Video |
Text/Story |
Black screen |
01:00:10:00 RF Agent Kawashita clip 147 (06:38:46:02)
-3-5, 3-5, copy 50? Radio: Can you hear me? What is the target and the direction they
are going? 01:00:20:09 |
RF vehicle tracking targets through rural
area |
01:00:22:09 RF Agent Kawashita clip 147 (06:38:46:02) Radio: They are heading to Guanabara. -But what road are they on? 01:00:32:04 |
Title
Board: Brazil has one of the longest and most
porous borders in the world |
|
RF vehicle tracking targets through rural
area |
01:00:40:15 RF Agent Kawashita clip 149
06:42:01:13: -We are approaching the area. -Do you think you can help with the
situation? -Radio: It's a silver Palio. 01:00:50:21 |
Title
Board: It shares a border with the three top cocaine
producing countries in the world |
|
RF vehicle tracking targets through rural
area 01:01:01:13 |
01:01:04:00 RF
Agent clip 149 06:42:01:13: 3-5, we are approaching the place, does
your team need help there? 01:01:13:00 |
Agents
get out of car to approach vehicle |
01:01:19:00 RF Agent Clip 149 06:43:50:02 -Receita Federal! Exit the vehicle! 01:01:21:00 |
Program
TITLE Fronteira
da Grandeza |
1:23 |
Foz
do Igaucu 01:01:32:17 |
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01:01:38:00 Augusto Q2: We’re in Foz do
Igaucu, Brazil, and I’m here because I wanted to explore more of this, this
border thing right. We, we, first it was two borders, two different countries
and I thought that was pretty interesting culturally speaking. 01:01:52:00 |
Scenic views of Iguacu Falls A Panning Shot of water boarder between
Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. With border animations. |
01:01:57:00 Augusto Q3: The Iguacu
falls right, the, this border part is, is very mythological in ways. It was
once known as the edge of the world by the Indians. It’s a very young city,
if you compare it to other big cities in Brazil, and, and it shows that it’s
not the end, I mean it’s like the continuity of other things, but they are
not Brazil anymore. And by culture I mean, I mean things like this transaction
of different ideas and different people from completely different backgrounds
living in a very, very close and very enclosed even area. So there’s a shock
of a lot of cultures and that’s what attracted me here. |
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01:02:40:00 Augusto Q9: Man it's
surreal in some points, because if you go to Paraguay through the, through
the bridge you see a complete different planet there. 01:02:50:00 |
Bridge to Paraguay. |
|
Google
Map Image of the bridge between Paraguay and Brazil. |
01:02:59:00 Gen.
Polsin Q14: Here in the
west of Parana we have two borders, / one with Argentina and one with
Paraguay. / With Argentina we have the Tancredo Neves Bridge, / or the bridge
of De La Fraternidad / and with Paraguay we have the Friendship Bridge. / These
two bridges represent the physical connection between countries. / These
bridges were opened a long time ago. / Particularly the Friendship Bridge,
because of the intense traffic / it doesn’t keep up with the demand that we
have from both countries. / 01:03:51:00 |
|
01:03:51:00 Gen Ferreira Q3: The triple frontier on
our side is Foz do Iguaçu, / the other Paraguayan and Argentinean partners,
really is one of the frontiers / that today is already one of the most
lively, which has greater interchange in every sense. 01:04:08:00 |
|
01:04:08:00 Gen.
Polsin Q14: Naturally,
this connection, facilitating transport between countries, / also facilitates
crime and contraband, decaminho. / 01:04:22:00 |
The ease with
which to get there also allows us to say that it is more alive than other
points along the border because those areas are more remote. |
01:04:34:00Gen Ferreira Q3: There is a greater
commercial exchange / and along with that exchange that is done / in a
tremendously illicit way, there are also problems concerning the borders. / 01:04:50:00 |
|
01:04:52:00 Gen Ferreira Q3: Those problems are not
addressed only / by the armed forces, but also by the armed forces. / // The
institutional framework, / belongs to the responsible customs organization,
in this case Receita Federal, / and in the case of cross-border crimes, the
Federal Police. 01:05:11:00 |
Damaged Crop
footage while on patrol |
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01:05:13:00 Augusto Q6: Foz do Iguacu was
founded and populated by military people and military family, and you know,
even the, the softest military guy is, thinks differently than a civil, and
if you have a population that is that involved that this kind of involvement
with the base and with the military affairs, these, you know most likely
reflect on the way they do politics and the way they see the world and
everything. 01:05:40:00 |
|
01:05:42:00 Augusto Q9: It’s funny because the
people that actually maintain these borders are, are from here, so they tend
to point fingers at the other ones because they’re different. // Most the
people here they see like Paraguay as a, as a no-man’s-land, I mean there’s
no rules, you know. That’s how they describe it, if you ask any local, // but
at the same time, they go there and they shop there and you know, but for
them it’s ok. 01:06:09:00 |
Brazilian
soldier pulls over cars at checkpoint |
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|
01:06:21:00 Gen
Polsin Q3: Operation
Agatha started in 2011. / It is an operation developed by the Defense
Ministry / within the Strategic Borders Plan / for the entire government. 01:06:38:00 |
Title
Board: In the years leading up to the World Cup
and Summer Olympics, President Dilma vowed to toughen border control. The
Strategic Borders Plan, introduced in 2011, gave the military policing power
within 150 kilometers of the frontier. |
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01:06:56:00 Gen
Polsin Q4: The primary
objective / is to reduce
inter-border crimes / along the
whole border / of Brazil with its
neighboring countries of South America. 01:07:13:00 |
Soldiers and RF working at checkpoint |
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01:07:19:00 Min
Jobim Q6: Operation
Agatha, which was created when I was still Minister of Defense, / was an
operation that articulated three groups: / the Ministry of Justice with the
Federal Police, / the Ministry of Defense with the Armed Forces, / and the
Treasury Department along with the Receita Federal. / 01:07:39:00 |
RF agent looking at jackets in back of
car |
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01:07:43:00 Gen.
Polsin Q10: We basically
have two types of crime here. I already talked about crimes on the border. / We
have descaminho[1],
/ which is the entry of products; toys, electronics, and clothing. / Toys,
electronics end up having a much lower price / than those that are sold in
Brazil, / for different reasons. 01:08:11:00 |
RF agent backs away from car and explains |
01:08:11:00 159 RF agent talks to camera: in ENGLISH Suspect vehicle, no? In the
trunk. They located some... ...a lot of jackets. 01:08:21:00 |
ID Rubens Barbosa Ambassador to the United States |
01:08:23:00 Rubens Barbosa Q4: Historically,
Paraguay has always had a smuggling problem, / and Brazilians would shop in
Paraguay because it is cheaper and the products are imported. / The Brazilian
government then tried to regulate that. / There is an allowance, a maximum
amount of 500 dollars / that you can spend there and bring into Brazil. 01:08:52:00 |
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01:08:52:00 RF agent Kawashita at table clip 162: [to camera] Only the jackets will be confiscated. The
vehicle is clear. 01:08:58:00 |
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01:09:10:00 Gen.
Polsin Q10: We have
crimes. And that is something we have observed, / that we are most concerned
about and that we are most engaged / with the entrance of arms, ammunition,
explosives and drugs. / And we understand that those are the crimes that we
should focus our efforts on, / looking to inhibit, and to diminish / the entrance
of these kinds of materials, the arms, the ammunition, / the explosives, the
drugs, that eventually feed the crime in the big cities. 01:09:47:00 |
Paraná river boat patrol |
01:09:51:00 Min Jobim Q4: Paraguay’s problem was the entry of drugs
and the smuggling, especially cigarette smuggling, tobacco smuggling, / to be
consumed in Brazil. / There was significant tobacco production in Paraguay / and
the consumption would end up in Brazil because the Brazilian tobacco industry
/ couldn’t compete with it. / So much so that the tobacco market today,
practically 30% of the market of cigarette consumption in Brazil / is
contraband from Paraguay, / because there are tax issues, price differences,
and all that. 01:10:30:00 |
Because of protectionist policies, goods
are much more expensive in Brazil than in neighboring countries. This creates
more potential for smuggling. |
|
|
01:10:51:00 Gen Ferreira Q14: So, the agencies rely on our,
(the army's) logistics infrastructure, / our ability to travel, our capacity
for deployment. / 01:11:02:00 |
Police and military around table |
01:11:02:00 Colonel:
So I need the Military
Police to give us some support / because it’s a sensitive area as you know. /
01:11:08:00 |
“our” refers to Army or Armed Forces? |
01:11:08:00 Gen Ferreira Q14: For us we cannot replace
them. / So that we have these agencies together with us, / that is, it is
not the presence of the army, / it is the presence of Brazil. 01:11:19:00 |
|
01:11:20:00 Min
Jobim Q7: For example,
we did an operation in the south of the country / in which the Paraguayan
government reacted because they thought that we were doing a kind of… / announcing
aggressions against Paraguay. / but it was focused to curb smuggling; / weapons,
cigarettes, and drugs, specifically those three, but basically drugs. / It
worked, worked very well. They even wanted us to suspend it on the Paraguayan border. / But this was influenced
by those people involved in smuggling, who realized that their business would
end. 01:11:54:00 |
At night, RF agents check white truck that
has speakers in back. |
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01:11:55:00 Gen Ferreira Q15: They are
operations that aim, first of all, to show all Brazilians / that we can be
present, to be present in these places. / The Agatha operations are not
intentionally kept secret. / That is, it is an annual operation. There is a time
each year when it will occur. / The result often may not be as effective in
terms of numbers, seizures. / It may be not as effective in terms of
incarcerations, / but they are effective as they allow us to get to know the
area better / and can operate more effectively in the area. / 01:12:45:00 |
Agents have apprehended suspect and check
car. Agent holds bags of cocaine. |
|
Operation Agatha Statistics* |
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SHIFT TO MODERN
HISTORY |
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01:12:52:00 Fabio
Q3: The first border in
South America was the Treaty of Tordesillas. / The Treaty of Tordesillas
established a straight line / from the north to the south. 01:13:05:00 |
Rick’s Rio helo
footage used here. |
01:13:06:00 Rubens Barbosa Q6: In 1498 the Treaty of
Tordesillas / divided the western world / between the two countries, Portugal
and Spain. /// and Portugal gained the piece from the Northeast to Sao Paulo,
the whole coast. / That was Portugal, and the rest belonged to Spain. / In
1580 there was the merger of Portugal and Spain / and those borders
disappeared for many years. 01:14:02:15 |
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01:14:02:16 Gen Ferreira Q7: With the advent
of this unification, the Treaty of Tordesillas lost its raison d'être. 01:14:09:00 |
Bandeirantes
monument |
01:14:09:00 Fabio Q3: Then the Portuguese, through the bandeiras, the
bandeirantes / moved forward inside the country and formed the curve, / which
was legally recognized as the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, / more than 250 years
after the Treaty of Tordesillas. 01:14:32:00 |
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01:14:32:00 Gen Ferreira Q7: In that period
there was a very strong Portuguese action, / And in this expansion towards
the west a new frontier was demarcated / by the fortresses that the
Portuguese built, / that gave us a territorial legacy / that through the
concept of Uti Possidetis,
possession determines ownership. 01:14:59:00
|
Cut but could be put back: “And then in 1750 with Alexandre de Gusmão / who managed, by various legal means, / to make this occupation into something that was considered legally viable. / So Brazil’s curve was recognized by him afterwards.” |
01:14:59:00
Fabio
Q4: We Brazilians are
used to telling Portuguese jokes. / Portuguese jokes about how they don’t
understand many things. / Those jokes exist maybe because Portugal colonized
Brazil, / but the Portuguese / were never as dumb as it is said in those
jokes. / They were very smart / because they managed to increase Brazil’s
territory / from the Treaty of Tordesillas to the Treaty to Madrid. / They
managed to increase Brazil’s territory through that expansion. / and then the
occupation through colonization, / and after that there was the final
consolidation / with Baron Rio Branco. 01:15:45:00 |
TRANSITION--WHY
SUDDEN INTEREST IN BORDERS? |
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As Brazil's minister of foreign affairs
in the early 1900's, Baron Rio Branco led diplomatic resolution of the
boundaries in the Amazon Basin, formalizing brazil's current borders. |
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01:15:58:00 Fabio Q5:
So for a long time since Baron Rio Branco perhaps, / because after the early
1900’s in which the borders were consolidated / we could say that we had
stopped thinking about our borders. 01:16:10:00 |
Navy boat
captain on Mamoré River talks about imaginary line |
01:16:14:00 Navy Boat Captain: See
this island here? We make an imaginary line, beyond this point is Bolivia. / Understand?
We make an imaginary division here in the water. / So, any time you go beyond
that line, you're in Bolivian water. / Just to have an idea of what is theirs
and what is ours. 01:16:35:00 |
MAP of
Peru/Colombia |
01:16:35:00 Min
Jobim Q2: Well, in the
first place, the theme of Brazil’s boundaries started to be, let’s say, / examined
during the Fernando Henrique government / when I was Minister of Justice in
1995, / which was basically restricted to one area, which was the border with
Peru, / since there was satellite information from American authorities, / that
there were breaches across the Brazilian border / to deliver cocaine into
Colombia. / It was drug trafficking. / Beforehand, during the José Sarney
Government, / there was the decision of creating border posts everywhere in
Amazon. 01:17:24:00 |
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01:17:24:00 Fabio Q5: It happens
in the post-cold war environment / with the end of
bipolarism when we had the United States and the Soviet Union. / So with
the end of bipolarism some states begin to be considered as emergent states. //
/ Because Brazil said at
that moment, “Look, if we want to have a seat in the world we have to deal
with our neighbors. We have to relate to our neighbors”.
01:17:53:21 |
|
01:17:53:22 Min
Jobim Q2: And, well,
after that, in President Lula’s Ministry of Defense, / we formulated the
National Defense Strategy. / Its first version remains until now with a few
modifications. / Well, this strategy argued the need for protecting Brazil's
land borders. / Because the basic
thesis of national strategy was that we knew it was impossible to be
everywhere. 01:18:30:00 |
LIVRAMENTO |
|
Santana do
Livramento on the border of Uruguay
|
01:18:45:00 Fabio
Q2: In Brazil we have
the following situation: / we have 577 cities that are part of the border
strip. / The border strip is that space that goes from the borderline / 150
km inside the country. / Of those 577 cities, only 29 cities are
border-twin-cities, // / six are placed near the border of Brazil and
Uruguay. 01:19:18:00 |
|
01:19:21:00 Fabio
Q2: Here you have millions of bridges because there
is always a street people can cross. / That results in what? In much more
integration / between the two populations, which results in a peculiar
situation / almost as if it were a third state / within the states of Brazil
and Uruguay. / 01:19:48:00 |
|
01:19:48:00 Rubens
Barbosa Q17: I think
there has been in some border areas a growing / economic and commercial
integration, / peaceful and quiet, you know? / Along with the roads that are
being built / I think that integration will grow even more / between Brazil
and the surrounding countries./ 01:20:13:14 |
|
01:20:13:15 Fabio
Q2: Why is that
interesting? Because the whole concept of border is understood as / a space
for separation of the states. / The state says, “This territory is mine and
the other territory is yours”. // / Here it is different. / Because it’s a
meeting spot. It’s a spot for integration. / Integration rises here for a few
reasons. // / Geography is the first reason. There is no river / so there is
no obstacle preventing communication. / Another important reason / that we
saw in our studies were bi-national marriages. 01:20:52:00 |
|
01:21:00:00 Vilmar
Q2: In Livramento and
Rivera it is very natural that people marry people from another country. / We
are a very typical case. She is Uruguayan and I am Brazilian. / That’s very
common. 01:21:25:00 |
Vilmar and Mary
prepare bbq |
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01:21:26:00 Vilmar Q5: In Rivera there is this traditional avenue / called
Sarandi Avenue. / It’s filled with Brazilians and Uruguayans enjoying free
time at night or at weekends. / Mary Q5: There’s where we began dating. / Vilmar Q5: There’s where we began dating. / Mary Q5: And that’s something that comes from our
grandparents’ era. 01:21:53:00 |
Vilmar and Mary
continue to prepare bbq |
01:22:01:00 Mary Q11: So my father never forbade
us, he never said, / I think he never thought of me marrying either a
Brazilian or an Uruguayan. / It was the same to him. I don’t know about
Vilmar. / I don’t think it ever crossed his mind marrying an Uruguayan too. / Vilmar Q11: It was already in my
family. / Uruguayan father married to a Brazilian. / Spanish grandfather
married to a Brazilian. / So it was such a normal thing that there is no... /
There is no prohibition there. 01:22:37:07 |
|
01:22:37:08 Mary
Q5: If we had to build a
wall it wouldn’t be possible / since the families are all mixed up, half
Uruguayans, half Brazilians. / 01:22:50:00 |
Transition to
Thomas Albornoz border town |
|
Villa Thomaz
Albornoz |
|
drone flyover
stone fence |
01:22:59:00 Miguel Q1: My name is Miguel Angel
Fontes da Rosa. / It's my birth name. / Uruguayan nationality. / Descendant from
both sides, Brazilian and Uruguayan. / On my father’s side my grandparents
are Brazilian. / On my mother’s side my grandparents are Uruguayan. 01:23:20:00 |
-Miguel cooks
meat -Miguel cuts
meat -Miguel serves
meat |
01:23:27:00 Miguel Q1: Brazil and Uruguay, and
there is no difference between one and the other. / We are all one, united. /
Uruguay or Brazil we are only one. / The whole area is the same. 01:23:50:00 |
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01:23:53:00 Fabio Q1: The first time I came here I asked where I should
take the bus to Uruguay. / And they told me that I was already in Uruguay. / I
had already crossed the border, / I was in Uruguay and didn’t even realize
it. / 01:24:09:21 |
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01:24:09:22 Fabio
Q1: I was surprised / and
it was the first time I crossed a border without any control, / 01:24:18:00 |
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01:24:19:00 Vilmar Q2: You don’t know when you’re in Brazil and when you’re
in Uruguay. / If you don’t know those marks, those monuments, you won’t know where
you are. / Mary
Q2: When it starts and
where it ends. / The international square is typical from this union. A
common square, / half in Brazil half in Uruguay. / 01:24:43:00 |
Need transition
to match script change to new topic about the open border--crime |
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01:24:45:00 Mary Q8: A long time ago, depending on the political season,
/ they would bring in the military to keep order. / Especially during the
military period. / So they did that, to keep the order. / Because what
happens? If someone does something wrong in Brazil’s or Uruguay’s side, / what
happens if the bandit or the bad guy does something illegal? He runs to the
other country. 01:25:18:07 |
|
01:25:18:08 Mary
Q8: But there is
smuggling. There has always been. Vilmar
Q8: There has always been. Mary
Q8: Or even running from
the cops from here to there. Always has been. 01:25:30:00 |
Mounted Police
patrol city |
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|
01:25:32:00 Soldado Sena Q8: My name is Sena, Private Sena from
the Military Brigade, / Second Mounted Cavalry Regiment / situated in Santana
do Livramento. 01:25:43:04 |
|
01:25:45:00 Soldado Sena Q1: We patrol six hours a day. / We get onto our horses at the
base / and we move to the downtown area of the city. / We start with the main
city square / because it is a tourist area, an international area // / so
that the population can see us, to give the people a sense of security. 01:26:08:00 |
|
01:26:17:00 Soldado Miriam Q2: We have a very big problem with
citizens of Uruguay, / because they come here to commit crimes. / 01:26:28:00 |
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01:26:29:00 Soldado Miriam Q4: They know that if they cross the
border we can’t go after them, / we have to stay on the Brazilian side. / We
do have a good relationship with the Uruguayan police, / we talk with them, /
and anytime we call over there they will also get into it / and talk to us
and usually we can catch the people because / Uruguayan law enforcement is
ready to attend to our requests. 01:26:57:00 |
|
01:27:11:00 Soldado Miriam Q7: We also patrol the rural areas. / Because
here at he border we have this problem with animal theft, / they steal sheep,
cows. / This is also combined operation we do with the Rural Police. 01:27:33:00 |
|
01:27:46:00 Miguel Q2: There has never been a
conflict since we have been living here. / They say that there was in the
past but nothing big. / 01:27:59:02 |
|
01:28:03:00 Miguel Q1: It’s a spectacular place
for us. / We don’t have any complaints. / The neighborhood is good. / We are
a total brotherhood. For us, among us. / So I don’t have any trouble. I kept
on working in Uruguay / because the job was better on the Uruguayan side. / But
the coexistence among Uruguayans and Brazilians is the same. / It doesn’t
change anything for us here. 01:28:31:00 |
|
01:28:35:00 Fabio
Q2: What
is border identity? / If you ask a border person if he is Brazilian or
Uruguayan / he will respond, if he’s from a bi-national family, / he will say
“I feel more Brazilian” / or “I feel more Uruguayan”. / When he says that he
creates a measure. He is 60% Uruguayan or 60% Brazilian. / What does he mean?
/ He means that he carries 40% of Uruguayan or Brazilian identity. / 01:29:12:00 |
|
01:29:14:00 Mary
Q4: Today,
after 40 years living here, / I can see that I left many things. / We lose
some of our identity. / I didn’t forget Spanish, I speak Spanish, I love
Spanish. / It’s my first country only that today with so many years spent in
Brazil, / it’s my second nation. So I’m a divided person because I have my
family, my children, / my husband. / Everyone is here, my grandsons. / Today
I feel like I’m more Brazilian. / And I left many traditions, many things in
Uruguay. / 01:29:58:16 |
|
01:29:58:18 Fabio
Q2: So
you have here a human being from the border / that carries inside a unity
among the two countries. / And it’s extremely cutting edge given our border
world situation / where we have separations spaces, conflict spaces / and
basically many belligerence spaces. / 01:30:25:00 |
|
01:30:28:00 Soldado Miriam Q9: We patrol the whole central area,
we also patrol around the town squares, / we do it because of the kids that
want to use illegal drugs, / so we stop it, so that our kids and for the
people that want to be there don’t have any problems with these people. 01:30:51:00 |
|
01:30:51:05 Vilmar Q13: In our time there were almost no drugs. / It wasn’t
there, it wasn’t known / // In my time it was really rare to say “He is a
drug user”, very rare. / But nowadays you can see that drugs took over in an
uncontrollable way in Brazil. / Mary Q13: And in Uruguay as well Vilmar Q13: In Uruguay as well 01:31:16:06 |
|
01:31:16:07 Fabio Q4: The
biggest threat we have at the borders is organized crime. / When we talk
about organized crime we are talking about gangs and above all weapons’
smuggling and drug trafficking. / 01:31:26:00 |
|
01:31:26:01 Soldado Miriam Q9: Because there, now there in
Uruguay, marijuana is legal, / and because it's an open border people there
think that they can just cross over here normally. / They are using it there,
so they think they can come here and do the same. / 01:31:41:00 |
|
01:31:50:00 Fabio
Q4: We
do not consider organized crime that survival economy / which populations use
in periods of crisis, / of buying a cheaper product here and selling it a
little higher over there. / I would say that is a survival economy in which
populations / take advantage of currency fluctuation to survive. / So it’s
more like a state of need than a crime. / The real crime is the infiltration
of illegal weapons and drugs. 01:32:22:22 |
“with support from the military and state police, as was done /
through an army operation, which reduced a lot of the entry of drugs from
Paraguay. / And we did that in 2011 and 2010.” B Roll of RF
soldiers checking car |
01:32:22:23 Jobim Q10: I had
a talk with the Rio Grande do Sul Security Secretary, / // and he told me
that the amount of incoming weapons and drugs is very large, / and that much
of the security problems that the states are experiencing / are problems
stemming from territorial disputes between drug traffickers. / It’s brutal. /
Then the only operations that could be done by the state police / are
operations against small drug dealers, the guy who is at the end of the supply
chain, / who sometimes is merely a deliveryman. / Because you see, in an
economy / where the urban population can’t solve their income problems in a
legal market, / through a job in a legal market, they try to get a state job,
that is, to become a public servant. / When he doesn’t have either of these
possibilities, / he ends up going into the informal economy. / He starts
going to the traffic lights to clean cars, or manage forbidden parking lots
on the street. / Now, when he doesn’t have this third possibility, he goes
into crime. / He goes into common crime and then to organized crime. / So, we
are putting these individuals in jail, / these guys who have gone to
organized crime trying to solve their financial problems. / This does not
solve the problem. The problem is at the beginning, the leader, / who is out
of the country, by the way. 01:33:56:05 |
Agatha soldiers
at checkpoint |
01:33:56:06 Fabio
Q4: We
know that there are a lot of important people in favor of some regulation
considering / that many states should admit their own defeat against
combating drug trafficking. / It happened in Uruguay recently with the
legalization and regulation of marijuana. / Not that Mujica, the president of
Uruguay at that time, was in favor of marijuana consumption, that is not it. /
It’s just that the situation, marijuana consumption, that shouldn’t be added
to another problem, drug trafficking. / We had a few conflicts among some
South American states, we still do. / However, the situation that really
represents a threat to our borders is the absence of the state. 01:34:50:00 |
TRANSITION TO
THE NORTH |
|
Taking off from
Manaus Flyover
amazon/GoPro |
01:35:04:00 Gen Ferreira Q1: When we deal with the borders, we the State, has been present on the
southern border / from the beginning of our colonization. / The increased
attention to the issue of the northern frontier, / which is more focused on
the Amazon, is something that / existed before these presidents /since the
Calha Norte program // / So it is earlier. 01:35:27:00 |
Authorized by
the Brazilian government in 1985, the Calha Norte Project sought to increase
military presence, establish security, and develop the ecomonic potential of
the Amazon region. |
|
Flyover Amazon |
01:36:09:00 Min Jobim Q3: The Amazon river is made from what we
call incoming rivers. / In other words, rivers that come from Colombia, Peru
and Bolivia. / And those rivers form the Amazonian basin. 01:36:27:00 |
|
01:36:30:00 Min Jobim Q3: You look at the Amazon from above,
considering what has been presented by the press, / and it looks like a
beautiful thing. And it really is. / But for you to enter the forest you will
face temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius and up / with almost 100% humidity
and all kinds of mosquitoes, especially on the right banks of the Amazon. /
There are also elevations, with lots of Igarapés, that is, it’s not flat. / It
is a ground with elevations, small elevations, with Igarapés everywhere and
humidity. / So you can’t walk around there. // / So entrance to the Amazon /
can only be effectively made through the rivers that originate in other
countries. / 01:37:23:00 |
Land in San Gabriel ID: 2nd Jungle Brigade HQ São Gabriel da Cachoeira |
01:38:05:00 Gen Ferreira Q1: So it is still an area that has much to
be discovered, / but it is natural that in the last governments, President Lula
and President Dilma, there has been an increase in attention and resources. /
Today we have thirty thousand soldiers in the region. / The number has been
escalating for that entire period of time. / Effectively from the 2000s, / there
has been a greater military presence, / with the transfer of military assets
from the center-south of the country / to the north, or to the Amazon
directly. 01:38:50:00 |
Arrive San Gabriel jungle brigade
celebration |
|
Troops Parade |
|
|
01:38:55:00 Gen. Barros Briefing 21: We have coffee and water here for
everyone. / Brazilian coffee, very strong. / 01:39:04:04 |
|
01:39:04:05 Gen. Barros Briefing 01: In the Amazon everything is exacerbated as
I like to put it, / the problems, the solutions, and the use of military is
different. / 01:39:15:00 |
Brigade sings O Brasil |
01:39:23:00 Gen. Barros Briefing 01: The defense concept is a broader
concept. / We have the National Defense Strategy that puts the Amazon as a
priority / 01:39:36:00 |
Title Board: The National Defense Strategy,
articulated in 2008, focused on restucturing the country's defense industry
while promoting development specifically in the Amazon region. |
|
On the river to Cucui. |
01:39:58:00 Andreza Q1: -My name is Andreza, I’m a journalist.
/ I live in Brasilia but I’m from the Amazon, / from a place called the Upper Rio Negro, / specifically the
village of Cucuí // / 01:40:12:01 |
MAP |
01:40:22:00 Andreza Q1:
And I spent my childhood in this wonderful and very beautiful place. 01:40:27:00 |
Beautiful morning in Cucui |
01:40:30:00 Andreza Q8: I still have
family in Cucui. / Actually they are all family to everyone. Everyone is related.
/ But more closely I have an aunt there that is my mother’s sister and she is
a teacher. / She has been there for many years. / And her husband Osmar is
seen as a leader there. 01:40:59:10 |
ID Osmar Filho Cordeiro da Silva |
01:40:59:11 Osmar Q8: So the whole story starts when “grandma,” my wife’s
mother, Mrs. Catarina Acadena, / comes from Venezuela during a period / of
political instability. / So she ends up / coming to this community on
the border where today / we have the mark that divides the border between
Venezuela and Colombia. / 01:41:27:01 |
Lt Rafael on boat on Rio
Negro |
|
|
01:41:42:00 Andreza Q7: So my
grandmother, my mother’s mother, / She was from Venezuela, but of course she
was a Brazilian Venezuelan. / She was born in Venezuela, on the border. / 01:41:53:10 |
Lt Rafael’s boat pulls up to shore at
border mark |
|
|
Andreza Q7: Her farmhouse
was located exactly on the borderline between Brazil and Venezuela. / She was
a Venezuelan public employee / and her job was to hoist the Venezuelan flag every
day at 6am. // / And at 6pm she would take it down. / She was a very special
and a well known person. / Not only on the Brazilian side but on the
Venezuelan side. She was beloved by everyone in the region. 01:42:31:00 |
Lt Rafael with Mari at site of border
marker |
|
|
01:42:36:00 Osmar Q8: And after she passed away, my wife became the person to
assume that role, / she also ended up residing here / out of necessity. // /
And because of what Mrs. Catarina gave us, / we continue to maintain the
space. 01:42:55:00 |
|
01:42:57:00 Osmar Q8: We always joke with Mari that it’s up to me / to maintain
the Brazilian side and up to her to maintain the Venezuelan side. 01:43:08:00 |
|
01:43:48:00 Andreza Q3: In the beginning Cucuí was a small indigenous
village. / So the Brazilian army arrived in the region / with a federal
policy of protecting the borders / and they installed a platoon and sent
people there. People from outside the area, from other places in Brazil. // /
And then the village became a military environment. / There’s no way to
escape that. 01:44:29:06 |
4th PEF checkpoint near
river’s edge |
|
Underlined is missing from timeline. |
01:44:32:00 Lt. Jean Rafael Checkpoint Q1: We are situated in the three-way border. /
Here to the right, further to the east, we have Venezuela, / and to the left,
further to the west, we have Colombia. / We receive boats coming from
Colombia and from Venezuela. / Inside our territory we control people and
material that enters our territory. / 01:44:54:19 |
Checking boats at Flower Island |
|
Inside
this mission we perform |
01:44:58:00 Lt. Jean Rafael Checkpoint Q1: As the boat comes closer, / we approach
it, / they automatically come up here to register into the system / that we
have to gather basic qualifying information, / that way we have complete
control / complete control of who is coming inside our territory. / We also refer foreigners to the Federal
Police, / and if they are foreign they have to report to the Federal Police
in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. / The check is performed on material as well as people
/ because our mission here is to do the control, to combat smuggling and
trafficking, / and border and environmental crimes as well. / 01:45:48:00 |
So I think there has to be a partnership
between those two parts, / the community as well the Federal presence in the
area. / And so is the army, the Federal Police. |
01:45:57:00 Andreza Q4: But certainly it is not so comfortable if you are
travelling on your boat. / Imagine someone from that area, a “ribeirinho”, an
indigenous in his boat, / going to visit his relatives across the border and
all of a sudden he is stopped by people with guns / who inspect you from top
to bottom. / It’s not a very comfortable situation if you are actually from
that area. / So that could bring some tension, you know? / But I think it’s
part of life / and as long as there is dialogue among the community and the
army / I think things can get… each one can play their roles. / The community
is there. The community also protects the border / because it’s Brazilians
living there. / 01:46:43:00 |
|
01:46:44:00 Osmar Q7: Many indigenous will
say that now I can’t maintain a certain family relationship / For because
they are on the other side of the border. / For the indigenous there is no
border when it comes to this. 01:47:04:02 |
|
01:47:04:03 Andreza Q4: It is a very delicate topic because in that area
there weren’t any borders before. / The border was placed by the Brazilian
State. / People from the Brazilian side are Brazilians / but they also have
relatives that live across the border / that not necessarily, that are
Colombians and Venezuelans, but that are still relatives. / 01:47:29:08 |
Soldiers at tent. |
01:47:30:00 Andreza Q4: So I think there's no, I think that sometimes there
is some tension, yes / but it’s totally comprehensible since the army is
there to fulfill its role / of guarding the borders and of national
sovereignty. / And I think that today the community better understands this
role. 01:47:50:00 |
|
01:47:50:00 Lt. Jean Rafael: Where's Aldo? Is he sleeping?/ At this
hour? How lazy! / Hey Alba! // |
|
01:48:03:00 Lt. Jean Rafael Q1: We
have an important role inside the community, / we are the presence of the
state in the community. // / Our role here is to / deal with the community as
best as we can, / the best way we can / so the community is always on our
side. 01:48:22:00 |
|
01:48:22:00 Jean Rafael at med station: -What happened here guys? -What
happened? -What
happened? Woman at med station: -My nephew suffered an accident. Jean Rafael at med station: On a motorcycle? Woman at med station: -No. - An
acai tree broke. Another boy was climbing an acai tree and he was holding it
steady and the tree broke / and the tree broke and cut his leg. / His thigh. Jean Rafael at med station: Did it hit the femoral artery? Was there
a lot of blood? Woman at med station: It opened it up. Woman at med station 2: It opened it up. 01:48:52:17 |
|
01:48:52:20 Lt. Jean Rafael Q1: Sometimes when they have something they
need, they will come to the Platoon // / Especially to the health department,
/ we have here the DSEI and the army. / The DSEI doesn't have a doctor here all
the time, / but our doctor sees patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 01:48:12:00 |
|
01:49:12:10 Jean Rafael at med station: -He’s gonna be… he’s gonna be fine. -He’s
gonna be fine. All good? Don’t
get all worked up. He’s gonna wake up. He’s gonna be fine. You can relax. 01:49:23:23 |
If the school here wants to have an activity, / they come and ask the army with help for transport / of materials and help with decorating. / |
01:49:23:24 Lt. Jean Rafael Q1: So health, we provide support for social
activities in the school. / 01:49:29:00 |
|
01:49:29:11 Lt. Jean Rafael Q2: -We also provide water for the school// 01:49:32:00 |
Title
Board: something about military dictatorship |
01:49:34:00 Andreza Q3: / I remember when I was a child / my mother was a
teacher in that school, / and she was even the Principal there. / And so she
was subordinate to the Amazon Military Command / since it was they who, at
that time, had a partnership with the State Military Government / who
would supply the funding and transportation to the school. / So every
decision made in the school had to be shared with the military. / 01:50:06:00 |
Man wheelbarrows water away |
|
|
01:50:08:00 Lt. Jean Rafael Q1: So through all of these activities, / together
with the community, we can gain the people’s trust / and have these people on
our side for / matters that are in the army’s and the community’s best
interests. / 01:50:28:00 |
Lt walks the streets of Cucui |
01:50:33:00 Andreza Q3: Sometimes people think that it’s very tense because
people come here from the outside, / but when they get here everything is
different. / So there was a lot of harmony at that time. At least when I was
a child. / 01:50:48:00 |
|
01:50:49:00 Jean Rafael: Hello. How are you? Girl: Good. 01:50:53:00 |
Map of South America outlining the
Special Boarder Platoons |
01:50:55:00 Fabio
Q3: We have in Brazil,
until recently, 29 Special Border Platoons / distributed along the northern
Amazon border, / with neighboring
countries like the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru. / What is in
a Special Border Platoon? The following reality: / You have the Border
Special Platoon and you have the community / where this Border Special Platoon
is placed. / This community is an indigenous community of indigenous
Brazilians. 01:51:26:12 |
On boat to Cucui /that are subjected to the [5th]
Battalion
/ but the mission is so important and so complex that the [2nd]
Brigade command gets involved a lot. / |
01:51:26:13 Gen Barros Briefing 09: I want to say that
only we do it this way. / You
can see that inside this area of responsibility there are seven Special
Border Platoons. / Their mission is to conduct surveillance. So you can see
that they are on the major water entries. / The oldest one is Cucuí where you are
going today. It’s from the 19th century. / And the rest of them, most of them
are from the 80’s decade from last century / with the Calha Norte program of
intensifying the presence on the borders. 01:52:11:00 |
Lt. Rafael gets ready to head out on boat |
|
|
01:52:16:00 Jean Rafael at checkpoint: You can go down. You can go down. 01:52:19:00 |
Punctuation? |
01:52:25:00 Gen Theophilo Q15: What are the problems that we face in Cucui? / Mainly the
contraband of gasoline, because gasoline in Venezuela is very cheap. / and it
comes as a subsidy for cocaine based paste. / We know that in order to refine
cocaine you need gasoline and other components. / So this is, in our case, the main problem found
today. 01:52:45:00 |
|
01:52:55:00 Gen Barros Q2: We also have environmental crimes / and border
crimes / like the problem with illegal mineral exploration. / So everything
is literally connected. / That’s why we understand that / we have to fortify
our actions around the border / and that will reflect positively, /
especially in our big cities. 01:53:18:00 |
Arriving at Columbia border marker |
|
|
01:53:23:00 Jean Rafael Checkpoint Q6: Here in Cucuí we have two monuments that
mark the territorial division between / Brazil and Venezuela and Brazil and
Colombia. / 01:53:33:00 |
|
01:53:36:00 Jean Rafael Checkpoint Q6: These border markers are not visited frequently,
but they are visited by authorities. 01:53:43:00 |
|
01:53:43:10 Jean Rafael Checkpoint Q6: / Here when the water rises, the water
goes to about right here. / When it rises, we raise the flag to attention.
/The river rises a lot. 01:54:00:00 |
|
|
Manaus |
|
|
01:54:22:00 Plinio Q4: My dad, he was always the one that
liked to walk around, to get to know the rivers, / and we were little so we
went with him and since then we took after him. / He taught us how to
navigate the river, everywhere. 01:54:45:00 |
“Drugs entered like flour. / They didn’t have a way of keeping track.” |
01:54:46:00 Plinio Q12: The border of Peru and Columbia was one river, /
and they took drugs from there like flour, / and it got all the way up here
or it went to other countries. / But for every other country it had to go
through Manaus. / Through Amazonas. / 01:55:21:00 |
Pulls boat out |
01:55:23:00 Plinio Q1: This
is where the ship used to anchor. / Then the rafts came around here and the
wood all came / and the wood was left here and the drugs were put inside / so
that the police wouldn’t find it and it was sealed, / with some sort of
material that made it look good as if it was taken from the woods. / I walked
around with my father and we used to see a lot of ships being loaded to go
outside. / To go to other countries. / So this is the spot and the police got
here and discovered / that the drugs came in through the joining of the
waters and it got to here. 01:56:21:00 |
“The
military police and the army, / and also the navy, / they are doing this
combined work with the Federal Police, / so that nothing enters Brazil. //
The environmental police also, / all of this is around the borders, / with
Colombia, with Peru / and Venezuela. /Neighbors around us here, / the borders
are well guarded. / Not much enters here. / / but nowadays it doesn't
anymore.” |
01:56:24:07 Plinio Q11:
I saw on TV, / that in order for the drugs not to enter Brazil anymore, / they
are patrolling the border. / // It’s not good for us to live around drugs, / knowing
that from that point it’s all lost, there’s no way out. / 01:56:47:00 |
Shots of big cities |
01:56:53:00 Rubens Barbosa Q5: So a great
amount of the violence existing in Brazil, / especially in Rio de Janeiro, is
gang conflict, / between armed drug factions / and groups that operate and
sell drugs, for area control. / Fighting the smuggling, decreasing the amount
of weapons and drugs smuggled / is very important to contain that problem. / 01:57:32:00 |
|
01:57:33:00 Gen Theophilo Q11: The logistics for these come from the
border. / We are neighbors with the three largest cocaine growers, / so it’s
necessary that these neighboring countries, together with Brazil reinforce security
on the borders. / Because this war, I always say that we are losing it. 01:57:45:09 |
5th PEF Maturaca |
|
NEED
BROLL Hospital in Sao Gabriel |
01:57:58:00 Fabio Q3: The National Defense Strategy is that leitmotif / that gives defense sense
to Brazil. And what does it say? / It says right in the beginning that / the
defense strategy is a development strategy. / How to defend? By promoting
development among local populations. / That’s why if the military acts there
as a doctor or a dentist / he is acting towards defense using development
strategy. / 01:58:32:00 |
NEED
BROLL |
01:58:35:00 Gen. Theophilo Q13: The relationship with the Indians is
very important / we are even calling lieutenants that are anthropologist to
teach us more about the origin, the culture of our / native brothers. / You
saw that the Indians are called and they serve the Brazilian army as
soldiers. / And they are the best soldiers that we have, because of the
knowledge they have of the forest, / the way they survive in the forest, / so
they were born there, they lived there and they will die there. / 01:59:05:00 |
|
01:59:11:00 Fabio Q3: How do these indigenous peoples relate to Brazil? /
Their country, right? What relation do they have with the state? It is
through the military. / 01:59:19:13 |
|
01:59:19:14 Gen. Barros Briefing
22: They are not Indian Brazilians, they are
Brazilian Indians. / There is no such thing as a nation inside another
nation. / The specificity and the culture has to be preserved and we are
proud of it. / 01:59:36:17 |
|
01:59:48:00 Gen. Barros Briefing
23: Around 36% of our
soldiers are indigenous. / Our goal is to have more than that and we have a
special enlisting for the military service / that can’t be like it is in the
South, / so we have to go along the river, because the indigenous soldier is
not going to leave his community /for 3 or 4 days to go enlist in the army,
his reality is not the same. / It’s a technique that we are using here for
about two years where we go to the communities / to talk to the leaders of
those communities and he will be the one to guide the soldiers through the
process. / 02:00:31:00 |
back at Yanomami village Yanomami Shaman |
02:00:33:00 Seu Miguel Q3: I was a young man when this platoon got
here. // Even my son was in the military / but he’s not anymore. /He still
tells stories about when he was there. 02:00:58:00 |
|
02:00:58:02 Gen. Barros Briefing
23: This is very
interesting to us because we are getting the indigenous people more involved
with our nation. / The indigenous when he returns he will be a leader, // /
and in the military aspect there are no better combatants than the Indigenous.
/ 02:01:17:00 |
|
|
|
02:01:19:00 Andreza Q10: The
army really needs indigenous because they know the area. / They know
everything, they know the rivers, they know the Igarapés. / They know all of
it as a map in the palm of their hands. / And the army really needs this
knowledge. 02:010:36:00 |
|
02:01:39:00 Seu Miguel Q5: We start teaching them to navigate when they are babies. / If you teach them, they will learn. / When they are two years old, one year old, / they start to navigate and they learn to dive and swim as well. / They learn fast. 02:02:15:00 |
|
|
|
02:02:29:00 Gen. Barros Q9: The army saying I think
summarizes this very clearly / “Strong arm, / friendly hand” / and inside
that is where you see the integration with the population. / When we support
the sustainable economical and social / development of institutions / we are
embracing the population / in a way, we are also doing defense, we are also
doing intelligence, /we are putting our Brazilians on the borders, / making
the borders more lively. / That's why these concepts are very connected and
that's / why it's very important for us to be in/ this system of integration,
/ that is the face of our army here in the Amazon. 02:03:09:00 |
|
02:03:13:00 Fabio Q3: What will happen? Probably in the future / those 29
Special Border Platoons will become / 29 Brazilian cities. 02:03:27:00 |
MAP OF PEF LOCATIONS NEW MUSIC |
02:03:30:00 Fabio Q3: 29 Brazilian cities of basically indigenous
populations. / 02:03:24:00 |
“So whoever is in a frontier squad is fulfilling a mission of
guarding our borders // We have the internet, we have the communication, we
have the television, we have Brazil in the squads for those populations that
circulate to us.” |
02:03:43:00 Gen Ferreira
Q10: The Special Border Platoons have a very special characteristic. /
They have the task of developing our borders. / // The presence of the border
platoon means education, / it means the health, and in general it means the
infrastructure / brought to those Brazilians living near the platoons, will give
them better quality of life. // / So the daily task for the platoon is to
bring Brazil to the Brazilians at the border. 02:04:21:00 |
Flying over the Amazon |
02:04:21:19 Min Jobim Q17: Brazil strengthening its borders has
no military value. / First, it’s a defense argument, not an offensive
strategy. / We needed to make some
statements especially regarding Amazônia. / The rule was Amazônia was
Brazilian Amazônia. Who takes care of Amazônia is Brazil for the world’s well
being. / The thesis sustained by Mitterrand in France, the French Left Party,
/ was that there should be an internationalization of Amazônia because it was
the world’s lung. / No, Amazônia is Brazilian. Brazil will take care of
Amazônia / with Brazilian people, for the world’s sake. / 02:05:00:06 |
|
02:05:00:07 Gen. Barros Q11: The Amazon is a very important heritage /
and we know the repercussions for the world, if we don't take care of it. / The
world is globalized, we know that. / But the Brazilian state, the
Brazilian people and the Brazilian citizen / are the most capable to take
care of the Amazon. // / Could we do it differently? / Of course it
could, but this is our way, our way of doing things. / 02:05:30:06 |
|
|
|
02:05:30:07 Fabio Q7: The Brazilian Amazon, from the development point of
view, is practically being constructed by the State at this very moment. / Some
people complain about the presence of the military, but I would like to see
who is willing to go there / to face the challenges of State’s revitalization
on the Amazon border. / It is not for the weak. 02:05:52:00 |
Conclusion Go back to RF raids near Foz Or Montage of what we have seen so far in
the film? |
|
|
02:06:03:00 Min Jobim Q4: So you see, the problem of the South American
borders does not concern the relations between countries. / They concern the
illegal use of the borders by drug traffickers. / So it is a common interest.
/ 02:06:18:00 |
|
02:06:23:20 Gen Ferreira
Q4: This enormous frontier that we have to allow, as we say, / a certain
vulnerability deserves attention, / and this attention is given because / the
trafficking of arms, smuggling, drug trafficking, / this is a real issue
worldwide. / And we must not forget that Brazil is paying attention to this
matter. 02:06:51:00 |
|
02:06:52:00 Rubens Barbosa
Q15: Currently the Brazilian
government has met the foreign ministers / of the other countries to build
broader cooperation. / Brazil has asked for support from those countries because
/ it’s not only about defending the borders. Those countries have to curb
illegal practices. / It has to be curbed where they grow the drugs. / All of
it is in the Amazonian area. 02:07:21:23 |
|
02:07:22:00 Jobim Q10: So, you need to have a strategic policy, and this
policy has been made in partnership with South America. / But you need more
operations and even more federal police / to focus on drugs at the Brazilian
borders. / 02:07:38:00 |
|
20:07:39:00 Gen Theophilo Q11: We are neighbors with the three largest cocaine growers // / We
don’t think that we are going to end the drug trafficking, because it’s a
very profitable business // / But we have to try to reduce it, try to fight
it because what is happening today is a war that we are losing. / 02:07:54:00 |
Take a look even to the languages, where
Portugal ends, where Spain begins. / When we stop speaking Portuguese and we
start speaking Spanish. / Then you are in France and they speak French. / You
are in Italy and they speak Italian. / For us it’s Portuguese and Spanish and
several linguistic borders among Amazonian indigenous. |
02:08:07:00 Fabio Q6: There are a few
movements that tend to say that / the border is a problem. / That a border is
a flaw from mankind to be overcame. / And I always joke saying, “who likes a
world without borders?”. / Maybe it is companies that don’t want to pay taxes
and don’t want to go through customs. / And it is the smugglers and drug
dealers. // / Some even say that if you catch a plane / and look down on the
earth you won’t see the borders. / Of course you won’t. / Borders are
political creations. Borders are cultural creations. / But what are they for?
To affirm diversity. / 02:08:51:00 |
|
02:08:55:00 Andreza
Q8:
Our ties are there. Our roots are there. / And it’s a place we will never
forget and I hope to be back there someday to see everyone again // In my
opinion we become more important knowing that we came from that place. / We
are very proud to be from the border. And we speak proudly about it. 02:09:23:00 |
|
02:09:26:00 Osmar Q8: Today we keep going, for
example I have been here in Cucuí for more than 30 years and I can find a
reason for me / not to be here in Cucuí, but a person that has his origins at
the place that he was conceived, this is a kind of obligation. / 02:09:54:00 |
Well, what does the border mean? The
border is that space / where one ecosystem ends and another one begins. / Where
a peoples’ culture ends and a new one begins. / // |
02:10:00:00 Fabio Q6: So the border, what
is it? / It’s a demarcation among differences, / geographical differences,
language differences, people differences. / So what is the problem? / The problem
is when this difference is forced from the outside to the inside / Those
places where a State was created but it was created according to the
colonizer mindset / and not according to the people that used to live there.
That’s why today / borders are still being redrawn. / That’s why new States
are still being built. / Having said that, in my opinion the border is a
space that defines this diversity and it’s a space of beauty. / 02:10:49:04 |
Fronteira da Grandeza |
01:24:17:00 |
|
|
BACK POCKET
Boat to Cucui
stops to refuel |
Boat Pilot
1: The lieutenant just got here. Boat Pilot
2: So you're just gonna fill
that up? Boat Pilot
1: Fill it up and then we’ll get
more from over there. Boat Pilot
2: Fill it up to there? Boat Pilot
1: Yes fill it up. And the rest
is just gonna stay in here. |
Gen Barros Q6: In Cucui, the areas of access
are a lot easier, that's why it was the first one. It has borders with 2
countries and it has Rio Negro, a river with great access, with a high level of
traffic that we have there. So, in there we have that kind of demand.
Min Jobim Q6: Well, the Amazonian army structure is
vital. We managed to, Ministry of Defense and the armed forces, especially the
Army, we managed to get a telephone company to install telephones in the
borders posts, and those telephones were used especially for internet along
with medical services.
Min Jobim Q6: And it so happens, that today practically
every hospital and health system inside the Amazon is led by the army. Not because
it wants the job, but because there are no conditions of having civilians.
Civilian doctors didn’t want to go to those places.
Rubens
Barbosa Q10: That is true because that area is very difficult, there is the forest
all over it. There are only a few cities that share a border with each other
and then you have military protection but the Amazonian population, in which
Amazonia is the biggest Brazilian state, is very small. The density of the
population in the state is low. And it’s not only the army, it’s also the Navy
because of the rivers, and the Air Force transcripts doctors, taking dentists,
taking medical support to those populations living in remote areas that can
only be reached sometimes by boat and it takes days to get to them. So the
military force has an important role to aid the population living in areas far
away from the center of Brazil.
Gen Theophilo
Q16: -But the rivers are of a
fundamental importance just like the armored vehicles are for a conventional
war, kind of land that we will encounter. / for us our boats are our armored
vehicles. Armored boats with a great
level of bulletproofing as well so that we
/ can fight the drug traffickers with the same kind of power.
Jean
Rafael walking: -Here is the community center.
-They do parties there.
-Birthday parties. Any kind
of private parties that anyone wants to do.
-It’s like the dance club of
the community.
Lt. Jean Rafael Q7: So here the community is mostly Bare
ethnicity, but we also have the Desana, Kuripako, Werekena, so the ethnicity
Bare is very open to mixture, so there isn’t really a definition, like the
community is Bare or the community is Tucano, no. Most people are Bare but they
are very open to mixture so the people here are very mixed when it comes to
ethnicities.
Lt. Jean Rafael Checkpoint Q2:
On one occasion we apprehended traffickers
/ with cocaine base paste and money / that was leaving Brazil for Colombia / but
we were able to make the arrest.
Gen Theophilo Q4: - The main challenge here is the logistics,
which are very hard, large distances, / the changes in weather, the changes in river patterns.
Seu Miguel
Q6: I as a driver for the Salesiano mission. They hired
me. Back then, nobody new how to drive a big boat, only small boats. We learn
with experience, and we teach as well. I taught the driver who is now at the
Salesiano mission. I taught those two boys and they are still there today.
Gen Barros Q3:
-We have rivers in our area that act like the main
arteries, the main roads.
-But these roads are often interrupted when the river
volume is low.
-So whatever the operation we are planning to do,
there has to be very special planning for logistics.
-It’s the logistics that will make it feasible or not.
Lt.
Jean Rafael Q11:
-The command for a Special Border
Platoon is different than a command for a normal platoon / because here you
have the opportunity of knowing your subordinates in a deeper level. / I know
each one of my soldiers. / I look at a soldier's face and I know that he has
two kids. / This one has this characteristics, / this one gets upset if he
loses a soccer game. / So I know, I really know the soldier. /
Lt.
Jean Rafael Q11:
and
usually people only stay for one year, / I stayed for two so we maintian this
friendship that we made here at the border. / Only a person that has lived
here, that was here for two years, / that has spent some time here knows what
it's like to be here, / knows the importance, / knows how difficult it is. / So
everyone that comes and visits says / “Wow, how do you manage to stay here for
7 months / without leaving here, without eating at McDonalds, / or going to the
mall and the movies?” / We get used to it and we like it. /
Gen Theophilo Q16: -When
we talk about the rivers, which are our highways, they are our roads in the
Amazon / we need to talk about the vehicle that moves around as well. / it is
important to note that based on our study of the rivers we use a specific boat
for each river.
Gen Barros Briefing 12: How are we going to make something happen? From the most
simple operation to the more complex one, to the support to the community. You
that have the technology might say “The solution is an helicopter.” That’s one
of the solutions. Because a lot of the times the helicopter doesn't take off.
And it doesn’t get where it needs to get. So the solutions are boats, but what
kind of boats? We need small boats, big boats, especially small boats because
we have the rapids,
Gen. Theophilo Q16: Some
way or another we need to get to the Platoons so that we can provide logistic
support.
Andreza Q10: So that border region is an area where 16
indigenous languages are spoken and among those some are more spoken than
others. // Indigenous languages are a Brazilian wealth. A Brazilian cultural
wealth and they must be valued in any public institution including the army. //
That’s our history and our roots there. And if those languages die a whole
culture dies along with it. So I think public institutions and the Brazilian
army should pay more attention to this question. // That’s part of the
Brazilian wealth that almost no one knows about, only the ones that have been
there. This is Brazil.
Andreza Q10: I think the strategy of bringing the
indigenous into the army when it’s well crafted it can be an interesting
strategy. First, because indigenous don’t lose their culture except the idea
that they are isolated. The indigenous do not lose their culture. / Culture
changes. There is no static culture. Cultures keep changing and indigenous
won’t quit being indigenous from the moment they are in the army. / He keeps
speaking his own language. He keeps eating his food. He keeps living in the
region. He just got in a different institution. / But it’s very important that
the army that is welcoming the indigenous be prepared to actually welcome the
indigenous / and not otherwise.
Gen. Barros Q11: Transparency is important, and listening to
the Brazilian people itself, our neighbors, and the international community but
always having us conducting the process. Because here is a huge “knowledge pot”
for Brazilians and for the world always with the Brazilians heading the
process, how we are doing it. The Brazilian way of being, I think we promote
our Brazil, our friend neighbors and, for sure, all the world, because here the
environment is highly considered. We are doing this with all our energy and
strength, and it is always welcome any clarifying comment.”
Lt.
Jean Rafael Q11: We
like this mission. / we leave here a different military man than when we got
here. / So that’s what I will take with me, the maturing, / the contact with
the subordinate, / with the sergeant, with the soldier, / this friendship that
we have. / And in my particular case there’s Shakira, / my little monkey / We’ll
see how it goes with the time I have left, / so that we can find the best place possible
for her, / she stayed with me three years, since Sao Gabriel. / I am going to
do my best so she adapts well to her new environment.
LT Rafael at border marker: Go and take someone up to the marker right now??? / When
you arrive at the two marks have someone go and see at the top mark, / to see
what is smoking. Good? / Go and prepare the (racking) over there.
So here in our PC Influv, or river interdiction
checkpoint, / we check every boat that comes across the border. / This is the
first army post inside the Second Brigade’s mission of strategic surveillance.
/
Lt. Jean Rafael Church Q9:
We can only go to the mark by speedboat. /
We don’t have land access to them. / We have to get the speed boat to get to
the Brazil-Colombia mark / And to the right is the marker that designates the
border between Brazil and Venezuela.
“The river is very good to
navigate… / to navigate because we also live off of the river” |
Plinio Q7: The
nature of the river, / it produces so much for us. / We have gill nets here. /
The gill nets catch the fish we eat. / Everything produces, in land and in
water. // / We live of off the water. / Without it we can’t live. |
[1] From deslocar: to
move, shift, offset, dislocate, sneak. According to Google Translate. Possibly
"misdirection"