SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER BASIN COMMITTEE MAGAZINE - MAY 2025
Expedient:
President: José Maciel Nunes de Oliveira
Vice-President: Marcus Vinícius Polignano
Secretary: Almacks Luiz Carneiro da Silva
Produzido pela Assessoria de Comunicação do CBHSF, Tanto Expresso Comunicação e Mobilização Social www.tantoexpresso.com.br
General Coordination: Paulo Vilela, Pedro Vilela and Rodrigo de Angelis
Communication Coordination: Mariana Martins
Editing: Karla Monteiro
Editorial Assistant: Arthur de Viveiros
Texts: Andréia Vitório, Hylda Cavalcante, Juciana Cavalcante, Karla Monteiro, Mariana Martins e Tiago Rodrigues
Graphic Designer : Márcio Barbalho
Layout: Albino Papa
Photos: Bianca Aun, Cleuves Carvalho, Edson Oliveira, Emerson Leite, Fundação Darcy Ribeiro, Juciana Cavalcante, Léo Boi, Marcelo André (Projeto Manuelzão), NASA, Paulo Vilela, Pedro França (Agência Senado) e ShutterStock
Cover: ShutterStock
Illustrations: Albino Papa
Proofreading: Isis Pinto
Printing: EGL Editores
Print Run: 3500 exemplares
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Committee Secretariat:
Rua Carijós, 166, 5º andar, Centro - Belo Horizonte - MG ZIP Code: 30120-060 - Phone: (31) 3207-8500 secretaria@cbhsaofrancisco.org.br
Assistance for water resource users in the São Francisco River Basin: 0800-031-1607
Communication Advisory: comunicacao@cbhsaofrancisco.org.br
Online english version: bit.ly/Chico17English
Explore the CBH São Francisco’s multimedia resources:
www.cbhsaofrancisco.org.br
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6 Green Pages
26 Modernism
Invented City
30 Urbanism Brasília as it is At Full Throttle
34 Tourism
Brasília: User’s Manual
50 Essay
48
44 It Happened Memory
40 Profile Darcy Ribeiro
VELHO CHICO AND MODER NISM
Between the Velho Chico and modernist architecture, there seems to be a concrete void — one of those infinite, suspended kinds that only modernist architects, in fact, would conceive. But in Brasília, within the São Francisco River basin, these two worlds meet. In this edition of CHICO, we wander through the “Invented City,” as Professor Darcy Ribeiro — who is also profiled in this issue — once called it. He was the visionary behind the University of Brasília, invited by Juscelino Kubitschek.
Our tour passes through both symbolic and real Brasília, with unmissable travel tips. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, the Federal District ranks among the ten best destinations in the world for architecture lovers. Designed by urban planner Lúcio Costa, with the sweeping curves of architect Oscar Niemeyer, the city is a global reference. The gardens of Burle Marx intertwine with the geometric murals of Athos Bulcão, creating a symbiosis between nature and art right in the heart of the Cerrado.
In this first edition of 2025 — the year of COP-30 in Belém do Pará — CHICO also turns its attention to the invisible, addressing basic sanitation (or the lack thereof) in the São Francisco basin and the risks of overexploiting aquifers, especially the Urucuia. The featured interview in our “Green Pages” section is with former Ibama president Suely Araújo, who issues a decisive warning: we can’t delay any longer. The past year, 2024, was the hottest ever recorded, about 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels: “The climate crisis is upon us, and we can no longer postpone effective action to confront it.”
Finally, as “to navigate is necessary,” in the words of poet Fernando Pessoa, we invite readers to board the Benjamim Guimarães steamboat, which, after 12 years anchored, has returned to the waters of the Velho Chico.
Bon voyage!
Illustration: Albino Papa
By: Andréia Vitório
Photo: Pedro França / Agência Senado Green Pages
WE HAVE NO MORE TIME
Between November 10 and 21, the eyes of the world will be on Belém do Pará, host city of COP30, the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference. This may be the decisive COP for the planet’s future, as, according to former IBAMA president Suely Araújo, the world entered a state of climate emergency in 2024. It was the hottest year ever recorded, with temperatures about 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels.
What can be done? A PhD in Political Science and Public Policy Coordinator at the Climate Observatory, Suely also serves as an environmental consultant for the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. In her view, “we have no more time”: “The climate crisis is here, and we can no longer postpone effective measures to confront it.”
What is at stake when we talk about the climate crisis?
The future of life on the planet. The year 2024 was the hottest ever recorded, and we are now in a clearly defined state of climate emergency. With global warming comes the intensification of extreme weather events: floods and inundations, droughts, heatwaves with severe impacts on health, and other damages. These events have been occurring simultaneously in many regions, and with increasing frequency.
Already back in Rio 92, scientists were discussing the issue. Time went by, and it seems that society didn’t take it as seriously as it should have. In broad terms, what is the current climate scenario in Brazil and globally, and why can’t we afford to wait any longer to act?
At Rio 92, we signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was later complemented by the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015). These decades of multilateral effort have delivered results far below what is needed, both in terms of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. The climate crisis is upon us, and we can no longer postpone effective measures to confront it. We have no more time.
You often say that the climate crisis is socially unjust and has ethnic and gender components. How so?
The climate crisis affects everyone, but developing countries — and within each country, the poorest populations — are far less equipped to cope with the consequences of what is happening. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that between 3.3 and 3.6 billion people in the world live in areas or contexts highly vulnerable to climate change. In our country, it’s important to highlight communities living on hillsides, in urban peripheries, in stilt houses, and in other areas marked by poverty. We must pay close attention to the risks these communities face and, at the same time, guarantee their rights to territory and adequate housing. In Brazil, a large portion of this population is of Black origin, and there is also a high number of women who are heads of households.
COP-30 in Brazil is just around the corner. What are the most strategic agendas for this event, which will take place right in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon? Is there anything new compared to the previous edition?
It’s important to understand that the COP has its own dynamics, and the main negotiation agendas are defined independently of the host country. It is known that adaptation will be a topic of discussion, and likely financing as well, since COP-29 made very little progress on that front. I sincerely hope that the issue of reducing the extraction and use of fossil fuels will explicitly enter the negotiations, though that seems unlikely. Brazil will probably seek advances specifically in financing the protection of tropical forests, and a new mechanism along those lines is currently under discussion. In short, the list of conference topics is still being negotiated.
With COP-30 taking place in Brazil, can we expect any progress in climate crisis response policies?
How might the international political scenario impact this?
COP-30 must, to some extent, succeed in restoring the relevance of climate multilateralism. The international political scenario certainly poses obstacles, with armed conflicts in various regions, the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the devaluation of the climate agenda by market players, and other serious issues. This entire crisis must drive change and the emergence of new leadership. China may play a significant role in this, and Brazil can — and should — take an active role too. But for that to happen, it must ensure coherence in its domestic policies. You can’t claim to be a climate leader while simultaneously aiming to significantly increase oil production.
Alongside growing concern over the climate emergency, discussions about potential oil exploration in the Amazon Basin have gained traction. What would be the impacts of this?
t’s important to understand that the issue goes far beyond IBAMA’s permit for drilling block 59 of the Foz do Amazonas sedimentary basin. In the auction scheduled by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) for June 17 alone, 47 new blocks are being offered in that sedimentary basin. In addition, over a hundred other blocks are under study in the same region for future public tenders. The government’s energy sector intends to transform the Foz do Amazonas sedimentary basin into a high-production oil zone. There are serious issues with this path. First, it’s an environmentally fragile area with immense biodiversity, and at the same time, it has extremely strong ocean currents that increase the risk of accidents. On top of that, it is highly questionable to push for oil expansion in the midst of a climate crisis
On the other side, there’s the growing debate around the importance of decarbonization. In practice, what does this mean? What are the barriers to advancing this agenda in Brazil, and how can they be overcome?
Among the world’s major economies, Brazil is probably the only country capable of becoming carbon negative before 2050. That means sequestering more carbon than it emits — protecting more than it degrades. At the Climate Observatory, we argue that this is achievable by 2045. But to get there, we need to rigorously control deforestation — which accounts for around 46% of Brazil’s gross greenhouse gas emissions — implement truly low-carbon agriculture and livestock practices, and ensure there is no regression in our energy matrix.
Still on the topic of the climate crisis: what are the main threats currently looming over environmental policy in Brazil’s National Congress?
When the National Congress debates dozens of legislative proposals aiming to relax protections for forests and other forms of native vegetation, it is fueling deforestation and increasing Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions. When it seeks to approve a General Environmental Licensing Law that dismantles the main tool for preventing environmental damage, it is opening the door to environmental chaos and, consequently, more emissions.
What can we expect regarding the future of water security and conservation of water resources in the context of climate negotiations in Brazil?
It’s estimated that Brazil holds about 12% of the planet’s freshwater. This wealth is at risk due to environmental degradation and the climate crisis. The National Water Agency (ANA) has been signaling the likelihood of reduced water availability in several major river basins in the coming years. We must pay close attention to this issue, which does not yet receive the prominence it deserves in climate negotiation forums.
Saneamento Básico
Além do investimento na elaboração dos Planos Municipais de Saneamento Básico, o Comitê segue investindo em obras e intervenções, a exemplo da implantação dos círculos de bananeira e tanques de evapotranspiração
Paulo
Vilela
By: Juciana Cavalcante
THE BASICS OF THE BASICS
Along the vast São Francisco River basin, Brazil’s social inequality is reflected in the shameful basic sanitation rates. To change this medieval reality — which directly impacts both the quality and quantity of water flowing through the Velho Chico — the CBHSF is investing 20 million reais in sewage systems.
Photos: Juciana Cavalcante e Paulo Vilela
In the São Francisco River basin — known as Velho Chico — lie six Brazilian states: Minas Gerais, Bahia, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, and Goiás, in addition to the Federal District. Altogether, 505 municipalities are located in the basin. Of these, only 41 reach the mark of 90% of the urban and rural population having access to piped water, indoor bathrooms, and sewage services. The map of basic sanitation in the São Francisco basin — the river of national integration — is, in fact, medieval, reflecting, like a microcosm, Brazil’s social inequality. In response, the São Francisco River Basin Committee (CBHSF) is leading the fight that defines the lives of 20 million people caught between progress and stagnation. According to CBHSF, through its operating agency Peixe Vivo, more than R$20 million is expected to be invested by the end of 2025 in collective and rural sanitation actions.
The map of basic sanitation around the Velho Chico is structured as follows: according to the latest IBGE census from 2022, the best sewage treatment rates are found in the river’s headwaters region, in the Serra da Canastra, Minas Gerais. In fact, most of the municipalities with over 90% sanitation coverage are located in that state. The most advanced city in terms of universal access is Lagoa da Prata, followed by the capital, Belo Horizonte. However, things take a turn at the border between Minas and Bahia. Still based on IBGE data, the mid-São Francisco region has the largest number of municipalities treating less than 1% of their sewage. The lowest rate was found in the town of Mansidão, Bahia, where in 2022 only 0.28% of sewage was properly treated. Of the 113 Bahian municipalities within the basin, only 28 treat more than 50% of their sewage. Further down the São Francisco, toward its mouth, the state of Alagoas stands out for the wrong reasons: only 17.6% of its municipalities have access to basic sanitation.
A study on the Economic Benefits of Expanding Sanitation in Alagoas, published by the Trata Brasil Institute in partnership with EX Ante Consultoria, analyzed the potential and benefits of universalizing sanitation services in the state and projected a gain of R$13 billion for the Alagoas economy by 2040. The problem extends beyond the São Francisco basin. In Alagoas, “approximately 744,000 people lived in households without access to treated water, and 2.5 million residents were without sewage collection in 2022. As for sewage treatment, only 5.9% of what was collected was treated before being returned to the environment,” the study reported.
“We observe a significant presence of agricultural and livestock activities contributing to organic matter runoff, which affects the water quality of the São Francisco River,” said Professor Eduardo Lucena Cavalcante de Amorim, coordinator of the Sanitation Working Group at the São Francisco River Basin Committee. “We’re also seeing emerging pollutants — those not removed by conventional treatment processes — such as pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, and pesticides. So it’s essential that municipalities take action and invest in sanitation, which will have positive impacts in many areas, especially on public health.”
Between Plans and Construction
Since the implementation of water use charges in the Velho Chico basin in 2013, the São Francisco River Basin Committee (CBHSF) has been working hard. In 2023, it reached a milestone: the full funding of 100 Municipal Basic Sanitation Plans (PMSBs). Although the responsibility for drafting PMSBs lies with the municipalities, the need for funding became evident in 2014, during CBHSF’s first selection process, when 25 municipalities from the four physiographic regions were selected. Over the following years, cities were chosen based on their environmental conditions — including the need to expand water supply systems, the urgency of securing new water sources, the discharge of untreated sewage upstream from water intakes, and the occurrence of floods or inundations in urban areas.
Maciel Oliveira, president of CBHSF, highlights the importance of preparing the Municipal Basic Sanitation Plans (PMSBs).
“The Committee’s initiative to invest in sanitation plans was extremely important — it was the first step toward accessing funding for sanitation projects and construction,” explained Jacqueline Evangelista, project manager at the Peixe Vivo Agency. “Several federal and even state-level calls for proposals require municipalities to have an updated PMSB, so it was crucial for them. The plan is also a planning and management tool to guide the path toward universal sanitation. The Committee’s calls for proposals have always been very thorough and detailed in terms of scope and the terms of reference for contracting, which allowed for progress and maturity in project delivery — with a focus on rural areas, not just urban zones.”
Altogether, CBHSF has already invested over R$170 million in rural and urban sanitation actions. Shifting to a new line of activity, it has funded the development of executive projects for wastewater systems and is now working on implementing individual domestic effluent treatment systems in both rural and urban areas. One major project includes connecting the sewage system in the Historic Center of the municipality of Penedo to the Sewage Treatment Plant (ETE).
“The São Francisco River Basin Committee has been investing both in water quantity through hydro-environmental projects and in water quality, which is directly linked to the sanitation pillar — currently one of our main priorities,” said CBHSF president Maciel Oliveira. “We’ve already completed extremely important actions, such as the development of the Municipal Sanitation Plans. The Committee delivered 116 municipal sanitation plans — a significant investment by CBHSF — enabling those municipalities to secure funding and invest in sanitation, water supply, stormwater drainage, and solid waste treatment. Now the Committee has entered a new phase: carrying out the construction work itself, always through our delegated agency, Peixe Vivo.”
Juciana Cavalcante
According to Maciel, important works have already been delivered. In Porto Real do Colégio, Alagoas, for example, the Kariri Xocó people received the largest water supply system ever implemented in an Indigenous community in Brazil. In Itacuruba, Pernambuco, the Pankará people were also supported.
“These crucial projects were financed and delivered by the Committee, and now we’re heavily focused on rural sanitation — remembering that our first such initiative was the construction of agroecological septic tanks in Penedo, Alagoas,” Maciel emphasized. “It was a great success in Penedo, which is why we turned that project into a full rural sanitation program for the São Francisco basin. This responsibility, however, is shared — municipalities, the federal government, and water utility companies must also do their part.”.
A River of Opportunities
Given its vast reach, the banks of the Velho Chico reflect Brazil’s inequalities — but also its potential for solutions. While some cities show that progress is possible, like Lagoa da Prata (MG), most municipalities, especially in rural zones, remind us that time is short. In recent years, CBHSF — in partnership with strong public policies — has intensified the execution of construction projects and climateadaptive innovations using social technologies. Recognizing that the health of the Velho Chico is not just an environmental issue, the CBHSF embraces its commitment to the lives of millions.
“CBHSF has been doing its part to improve both the quantity and quality of water in the Velho Chico. But we need all responsible actors to do the same: municipalities must fulfill their roles, as must the states, the federal government — everyone needs to invest in urban and rural sanitation,” said Maciel. “It’s shameful that the São Francisco River still receives such a massive load of pollutants and domestic sewage. That’s without a doubt one of the basin’s greatest challenges, because very few municipalities collect and treat their sewage. We need to move forward — and for that to happen, everyone must do their part, given the immediate benefits of improving environmental quality and the lives of local communities.”
Municipalities that already have a wastewater system executive project developed by CBHSF:
POMPÉU - MG
XIQUE-XIQUE - BA CHORROCHÓ - BA TRAIPU - AL
INVESTMENTS
Collective Wastewater Treatment
Total disbursement to date:
R$ 46.961.138,50
Expectation by the end of 2025: R$ 7.795.200,00
Rural wastewater treatment
Total disbursement to date: R$ 121.725.510,99
Expectation by the end of 2025: R$ 12.717.942,50
Cidades da bacia do Rio São Francisco com melhores índices de esgotamento, segundo o último censo do IBGE 2022
Lagoa da Prata - MG 98.57
Belo Horizonte - MG 97.18
Pará de Minas - MG 96.37
Sarzedo - MG 96.13
Arcos - MG 96.03
Itaúna - MG 95.80
Piumhí - MG 95.80
Patis - MG 96.62
Contagem - MG 95.80
Nova Lima - MG 95.61
In daily life
In Aldeia do Roçado, a Koiupanká Indigenous community in Inhapi, the sanitation project funded by CBHSF has changed the lives of 62 families. The village was selected in the January 2022 call for proposals. The project enabled the construction of individual domestic sewage treatment solutions tailored to each household’s needs.
“It’s a hope for a better life for the community. We have always lived without sanitation, and it was very difficult — always very difficult. Now, with this project, we have hope, especially us women, that things will improve — and they will improve,” said resident Maria da Conceição.
In Jaguarari, in the interior of Bahia, the Serra dos Morgados community received a project that reached 100% of the local population. With 140 units installed, the rural properties were equipped with singlefamily systems for treating domestic sewage and effluents generated in the homes. The applied technologies are medium- and low-cost, follow sustainability principles, and are environmentally sound and socially accessible.
“In addition to ensuring proper treatment and disposal of waste, the project has directly contributed to the quality of life for my family,” emphasized resident Irlene dos Santos. “This project was a blessing from God. I had a very simple bathroom, and the project came to improve our lives and provide better infrastructure for us.”
Cidades da bacia do Rio São Francisco com piores índices de esgotamento, segundo o último censo do IBGE 2022
Gameleira - MG 0.27
Mansidão - BA 0.28
Campo Azul - MG 0.30
Baianópolis - BA 0.36
Érico Cardoso - BA 0.37
Olho D’Água Grande - AL 0.37
Novo Horizonte - BA 0.40
Brejolândia - BA 0.40
Cotegipe - BA 0.46
Matina - BA 0.52
Penedo - AL
Implementation of the connection of the Historic Center’s sewage network to the Sewage Treatment Plant (ETE)
Inhapi and Pariconha - AL
Implementation of engineering projects for individual domestic effluent treatment solutions
Traipu and Santana do Ipanema - AL
Implementation of engineering projects for individual domestic effluent treatment solutions
Lapão, Paratinga and João Dourado - BA
Implementation of projects for individual domestic effluent treatment solutions
Jaguarari and Pedro Alexandre - BA
Implementation of engineering projects for individual domestic effluent treatment solutionss
Joaquim Felício, Jequitibá, Bambuí and Unaí - MG
Financing the implementation of sewage system projects in urban areas
Jaíba and Mamonas - MG
Implementation of engineering projects for individual domestic effluent treatment solutions
Correntina - BA, Carmo do Cajuru and Passatempo - MG
Implementation of sewage system projects in urban areas
ENVIRONMENTAL (DE)REGULATION
At the National Congress, at least 28 legislative proposals are underway that could simply dismantle the entire framework of laws that currently provide minimal environmental protection. Contrary to the climate crisis, the order is: loosen regulations.
By: Hylda Cavalcanti
ENVIRONMENTAL (DE)REGULATION
Congress divided: on one side, those who want more flexibility; on the other, those who defend the advancement of the country’s environmental legislation.
Photo: Agência Senado
The year is marked by the International Climate Conference (COP-30) in Belém do Pará. But in Brasília, at least 28 legislative proposals are moving forward that have collectively earned the nickname “The Destruction Package.” Among Bills (PLs) and Constitutional Amendment Proposals (PECs), the agenda in the Chamber of Deputies seems to be to completely dismantle the country’s public policies on the environment and water resources. The targets are many, including changes to environmental licensing rules, funding for environmental policies, land grabbing, conservation units, and, of course, indigenous lands. More than that, the projects also aim to change regulations on oceans and coastal zones, mining, and artisanal mining. The word of the day is: flexibilization (loosening).
A war is underway in the National Congress. The agribusiness caucus, backed by the gun lobby and the evangelical caucus, holds the advantage on the environmental battlefield. Throughout 2024, lawmakers defending the environment worked hard to propose amendments, delay some bills, or pass positive measures that countered insane climate denial. For example, they succeeded in approving a bill that allocates credits to combat drought and forest fires, increases penalties for deforestation, and proposes actions to advance the Sanitation PEC. This PEC aims to include basic sanitation in the list of rights guaranteed by the Federal Constitution, alongside education, health, work, housing, leisure, food, social security, and security.
Victories are few. Instead of promoting proactive policies, environmentalists in Congress must expend energy building defensive barriers. Recently, for example, Senator Zequinha Marinho (Podemos-PA), appointed president of the Senate’s Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Committee, declared his management goal to prioritize the approval of the proposal creating a General Environmental Licensing Law, which changes many existing rules. He openly stated that the intention is to favor agribusiness. “Brazil needs modern and less bureaucratic legislation to guarantee legal security, boost production, and stimulate economic development,” he said.
Basically, the National Congress is divided into two camps: those who want more and those who want fewer environmental protection rules. At the same time the country suffers tragedies like floods in Rio Grande do Sul, this debate borders on the surreal. Approval of the bill championed by Zequinha Marinho would mean the end of licensing for most works and companies that cause pollution and deforestation, bringing immeasurable environmental and social risks. “Environmental licensing is not only important, it is urgent,” said the president of the Senate’s Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Committee. “This benefits not only agribusiness but every sector of the economy because practically everything today depends on an environmental license to be constructed. The current model has served until now but is considered archaic, old, bureaucratic, and slow.”
Less forests
Experts warn that many of the 28 proposals under consideration, if approved, could cause “irreparable damage to Brazilian ecosystems, traditional communities, the global climate, and citizen security.” One warning was issued last year by the Climate Observatory, the main civil society network on the climate agenda. According to Claudio Ângelo, the Observatory’s coordinator, it is hoped that lawmakers will come to their senses. The negative agenda includes both recent proposals and older projects. One of the most dangerous is the bill that loosens the Forest Code. The text, which had its vote postponed for lack of consensus, deals with types and exemptions from licensing, deadlines,
responsibilities, and self-declaration by entrepreneurs, among other provisions applicable to all levels of government. One controversial item regulates licensing exemptions by general rule, regardless of size or location.
If approved as it stands, the bill would disfigure the Forest Code. All vegetation classified as “non-forest” would be at risk, allowing native grasslands to be freely converted to pasture or cropland. This could remove additional protections for the entire Atlantic Forest and leave about 48 million hectares of native fields unprotected nationwide — meaning the loss of protection for 50% of the Pantanal (7.4 million hectares), 32% of the Pampas (6.3 million hectares), 7% of the Cerrado (13.9 million hectares), and nearly 15 million hectares in the Amazon..
Água de beber
Another controversial bill concerns irrigation works in permanent preservation areas (APPs). Approved by the Senate, it is now in the Chamber of Deputies, appended to another project on the same issue. Together, they reclassify irrigation works as public utility in APPs and allow native vegetation removal, likely worsening the country’s water crisis and conflicts over water. Environmentalists warn that relaxing the boundaries and protection regime of APPs creates an additional source of deforestation in these protected areas, which are essential for ecological balance. This will alter river hydrodynamics, changing flowing waters to slower regimes, leading to eutrophication (pollution caused by excess nutrients) and consequent water quality loss.
Two more bills moving together allow mining in water resources. The proposal establishes a water infrastructure policy disconnected from the National Water Resources Policy. Presented to Congress under former president Jair Bolsonaro in 2021, it awaits a rapporteur’s opinion. In practice, it sidelines the National Water Resources Policy, violating principles of decentralization and participatory water management. The text removes autonomy from Basin Committees, disregarding water as a public good and a human right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. These two bills are viewed by basin committees and organizations as the “water privatization bill.”
In the midst of this “destruction package,” another bomb is hidden: a bill enabling reduction of the legal reserve in the Amazon. The rapporteur’s report, by Senator Marcio Bittar (UniãoAC), expanded the original proposal’s flexibilization, lowering the protected area in Amazon states from 65% to 50%. This paves the way to reduce the legal reserve from 80% to as low as 50%.
On May 15, during a public hearing in the Chamber of Deputies on water quality, Juliano Schirmbeck, technical coordinator of the Map Biomas Água project, warned that Brazil no longer faces problems only with water quality but also with quantity. According to him, since monitoring began 40 years ago, Brazil has lost 1.9 million hectares of water surface.
Schirmbeck states that the Pantanal biome is in the most critical condition. In 2024, the region remained near its historical water minimum all year. He stressed the need to break the myth of water abundance. “In 40 years, there has been a reduction. We need to pay increasing attention and be more concerned about both the quantity and quality of water in Brazil,” he said. Also, over the 40 years of monitoring, the greatest water loss occurred in natural reservoirs — a reduction of 2.4 million hectares. Meanwhile, 1.5 million hectares of artificial reservoirs
were created for energy generation or irrigation. The problem, Schirmbeck emphasized, is that these artificial reservoirs are less resilient to climate change than natural ones.
Gustavo Veronesi, coordinator of the Clean Water Cause at SOS Mata Atlântica, drew attention to poor water quality. According to the organization’s survey, only 7.6% of monitored rivers in the Mata Atlântica biome across 17 states showed good quality; none had excellent quality. Veronesi noted that 75% of studied rivers have regular quality, meaning they already suffer pollution impacts and need treatment for human consumption. Malu Ribeiro, Director of Public Policies at SOS Mata Atlântica, warned of the need to revise the current classification of rivers, established by the National Environment Council (Conama). Brazilian rivers are classified into five categories based on economic use. The “special” category receives the highest level of protection, while category 4 has no protection.
“This revision is essential for the country. We will not see improvements in water quality in Brazilian rivers — especially those running through urban or agribusiness-intensive areas — if category 4 is not removed from our legislation,” Ribeiro stressed.
The Bill Has Come Due
By 2040, Brazil will face water shortages. Ana Paula Fioreze, Superintendent of Water and Socioeconomic Studies at the National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency (ANA), said state studies predict reduced water availability within two decades. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change shares the concern. Osvaldo Moraes, Director of the Climate and Sustainability Department, recalled a World Meteorological Organization report showing over 500,000 deaths annually from heat waves — the deadliest climate impact worldwide. He stressed this figure is likely higher because some countries, including Brazil, do not count such deaths.
The Ministry of Regional Development presented a report showing Brazil set a disaster record in 2023, not including 2024.
Deputy Elcione Barbalho (MDB-PA), president of the Chamber’s Environment and Sustainable Development Committee, avoided commenting on the most worrying bills but emphasized the importance of empowering mayors and municipal managers with tools to plan and execute climate adaptation actions.
Senator Fabiano Contarato (PT-ES), elected president of the Senate’s Environment Committee, outlined the unprecedented challenges ahead. He counts on Senator Leila Barros (PDT-DF), who chaired the committee until earlier this year and was elected vice president. “Prolonged droughts, devastating floods, relentless storms, and extreme heat waves threaten the economy, destabilize education, overload health services, and compromise food production — painfully impacting all of us,” Contarato said.
Especialistas apontam os possíveis danos advindos do afrouxamento de leis ambientais no Brasil
Agência Senado
CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS
THAT ARE SUBJECT OF BILLS UNDER Consideration in Congress
1 Water Ressources
2
Relaxation of the Forest Code and Other Native Vegetation Protection Regulations
3
Funding of Environmental Policy
4
Land Grabbing
5
Conservation Units
6
Indigenous Lands
7
Ocean and Coastal Zone
8
Mining and Wildcat Prospecting
THAT MAKE UP THEANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL PACKAGE Bills AND PECs
Bill 364/2019: Relaxes the Forest Code and eliminates the protection of all native grasslands and other non-forest formations.
Bill 3334/2023: Enables the reduction of the legal reserve in the Amazon..
Bill
Bill 1282/2019, appended to Bill 2168/2021: Establishes new rules for irrigation works in permanent preservation areas.
Bill
Bill
Bill 10273/2018: Empties the Environmental Control and Inspection Fee and reduces the power of Ibama.
Bill 6049/2023: Changes the rules of the Amazon Fund.
Bill 2633/2020 appended to Bill 510/2021: Loosen the regulations on land tenure regularization.
Bill 2001/2019, appended to Bill 717/2021 and Bill 5028/2023: Seek to hinder the creation of Conservation Units (CUs)
Bill 3087/2022: Reduces the Tumucumaque Mountains National Park
PEC 48/2023: Adds the time frame (marco temporal) for Indigenous lands to Article 231 of the Federal Constitution
PEC 59/2023: Delegates to Congress the authority to demarcate Indigenous lands
Bill 6050/2023: Relaxes regulations on the development of economic activities on Indigenous lands
Bill 4546/2021: Establishes a water infrastructure policy disconnected from the National Water Resources Policy.
PEC 03/2022: Removes the exclusive ownership of the Union over the Marine Lands.
BillP 254/2023: Assigns environmental licensing of nautical enterprises to the Navy.
Bill 355/2020: Amends the Mining Code.
Bill 3587/2023: Creates the National Forensic Bank of Gold Profiles.
Águas Subterrâneas
Por: Andréia Vitório
Fotos: Bianca Aun e Léo Boi
Few people pay attention, but there is a tragedy unfolding right beneath our feet. The overexploitation of groundwater is a threat to rivers— and to life on the planet. For the survival of the Velho Chico, the Urucuia aquifer plays a crucial role.
THE INVISIBLE SHIELD
Aquifers function like water tanks. When it rains, they fill up, creating a reserve. During dry seasons, they discharge this reserve into rivers, contributing to continuous flow. The dance between groundwater and surface water follows a natural rhythm. However, excessive pumping of aquifers can reverse this process, causing rivers to feed the aquifers instead.
The Urucuia aquifer, the main water source for the Velho Chico (São Francisco River), is currently the most pressured aquifer due to the expansion of irrigated agriculture, especially in the Matopiba region — an agricultural frontier spanning parts of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia. Given this scenario, it’s worth asking: how might the demand for Urucuia’s waters compromise the future of the São Francisco River basin?
“The increasing demand for water for irrigation and other purposes has led to intense exploitation of the Urucuia Aquifer System (SAU), with many wells drilled to capture water,” said Cristiane Neres Silva, geologist and full member of the Technical Chamber on Groundwater (CTAS) of the São Francisco River Basin Committee (CBHSF), representing the Association of Fruit Growers of the Adutora da Fonte (AFAF). “This intense demand raises many concerns about the sustainability of the aquifer and its impacts on the São Francisco River.”
The exact amount of water extracted daily from the Urucuia aquifer is unknown. “Integrated monitoring of surface and groundwater is necessary,” advocates engineer Carlos Alberto de Freitas, from the Brazilian Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (ABES) and also a full member of the Technical Chamber on Groundwater (CTAS). “With this data, a detailed water balance can be made, taking into account parameters such as precipitation, evapotranspiration, infiltration, and surface runoff, as well as quantifying the water being used, supported by a registry of users, especially the major ones.”
According to Freitas, Brazil still knows very little about its aquifers, and the population lacks awareness to monitor these reserves. José Almir Cirilo, former coordinator of the Technical Chamber on Groundwater of CBHSF and current Secretary of Water Resources and Sanitation of Pernambuco, agrees. In his view, knowing these reserves would make a difference, since there is less certainty about the storage capacity and accumulated volume in aquifers compared to a reservoir formed by a dam, for example. “Expanding knowledge about these reserves is fundamental,” he said. “It is very important to have strong interaction between the Basin Committee, the National Water Agency, and state agencies to define consensual rules about the exploitation capacity of these water sources and also for granting water use permits.” According to Cirilo, another urgent need is to advance protection of recharge areas, as degradation and deforestation contribute to the exhaustion of underground water sources.
The number of illegally operating tubular wells is worrying, making it difficult to measure the deficit. But the fact remains: the impacts of a severe water crisis in the São Francisco basin would be an unimaginable tragedy, directly damaging a variety of economic activities, including Brazil’s billion-dollar agribusiness. Increasingly, the exploitation of Urucuia’s waters may accelerate the disappearance of springs and reduce the water volume of the Velho Chico’s tributaries. Thus, water conflicts have already become a reality in some parts of the basin, such as in western Bahia. Moreover, one must not forget that most of Brazil’s large hydroelectric plants are powered precisely by the São Francisco River.
Besides human interference, these reservoirs also suffer from climate change. Rainfall patterns directly influence the amount of water available to infiltrate the soil and recharge aquifers. In this scenario, urgent actions must be taken, such as: strengthening cooperation among managing bodies, water users, and civil society; intensifying oversight on compliance with environmental licensing; zoning aquifers to define protection areas and control the issuance of water use permits based on recharge capacity and flow; adopting charging mechanisms for groundwater use that internalize environmental costs; and encouraging, through public policies, sustainable and efficient use. Only by protecting groundwater resources can we guarantee water security for future generations.
THE URUCUIA
TOTAL WATER RESERVES
1,352 km³ of water (regulatory reserves + permanent reserves)
PERMANENT RESERVE
1.327 km3 (obtained after subtracting the regulatory reserve from the total)
CONTRIBUTION TO THE SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER
between 80% and 90% during the dry season (August to October)
URUCUIA AQUIFER SYSTEM
142 mil km2 covering the states of Maranhão, Piauí, Tocantins, Bahia, Goiás, and Minas Gerais
The municipality of Chapada Gaúcha, located in northern Minas Gerais, is one example of the beauty nestled within the territory of the Urucuia Aquifer.
Léo
Boi
INVENTED
By: Karla Monteiro
INVENTED CITY
At the invitation of Juscelino Kubitschek, the Bossa Nova president, urban planner Lúcio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer sketched, in the dust of the Central Plateau, a tribute to modernism.
Juscelino Kubitschek, from Minas Gerais and nicknamed the Bossa Nova president, took office in January 1956. In the new government’s “Plano de Metas” (Goals Plan), the flagship goal was Brasília. According to Darcy Ribeiro, invited to lead the project of the Universidade Nacional de Brasília (UNB), the city was invented by two geniuses: urban planner Lúcio Costa, who designed the city in the shape of an airplane, and architect Oscar Niemeyer, who sketched there, on the Central Plateau, a tribute to modernism. To oversee the project, JK appointed his fellow Minas Gerais native Israel Pinheiro, who was tasked with presiding over the activities of NOVACAP, the Urban Development Company of the New Capital.
From all sides, the idea was heavily criticized. The country was divided between the “mudancistas” (those in favor of change) and the “antimudancistas” (those against change).
The antimudancistas saw the project as a Napoleonic dream, impossible to realize. How could the entire federal bureaucracy be moved to a remote plateau in the Central Highlands? Brasília would occupy an area of 5,783 square kilometers, with 150 km² designated for the “Plano Piloto,” planned for 500,000 inhabitants.
In the opinion of the mudancistas, however, building the Federal District meant refounding Brazil from its center, bringing Brazilians closer to each other. It was more than that. Brasília also renewed the dreams of generations. Perhaps the oldest idea of locating the seat of power in the interior came from the Marquis of Pombal, who had considered establishing the kingdom’s capital inland.
“Seeming like a dream, the construction of Brasília is a realist work. With it, we fulfill an old program: that of the 1891 constitution-makers. It is a historic ideal: that of the bandeirantes of the 17th and 18th centuries,” JK defended.
Until just before the inauguration, Brasília still sounded like poetic license: a construction site lost in red dust. The Palácio da Alvorada seemed as unreal as the idea of moving the bureaucracy elsewhere. Against all odds, however, Brasília was born on April 21, 1960. On the eve of the inauguration, a renowned art historian and curator in France, Germain Bazin, dined at the Alvorada Palace. After dinner, walking around the palace grounds, he said he was “dazzled,” “perplexed,” and “skeptical.” “This is too beautiful, it won’t last,” he sighed.
On the day of the inauguration party, writer Nelson Rodrigues arrived at the dirt-runway airport. At that time, he was writing the column “Life As It Is...” for the newspaper Última Hora. According to the ironic Nelson, the essential thing in Brasília was the dust. Upon seeing the city, he saw a cinnamoncolored dust rise up: “I then had the idea that after inhaling this glorious emanation, a person would spontaneously combust!” To his friend Carlos Drummond de Andrade, who had praised how some politicians presented themselves so neatly amid the red-dust desert, he sent a message: “False praise, and I say more, false, indefensible, and compromising cleanliness. All of us, including the poet, should soak ourselves in the holy dust of the Central Plateau—the dust that cured Otto Lara Resende’s asthma.”
City and Urbanism
Juscelino’s Brasília goes far beyond the National Congress. It is a living city that generates wealth and carries its urban dramas.
BRASÍLIA AS IT IS...
By: Hylda Cavalcanti
The fate of the city imagined by
Juscelino Kubitschek
On April 21, Brasília celebrated its 65th anniversary. Planned to house 500,000 people, it today counts 2.9 million souls. Perhaps quite contrary to the national imagination, the city is no longer limited to what happens in the Praça dos Três Poderes (Three Powers Plaza). Brasília has outgrown its destiny as just a city of public servants. When it was built, it was imagined that the workers who labored on the monumental project would return home afterward. But the opposite happened. The “candangos” stayed to also build the future. Today Brasília holds the position as the eighth largest economy in Brazil, with the service sector accounting for 95.6% of its productive structure. It is also the country’s third largest metropolitan region, considering the entire Federal District.
What would JK say about the direction Brasília is taking? The city remains modern despite the growing conservatism in the National Congress. It’s no coincidence that Brasília has produced artists like Cássia Eller and Renato Russo. On the other hand, 21st-century Brasília is deeply marked by contradictions that divide residents of the Plano Piloto (Asa Norte and Asa Sul) and the North and South Lakes from the Administrative Regions. The most radical even call this prime area an “island,” surrounded by a belt of poverty. Of the seven satellite cities established in the early years — Cruzeiro, Taguatinga, Núcleo Bandeirante, Gama, Ceilândia, Guará, and Sobradinho — originally bedroom communities, the number has now grown to 35. Many of these, now called Administrative Regions (RAs), have developed their own life and microcosms where many people survive without depending on the Plano Piloto.
Social inequality in Brasília screams out. There are condominiums in wealthy areas where the average monthly family income is about R\$60,000, while in other sectors families of five live on an average income of R\$500. In a city planned for car traffic — reflecting Juscelino’s development obsession — there coexist both “tesourinhas” (shortcuts) on the Eixinhos and Eixão (the main city highways) that make driving easier, and numerous urban mobility problems that force many people to take up to four buses a day plus the subway to get to work.
Including the entire Federal District and 12 municipalities from neighboring states that form Brasília’s Metropolitan Periphery, the area is home to 4.2 million people living in 1.4 million residences. Like Brazil itself, not everything is entirely good or bad. Since 2022, the Federal District government has subjected its population to a pace of roadworks that, although sometimes exhausting and disruptive to traffic flow, have delivered good results with tunnels and new corridors to improve mobility.
Assessments from various research bodies indicate growth in sectors such as Logistics, Technology and Innovation (TI), Infrastructure, Pharmaceuticals, and Tourism. They also report that in the first quarter of 2025, the Federal District created 17,800 new formal jobs. Among micro, small, and medium entrepreneurs, more than 26,000 new businesses have been established since last January.
By: Hylda Cavalcanti e Karla Monteiro
BRASÍLIA: USER’S MANUAL
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Brasília ranks among the top ten destinations worldwide for architecture enthusiasts. Designed by urban planner Lúcio Costa and bearing the unmistakable style of architect Oscar Niemeyer, the city is an ambitious tribute to the principles of the modernist movement. The gardens of Burle Marx intertwine with the geometric murals of Athos Bulcão, creating a symbiosis between nature and art in the heart of the Brazilian Cerrado
Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge
The JK Bridge, also known as the “Third Bridge,” majestically rises over Lake Paranoá, uniquely connecting Lago Sul, Paranoá, and São Sebastião to the heart of Brasília via the Eixo Monumental. The bridge is a tribute to the genius of architect Alexandre Chan. With its three asymmetrical arches that seem to dance over the lake’s waters, the structure stands out as one of the most admirable icons of Brasília’s architecture.
Itamaraty Palace
The Itamaraty Palace is the headquarters of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With its solid columns and large windows, the building designed by Niemeyer - featuring structural engineering by Joaquim Cardozo - is a perfect example of Brasília’s modern architecture.
Honestino Guimarães National Museum
With its minimalist architecture and semispherical shape, the Honestino Guimarães National Museum - named in honor of a former UNB student and student leader during the dictatorship - is a treasure of modern architecture. Designed by Niemeyer and located in the South Cultural Sector, Lot 2 of the Esplanade of Ministries, the museum is part of the João Herculino Cultural Complex of the Republic, together with the National Library of Brasília.
Three Powers Plaza
The political heart of Brasília, it houses the headquarters of the three branches of the Brazilian government: the National Congress, the Palácio do Planalto (Presidential Palace), and the Supreme Federal Court. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer, these buildings are beautiful and carry deep significance for Brazilian democracy.
Ministries Esplanade
It is considered one of the main governmental areas in the world, as it brings together, as planned, a large part of the principal buildings of power, including the headquarters of the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary branches, as well as 16 ministries. Not to mention that it leads directly to the Praça dos Três Poderes (Three Powers Plaza). Besides leisure areas and other institutional buildings constructed over time, its wide central boulevard regularly hosts various cultural and political demonstrations, as well as fairs and performances.
Planalto and Alvorada Palaces
The Palácio do Planalto and Palácio da Alvorada buildings ensure that the capital remains, to this day, one of the world’s greatest references in urbanism and architecture. Born from the genius of Lúcio Costa, Oscar Niemeyer, Athos Bulcão, and Burle Marx, they were designed to express modernity, integration, and freedom.
Memorial of Indigenous Peoples
Inspired by the Yanomami maloca, the Memorial of Indigenous Peoples has a spiral shape. Located on the Eixo Monumental, it was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and envisioned by anthropologists Berta Ribeiro and Darcy Ribeiro, aiming to represent the diversity and richness of Brazilian indigenous culture.
City Park
The Sarah Kubitschek City Park, which covers the entire Plano Piloto and is located within Brasília, is the city’s green lung. It is larger than New York’s Central Park. It spans 420 hectares, equivalent to 4.2 square kilometers, and serves as a democratic space for people of all ages and social backgrounds.
Cathedral
One of the most beautiful monuments in the country, the Metropolitan Cathedral draws the attention of residents and tourists alike due to its size and shape. It was built as if it were the papal hat, entirely underground. The roof, which is at ground level, is made of stained glass. In the center, three huge suspended angels seem to bless all who enter the space.
Heritage Listing
It is the only city built in the 20th century to be declared a World Historical and Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO, due to its architectural ensemble. In addition, it has the largest heritage-listed area in the world, covering 112.5 square kilometers - although from time to time it faces warnings about maintenance issues that need to be addressed specifically.
National Congress
With numerous plenary sessions, technical committee meetings, and the daily operations of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, the National Congress is the heart of the city. The complex houses, besides auditoriums and workrooms, a barbershop, beauty salons, a tobacconist, various cafés, restaurants, and libraries. Four thousand people pass through the National Congress daily.
Landscaping
Brasília features iconic gardens, such as the Itamaraty Terrace Garden and areas designed for the University of Brasília (UnB) campus. But it has blossomed far beyond that. The flower beds between the blocks, filled with vibrant blooms, as well as the ipê and flamboyant trees lining the sidewalks of the blocks and main transport axes, have transformed the capital into a true park-city.
Igrejinha da 308 Sul
The first Catholic church in Brasília, the Igrejinha Nossa Senhora de Fátima is an example of collaboration between architecture and art. Designed by Niemeyer, with panels by Athos Bulcão, it creates welcoming spaces for reflection, evoking themes of freedom and spiritual development.
Paranoá lake
Lake Paranoá, a place for recreation, relief from the dry climate, water sports, and tourism, is considered one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. Until nearly the 1990s, it was the second largest. Even so, it covers an area of 48 square kilometers and has a concentration of boats that draws national attention.
Superquadras
The Plano Piloto of Brasília is made up of superquadras — blocks of buildings up to six stories high, flanked by their own commercial establishments — based on the idea that residents can find everything they need just by stepping down from their buildings, such as pharmacies, markets, and other shops. Because of this layout, the city has no street corners and is commonly nicknamed by locals as “quadradinho” (little square).
Airplane shape
Brasília é conhecida popularmente por ter “formato de avião”, com os prédios do Congresso Nacional no meio, a Esplanada dos Ministérios formando o corpo do avião e, de cada lado, as asas Norte e Sul. Mas segundo historiadores, essa característica é mais lúdica do que técnica, embora possa ser percebida do alto, nas chegadas e partidas dos voos.
By: Karla Monteiro
DARCY RIBEIRO
Born in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, on a farm less than 100 kilometers from the banks of the Velho Chico, Darcy Ribeiro helped invent Brazil.
The year was 1956, and installed at the Palácio das Laranjeiras in Rio de Janeiro, the president of the Republic, Juscelino Kubitschek, was immersed in the intense national debate: to build or not to build Brasília? From Minas Gerais, his fellow native Darcy Ribeiro, already known for his travels with indigenous peoples, gave an interview to TV Tupi, ironically commenting on the idea. According to the anthropologist from Minas Gerais, it was said that JK intended to build a city in the “jungle,” when in fact he wanted to erect the nation’s capital in the “macega,” a kind of dirty field overrun by weeds, right in the middle of the Goiás Caatinga. For Darcy, it would be much more worthwhile to invest in Couto Magalhães’s dream, who had designed a canal linking the Tocantins-Araguaia system to the Rio GrandeParaná system. With 300 kilometers of canal, a new Brazilian coast would emerge, navigable from Belém do Pará to Buenos Aires.
“Not long after, I was traveling on one of JK’s planes to see Brasília, which was then a collection of machines plowing the Cerrado and raising immense columns of dust,” Darcy recounted in his autobiography Confissões about the beginning of his partnership with Juscelino: “There were a huge number of engineers with bowler hats, directing candangos who came from all over Brazil to plant a city invented by Lúcio (Costa) into the ground. Along this transversal route, I cleared the path that later, transformed into a road, would make possible the creation of the University of Brasília.”
Darcy soon found himself on a crusade for “my utopian university.” In his view, Oscar Niemeyer’s modernist setting deserved something new and surprising, beyond conventional higher education. To build the UNB project, he spared no seminars or public debates, involving, besides the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science, the country’s most important intellectuals. Ultimately, the journey of the University of Brasília (UNB) sparked a broader debate on university reform. “That was the greatest reach of the UNB project,” Darcy would comment.
“Before it even began its brief life, and even after being strangled by the dictatorship, UNB triggered a huge innovative force. This happened because it offered our university students two fundamental elements. First, the most severe critique of the precariousness of our higher education institutions. Second, the utopian proposal of a university that became the standard by which the mediocrity of the existing university was measured.”
With his northern Minas Gerais accent tinged with Bahian influence, Darcy spoke fast — so fast, often stumbling over his own words, sounding disconnected, somewhat impulsive, almost frantic. His thoughts ran faster than his words. Perhaps this infinite capacity to dream was both his greatest strength and his greatest tragedy. He was born on a farm — Fazenda Fábrica do Cedro — between Montes Claros and Janaúba, a town on the banks of the Velho Chico River. From a wealthy family, when he grew up he moved to Belo Horizonte to study medicine. But he did not last long in Minas’ capital. He switched to Social Sciences and went to São Paulo. In 1946, at 23 years old, he graduated in anthropology from the School of Sociology and Politics at USP. A communist by creed, he tried an academic career until he met Marshal Rondon: “I was instantly galvanized by Rondon’s noble indigenous figure, the dignity of his face, the energy of his gaze, and the naturalness of his command.”
“I was bound to Rondon for life. After each expedition, I would go see him to report on how the indigenous peoples I had visited were living and dying. Some of those expeditions were by his orders,” Darcy recounted. “Gradually, with the accumulation of experiences and encounters, the indigenous peoples taught me, making me see that they were human. People capable of pain, sadness, love, joy, disappointment, shame. People who suffered the supreme pain of being indigenous in a hostile world.”
From his ten years of work as an ethnologist came a legacy, including the creation of the Museu do Índio in Rio de Janeiro and participation in the design of the Xingu Indigenous Park. Surely, Darcy’s travels deep into Brazil helped him build his original conception of the Brazilian people, expressed in his most important work, *O Povo Brasileiro*. According to Darcy, all peoples in the Americas were subjected to the “grinders of human beings” of the colonial machine, which destribalized indigenous and African peoples and uprooted the Portuguese. Brazilians, then, would be Brazilian by scarcity, not by abundance. The national culture could not be explained by simply summing three ethnic hues: white, black, and indigenous. “The Brazilian Indian as well as the Afro-Brazilian existed in an ethnic no-man’s land, and it is from this essential lack - to free themselves from being nonIndians, non-Europeans, and non-blacks - that they are forced to create their own ethnic identity: the Brazilian.”
Throughout his 75 years of life, Darcy published over 30 books, including *O Processo Civilizatório* (The Civilizing Process), 1968. From the 1964 military coup that deposed President João Goulart until shortly before the Amnesty Law of 1979, he lived in exile, moving from country to country across Latin America. He worked with Salvador Allende until the 1973 Chilean coup. Upon returning to Rio de Janeiro, he served as vice governor to Leonel Brizola, with whom he helped create the CIEPs (Integrated Centers of Public Education), spread throughout the state in buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Without a doubt, Darcy lived seven lives. Returning to that fateful April 1, 1964, he was then Chief of Staff for Jango (João Goulart), the closest man to the ousted president. After Goulart left Brasília for Porto Alegre, Darcy remained alone in the Palácio do Planalto. “I stubbornly stayed there. Funny things happened, like Senator Mém De Sá’s surprise upon exiting the elevator and seeing me there.” He only left after Senator Auro Moura de Andrade declared the presidency vacant, thus completing the military coup that would darken Brazil for 21 years.
“That was my hour of lead. An hour I would have preferred to be dead than endure: the hour of the defeated,” Darcy wrote, who, when taking stock of his own life, concluded: “I failed at everything I tried in life. I tried to teach Brazilian children to read - I failed. I tried to save the indigenous peoples - I failed. I tried to create a serious university - I failed. I tried to make Brazil develop autonomously - I failed. But failures are my victories. I would hate to be in the place of those who defeated me.”
The young anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro gave a speech on the occasion of the inauguration of the University of Brasília (UNB). Today, the university’s main campus bears his name.
By: Tiago Rodrigues
AT FULL THROT TLE
After 12 years without sailing, the old vessel Benjamim Guimarães returned to the waters of the São Francisco River. The restoration cost around 3.7 million reais and took nearly five years to complete.
The scene moved Pirapora deeply. Tears, applause, and shouts of joy marked the moment when the old steamship Benjamim Guimarães returned to the waters of the Velho Chico after being anchored for 12 years. “Almost every day I came to the dock to see the steamship on dry land. When I heard it would return, I felt waves of anxiety. Benjamim is part of our history,” said retired teacher Maria Carmo Bezerra.
Putting the 243-ton boat back into the river took weeks of planning and complex logistics, including the need to increase the water flow from the Três Marias Dam—from 200 m³/s to 650 m³/s—following requests from the city government and Eletrobras to Cemig.
“Since I was 20 years old, I have worked in navigation. My parents, grandparents, all worked at the São Francisco Navigation Company,” said the steamboat operator Jason Batista Ferreira, 69, hired to work on the restoration of the Benjamim Guimarães: “In other words, the Benjamim is my heritage. So, my heart is beating very fast, there’s a lot of emotion seeing this giant on the river. A whole movie plays in my head.”
The restoration project covered the entire vessel: hull, machinery, boiler, lodging facilities, dormitories, restaurants, electrical and hydraulic systems, lighting, painting, and finishing. “We know this is not just a renovation. It’s about preserving the image and legacy of the Benjamim Guimarães, which goes far beyond the structural work,” said Renan Augusto Grizzo, coordinator of the project at INC. Back in the water, the steamboat entered a phase of testing, equipment installation, paint touch-ups, and other necessary steps before the official reopening, which took place on June 1st, the anniversary of Pirapora.
The Benjamim Guimarães steamboat is considered the last functioning wood-fired steamship in the world. At 112 years old, it was built in the United States and sailed the Mississippi River and the Amazon Basin before finally arriving in the São Francisco basin. The vessel had been inactive for 12 years, with the last five years on dry land at the port of Pirapora, awaiting completion of the restoration. The removal from the riverbed took place in November 2020, marking the start of a long restoration journey that faced various bureaucratic and technical obstacles.
Initially, the funding for the restoration came from an agreement between the State Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage of Minas Gerais (Iepha), the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan), and the Pirapora City Hall. The company chosen through bidding was Indústria Naval Catarinense (INC), with a budget of R\$ 3.7 million. However, project disagreements and delays in funding transfers halted the work. With Iepha and Iphan stepping down, responsibility for the project fell solely on the city government.
According to the mayor of Pirapora, Alex Cesar, the restoration was resumed through the Program for the Revitalization of Water Resources of the São Francisco and Parnaíba River Basins, with support from the Ministry of Mines and Energy and Eletrobras. “With the initial funds combined with new resources, the total investment reached R\$ 5.8 million. With technical supervision from Eletrobras, the renovation resumed in September 2024,” the mayor explained. For him, the moment represents a historic achievement for the municipality. “The Benjamim Guimarães is the last functioning steamship in the world. More than a tourist symbol, it represents the living history of our people. Hearing its whistle again fills a void in the heart of the city.”
O vapor histórico volta para a água. Voltam também toda sua história e imponência
Happened
By: Mariana Martins
CBHSF against cuts at ANA
The São Francisco River Basin Committee (CBHSF) speaks out against budget cuts that jeopardize the national water resources policy.
The São Francisco River Basin Committee (CBHSF) has taken a firm stand against the 33% budget cut to water usage fees proposed in the 2025 Annual Budget Law (LOA), warning about the risks this poses to the National Water Resources Policy and the country’s water security.
Listen to the podcast at: bit.ly/PodTrav197
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Lower São Francisco under aerial analysis
An aerial survey commissioned by the CBHSF revealed that 83.6% of water withdrawals in the Lower São Francisco operate without proper permits. The technical report will be submitted to ANA and aims to ensure better control and fairness in the region’s water management.
The São Francisco River Basin Committee (CBHSF) closed the registration period for its electoral process on May 20. The elections will take place from June 30 to July 10, with the inauguration of the new members scheduled for September — strengthening representation in the country’s largest water parliament.
Bianca Aun
Listen to the podcast at: bit.ly/PodTrav196
CBHSF Invests in Updating Basin Plan Data
The São Francisco River Basin Committee (CBHSF) is funding the update of the data base for the São Francisco River Basin Water Resources Plan (PRH-SF), focusing on unifying state and federal information regarding water withdrawals, effluent discharges, and desertification. The effort, monitored by representatives from the states and the Ministry of the Environment, is essential for planning actions through 2046 and ensuring integrated and efficient management of the Velho Chico’s waters
Velho Chico on the Agenda in the Federal Capital
Watch the campaign launch press conference: bit.ly/ColetivaVirecarranca25
At a press conference held in Brasília, the São Francisco River Basin Committee (CBHSF) launched the campaign “I turn into a carranca to defend the Velho Chico” and denounced the budget cuts that threaten water management. The official event of the campaign is scheduled for June 3rd at the University of Brasília (UnB), with a large mobilization expected.
Léo Boi
BASIN IN TRANSFORMATION
Waters that begin to flow again, years later. Income generation through new sustainable production alternatives. Renovated irrigation channels, ready for use, ensuring production in the Central Plateau of the country. Cisterns that represent access to water and dignity for the people of this territory.
These are just some of the benefits generated by four projects focused on revitalizing the Velho Chico River, which, initiated by the São Francisco River Basin Committee (CBHSF), have been transforming lives and creating new realities across all corners of the region. All projects were funded by the CBHSF through resources derived from water use charges within the basin
Emerson Leite
Delivered in January 2023, the water sustainability works that enabled the construction of check dams, underground dams, cisterns, and a native seedling nursery were key factors in the recovery of springs in Serra dos Morgados, Jaguarari district (BA).
bit.ly/NascentesSerradosMorgados
A year and a half after the delivery of the project, completed in 2022, the families benefiting from one of the water sustainability projects in the semi-arid region, residing in the rural area of the municipality of Macaúbas (BA), report the changes that the construction of 100 potable water storage cisterns has brought to the community’s lives. bit.ly/CisternasMacaúbas
Léo
Boi
Delivered in 2023, the works of the project ‘Bosque Berçário das Águas: environmental education and reforestation with a focus on sustainable extraction,’ in the municipality of Piaçabuçu, Alagoas, have ensured a significant change in the lives of many families and have already yielded various benefits that continue to bear fruit.
bit.ly/BosqueBerçário
Cleuves Carvalho
Focusing on meeting the water demand in the Rio Preto region, a tributary of the São Francisco River in Planaltina, Federal District (DF), the CBHSF delivered in 2024 supplies that are ensuring the revitalization of rudimentary irrigation channels and the construction of lined reservoirs. The project involved a total investment of R\$ 5.4 million.
