses wouldn't cheat on the numbers. She became literate at age 17, after moving to Rio Branco for treatment for hepatitis after she had been misdiagnosed with malaria at school. Literacy classes at the MOBRAL (Brazilian Literacy Movement), late-night studies while she worked as a housekeeper, as well as intensive high-school courses allowed her to enter university and graduate in history. Somewhere along the way she abandoned the dream of becoming a nun, seduced instead by the trade union and political struggles, by the Liberation Theology learned from priests Leonardo and Clodovis Boff, who frequently visited Acre.

Her contact with the late Chico Mendes, the rubber tapper leader and founder of rubber reserves, changed her life and left her what she considers her fundamental principles: listen to everyone, including those on the opposing side, give opportunity to all in "horizontal relationships", and share the praise for everything one does. This is the challenge for the Lula government: "if we make changes with the people, we will be victorious."

Her vocation as an environmentalist, or socio-environmentalist, which combines environmental and social concerns, has grown out of her childhood in the Amazon forests, immersed in the traditional knowledge of the forest peoples, and in the struggle in their defence.

What do you think of proposals for inclusion of environmental clauses in the international trade agreements?

We must be careful with non-tariff trade barriers, but there are issues that represent progress in the law within each country, and can't be set aside solely for market interests. In the case of Brazil, we try to prevent environmental issues from being used as non-tariff barriers, to avoid protectionism. But at the same time we are aware that we are a rich country in terms of natural resources, and we need to establish ourselves in terms of environmental protection and being careful with our commodities so that they have environmental quality. This is an effort the country must make from within.

Does globalisation have a negative impact on the environment?

It would be simplistic to reduce it to either negative or positive. I see globalisation as a great space for exchange between different cultures, between different peoples. If it is seen as an exchange, as cooperation, as an opportunity to build something together, it is positive. If, on the other hand, it is seen as synonym for homogenisation, assimilation, it is a negative, especially if it has a strong bias towards domination, whether economic, cultural, or even military. Globalisation in itself is neither good nor bad. What can be bad are the results we take from it, through interests not always aligned with the goals of consolidation of values, of ethics, equity, and above all, of valuing life.

But doesn't increased competition in trade, which forces prices down, lead to predatory exploitation of natural resources?

To the extent that it has such an effect, of course, I have no doubt about it. But to the extent that the damage is spread globally, it could force the search for joint solutions.

Can climate change be considered the greatest environmental problem of today's world?

Yes, I believe climate change leads to situations that are of great concern to us all, because it becomes a question of survival in this world.

At the WSF there is strong advocacy of confirming water as human right, in part to prevent privatisation. There are projects for privatising water and sewage companies here in Brazil. What do you think of this?

Humankind is responsible for the sustainable use of water. But each country has autonomy to use its natural resources. The opinion of the Brazilian government is that the state is responsible for providing basic services. In the case of sewage there are some successful experiences in partnering with the private sector, provided that they favour social interests. But ultimately these services are under the authority of the state, which must be capable of providing them, and with adequate quality.

What about transgenic soy… isn't the research conducted in the United States, for example, enough to allow its production in Brazil? Does the precautionary principle still apply?

We believe there must be more research on this in Brazil. We are not against foreign studies, but commercial cultivation demands research within our own realities, which provide answers for the conditions in Brazil, a country with great biodiversity. It wouldn't be prudent to apply here the results obtained from studies in countries with little variety of species, such as the United States or Canada, where transgenic soy has been researched the most.