By Natalia Ruiz Diaz
ASUNCION, Oct 13 2008 (IPS)

The suspension of a traditional rally in the western Paraguayan region of the Chaco, severely affected by a prolonged drought, has pitted the Fernando Lugo administration and local indigenous communities against the organisers of the automobile race.

In early September, Lugo, a former Catholic bishop who took office in August, declared a 90-day state of emergency in that region, and ordered humanitarian relief for nearly 20,000 mainly indigenous families.

The measure coincided with the date scheduled for this year’s Trans-Chaco Rally, a race held annually since 1971, thus prompting the temporary suspension of the sports event.

The decision to cancel the rally was reached following a study, carried out by a committee made up of representatives of government agencies and environmental organisations, to determine whether or not it would interfere with the humanitarian aid efforts.

The main proponent of suspending the rally was Minister of National Emergencies Camilo Soares, who argued that it would be incompatible to have cars racing along the same roads that would be used to distribute the aid.

The government’s relief actions include a campaign carried out under the slogan “Chaco Oikoteve Ñanderehe”, which means “The Chaco Needs Us” in Guarani, the country’s second official language.

Although the Chaco region extends over 60 percent of Paraguay’s national territory, only one percent of the country’s six million people live in the semi-arid expanse of savannah and grassland.

Indigenous, social and environmental organisations countered by denouncing that the race has ignored damage prevention regulations for years and that it systematically fails to comply with environmental laws.

The rally’s area of influence covers hundreds of square kilometres, affecting indigenous peoples and their lands, protected areas, urban and rural communities, and fragile water ecosystems and wetlands, critics maintain.

“It would be absolutely unacceptable, an affront to our dignity and a violation of our rights to hold a multi-million-dollar event in the current emergency situation facing our communities and the region,” activist Norma Álvarez, of the Coordinating Body for the Indigenous Peoples and Communities of the Paraguayan Chaco, told IPS.

Social organisations say the centre-left government’s declaration of a state of emergency provides an unprecedented opportunity to address structural problems and find solutions for the region’s historical neglect.

The drought in the Chaco region is not merely a cyclical problem; it is becoming worse and worse with the increasing degradation of the ecosystems, in particular due to the area’s mass deforestation, they argue.

“We not only ask that the Trans-Chaco Rally be suspended for the duration of the state of emergency; we want to discuss the possibility of replacing this event with a different activity that will bring real benefits to the Chaco,” Álvarez said.

According to Margarita Mbywangi, head of the National Indigenous Institute, the rally creates an atmosphere that exposes young indigenous girls to harassment, attacks and abuse from the sports fans that come to the competition.

Representatives of the government and social organisations met with organisers of the rally to discuss possible solutions, but failed to reach an agreement.

After weeks of uncertainty, the government decided to hold a public hearing in the region, which had been called by the TACPy in coordination with the Environment Ministry.

The meeting was held Tuesday Oct. 7 in Mariscal Estigarribia, some 500 km from the capital, amidst accusations that TACPy’s directors were attempting to manipulate the outcome.

The TACPy claimed that there was overwhelming support for the rally at the hearing.

Sara Fischer, of the Chaco radio station Pa’i Puku and a member of the Chaco Coordination Forum, expressed her surprise at the way the meeting was convened, given that the local media were not informed and therefore were unable to announce it in advance.

A few hours before the meeting, there were rumours that local indigenous people were receiving provisions in exchange for expressing their support for the sports competition at the hearing, Fischer said.

“The reason the organisers of the rally come to the Chaco has nothing to do with patriotism, they come here for economic reasons. We feel let down because some locals are happy with a few crumbs and the false promises made by the Touring people,” said Alberto Denis, of Pa’i Puku.

“These rally people are like politicians, they show up when they want something from us, but then they forget all about us,” said Mateo Sogodo, leader of a local Ayoreo indigenous village.

The Environment Ministry had five days to study the objections raised by local residents, and is now awaiting the outcome of the ecological assessment. It is expected to decide within one or two weeks whether or not it will grant the rally’s organising body an environmental permit.

Paraguay’s Environmental Impact Assessment Act stipulates that indigenous groups must be consulted about any activity that is to be held in their territories and that may affect them.

“We have never broken the law. What we want is to have the certainty that the public hearing will be the last obstacle we have to overcome to hold the rally,” said TACPy president Ruben Dumont.

Organisers claim that the government is looking to cancel the event for good, by setting conditions that are impossible to meet.

Environment Minister José Luis Casaccia responded that his ministry is neither in favour or nor against the rally, and that in granting environmental permits it will comply with the law.

Meanwhile, more than 17,000 families in the provinces of Presidente Hayes, Boquerón, and Alto Paraguay have received food and water under the government’s emergency programme.

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