Cenarium Magazine – Ed. 59 - May/2025

DISTRICTS WITHOUT WORKS?

With David Almeida and Renato Junior, Manaus Secretariat of Infrastructure handled R$ 1.2 billion in 2024 while leaving Work Districks in a state of neglect

www.revistacenarium.com.br/en/ | May 2025

Credits

General Director

Paula Litaiff – MTb 793/AM

paulalitaiff@revistacenarium.com.br

www.paulalitaiff.com

Editorial Coordinator

Adrisa de Góes

HR Manager

Elcimara Oliveira

Content Managers - Online

Adrisa de Góes (1st shift)

Izaias Godinho (2nd shift)

Multimedia Production Manager

Bianca Diniz

Producer

Alinne Bindá

Digital/Print Content Manager

Márcia Guimarães

Text Editor - Digital/Print Magazine

Eduardo Figueiredo

Graphic Design and Layout | Digital/Print Magazine

Hugo Moura

Reporting Team - Online/Digital/TV/Print

Adrisa de Góes

Ana Cláudia Leocádio

Ana Pastana

Fabyo Cruz

Izaias Godinho

Jadson Lima

Marcela Leiros

Cameraman/Photo Editors/Video Editors

Luiz André

Ricardo Oliveira

Eber Borges

Graphic Designers

Lucas Oliveira (1st shift)

Luís Paulo Dutra (2nd shift)

Social Media

Gustô Alves (1st shift)

Maria Eduarda Furtado (2nd shift)

Proofreading

Gustavo Gilona

Jesua Maia (Print/Digital Version)

Translation from Portuguese

Gustô Alves

Editorial Board

Inory Kanamari – Indigenous Peoples

Iraildes Caldas – Gender Issues

Lucas Ferrante – Biological Sciences

Luciana Santos – Quilombolas Communities

Legal Consultants

Denise Coêlho – OAB/AM 10.520

Tiago Lazarini – OAB/AM 9.946

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5,000 copies

Distribution

Manaus (AM), Belém (PA), Roraima (RR), Rondônia (RO), Brasília (DF) and São Paulo (SP)

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Editorial

The infrastructure crisis in Manaus, a project

As the reporter travels through the neighborhoods of Manaus, amidst open craters, abandoned vehicles, and the persistent stench of open sewage, they find not only signs of neglect but also witness the failure of a public policy that has lost its social function. The new special edition of CENARIUM exposes, with official data and shocking images, the abyss between the billions of reais handled by the Municipal Secretariat of Infrastructure (Seminf) and the reality of the city’s Work Districts.

According to anthropologist and writer Darcy Ribeiro, Brazil has not failed. From the beginning, it was a successful project—but a success from the point of view of the elites, who have always worked against the people and in favor of themselves. The urban infrastructure crisis in Manaus, even after more than R$1.2 billion (approximately $230 million) was allocated in 2024, highlights the triumph of this perverse project, in which the abandonment of essential services in peripheral neighborhoods is not a flaw but a deliberate political choice. A policy that paves the streets of the upscale Ponta Negra neighborhood while mud floods the home of retiree Teresinha in Praça 14.

The municipal administration’s neglect of the Work Districts cannot be dissociated from the clientelist logic that Darcy Ribeiro denounced in his critique of power structures. The State, he said, “was made not to work” for the poor—and this becomes glaringly clear in the North Zone of Manaus, where districts like Cidade de Deus and Cidade Nova are literally swallowed by vegetation and rusting, unusable machinery, even as million-dollar contracts continue with large construction companies.

The promise of reforming the city’s 18 Work Districts, with no set timeline, has become a symbolic image of neglect. A promise as fragile as the walls of the Morro da Liberdade district office, held up by wooden stakes and makeshift fencing made from Seminf’s own signs. Meanwhile, the Manaus City Hall piles up billion-real loans. As Darcy keenly observed, “the education crisis in Brazil is not a crisis; it is a project.”

The people of Manaus, however, are not passive. They are a people who speak out, who record videos, who cry at the doors of public offices, who survive the mud and the neglect. It is the role of the press, as CENARIUM has embraced, to be a bridge, a voice of protest, and a preserver of memory. Because, as Darcy Ribeiro once said, “there are only two options in life: to resign or to be indignant. And I will never resign.”

Paula Litaiff General Director

Works: the visible and the transparency

One of the most visible deliverables in a mayor's administration is infrastructure works. These usually draw attention — a visibility not always accompanied by proper transparency. This is what happens, for example, with the funds managed by the Municipal Secretariat of Infrastructure of Manaus (Seminf) in 2024, when the department paid R$ 1.2 billion to companies for the provision of services. At the very least, the significant amount raises eyebrows, while many of the District Offices of Works, branch offices of the department, are literally falling apart.

For the cover story of this edition, we investigated the Transparency Portal of the Municipality to check the payments made by Seminf to companies providing services related to works and infrastructure, and we also visited ten of the 18 District Offices of Works in Manaus. On one hand, there are the million-dollar payments — part of contracts that even reach the billion mark — concentrated among five companies with the highest amounts. On the other hand, there are branch offices with broken or collapsing walls, accumulated garbage, and unused machinery being “swallowed” by vegetation. The scenario denotes neglect.

While payments are made and the District Offices of Works show signs of abandonment, at the end of the line of public service delivery is a population that complains about potholed streets and other problems, such as lack of drainage and basic sanitation, especially in the city's outskirts. In Grande Vitória, in the East Zone of the city, the potholes cause traffic accidents. In Praça 14, in the South Zone, they hinder garbage collection, which piles up and ends up favoring flooding during heavy rains.

The payments are of significant amounts, the district offices have been forgotten in terms of renovation or maintenance of their structures, and there is a lack of services reaching the entirety of the city. At the very least, it's a situation that raises doubts about the proper use of public funds.

On the Transparency Portal, not everything is very clear. It takes patience and a certain level of experience to locate and understand the information. Unfortunately, for the general population, this becomes, in many cases, indecipherable. Here lies one of our missions: to help facilitate access to public information. In doing so, we hope not only that residents of Manaus become aware of the payments and the conditions of the District Offices of Works, but also that the oversight bodies — which are responsible for inspection — remain vigilant.

Márcia Guimarães Content Manager

Readers

�� Visibility for the peoples of the Amazon

I am a reader of CENARIUM

MAGAZINE and I want to congratulate the entire team for the serious and necessary work they do in giving visibility to Indigenous, quilombola, and Northern Region issues. As a Law student, I see how much these voices are silenced in mainstream media, and it is inspiring to see a magazine that chooses to amplify them. May more people come to know and value these realities.

Letícia Laignier Ipanema – MG

�� The truth of the Amazon without detours

CENARIUM MAGAZINE highlights the most relevant topics for Amazonian people, with content based on facts and a firm commitment to the defense of the environment and Indigenous peoples. It gives voice to these communities and reveals to the world the true reality of the Amazon, far from distorted narratives. An example of serious and necessary journalism. Congratulations!

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Brasília - DF

�� Impactful report

I was deeply impacted by the article about Minamata Disease. It is unacceptable that, in 2025, Amazonian communities are still suffering from mercury dumped by illegal mining. Congratulations to CENARIUM for giving visibility to this environmental and human crime that many pretend not to see.

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�� Anguish over the contamination

I read the cover story with anguish. Brazil has ratified the Minamata Convention, but it continues to allow illegal mining to contaminate rivers and Indigenous peoples. The denunciation made by the magazine should be a top priority in the National Congress.

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�� Quality and sensitivity

I have been following CENARIUM for over a year and I’m always surprised by the quality and sensitivity of its topics. Brazil urgently needs to look more toward the North — and your work is essential for this shift in perspective.

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�� Respect and protagonism

It is rare to find a media outlet that treats Indigenous, riverside, and quilombola peoples with the due respect and protagonism. CENARIUM does this with mastery and ethics. I’ve become a loyal reader!

Felipe Martins

Santo André - SP

License to destroy

Senate approves general environmental licensing law, nicknamed the "Devastation Bill"

BRASÍLIA (DF) – The Federal Senate has approved the General Environmental Licensing Law project, which, in addition to loosening the rules for granting licenses, also introduces new modalities to the current system in the country. Approved with almost unanimous support from the Legal Amazon caucus,

senators also passed an amendment by Senator Eduardo Braga (MDB-AM) that exempts previously paved highways from environmental licensing — a change that may ease the approval of works in the middle section of BR-319 (Manaus–Porto Velho), which has been awaiting licenses since 2001.

Nicknamed the “Devastation Bill” by environmentalists, Bill 2,159/2021, which establishes a new legal framework for environmental licensing in Brazil, has been under consideration in the National Congress for 21 years. Originally proposed by the Chamber of Deputies, the text had been in the Senate for nearly four years. It was symbolically approved by the Environment

(CMA) and Agriculture (CRA) Committees on May 20 and, the next day, passed in plenary with 54 votes in favor and 13 against.

The text introduces significant changes to licensing procedures. Among them is the License by Adhesion and Commitment (LAC), already used in some states for small-scale projects, but which may now be incorporated into the national legal framework — also covering medium-sized projects. In this modality, the developer declares that they will meet environmental commitments, without prior analysis of the project by technical agencies.

An amendment (No. 98), proposed by Senator Davi Alcolumbre during the ple-

Ana Cláudia Leocádio – From Cenarium

National Congress in Brasília and deforested area

Credit: Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

Ministry points to risk to environmental security

The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA) stated — in a statement issued on the night of Wednesday, the 21st, prior to the approval of the bill — that the project “represents a significant dismantling of the existing regulatory framework on the subject and poses a risk to environmental and social security in the country.”

“Moreover, it directly affronts the Federal Constitution, which, in Article 225, guarantees Brazilian citizens the right to an ecologically balanced environment, requiring a prior environmental impact study for the implementation of any work or activity that may cause environmental harm,” the statement affirms.

According to the MMA, the bill also violates the principle of non-regression in environmental law, which has been

increasingly consolidated in Brazilian jurisprudence. This principle holds that the State cannot adopt measures that weaken established rights. “It also contradicts decisions by the Federal Supreme Court (STF), which recognized the unconstitutionality of the License by Adhesion and Commitment (LAC) for activities with medium environmental impact,” the ministry argues.

The ministry further warns that the proposal will have a negative impact on socio-environmental management and will likely lead to high levels of legal disputes, making the environmental licensing process slower and more costly for both society and the Brazilian State.

On May 22, while commenting on the bill’s approval, Environment and Climate Change Minister Marina Silva stated that environmental licensing had suffered a

“death blow.” “We cannot retreat even a centimeter in the agendas that Brazil has already advanced, including environmental licensing, which has now suffered a death blow,” she said.

“The government is opposed to this dismantling of Brazilian environmental licensing. The government faces several difficulties in maintaining a stable support base. And that varies depending on the topic. This is not the first time we’ve faced one of these setbacks, including in agendas that are equally strategic, but we will continue to engage in dialogue with Congress at all times,” she added.

The minister made these remarks during a ceremony celebrating the International Day for Biological Diversity, held at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. The information is from Agência Brasil.

Senators during the vote on the bill that loosens environmental licensing

HOW THE SENATORS FROM THE AMAZON VOTED

Ana Paula Lobato MA

Alan Rick AC

Beto Faro PA

Chico Rodrigues RR

Confúcio Moura RO MDB

Davi Alcolumbre AP União

Dr. Hiran RR PP

Eduardo Braga AM MDB

Eliziane Gama MA PSD

Irajá TO PSD

Jader Barbalho PA MDB

Jaime Bagattoli RO PL

Jayme Campos MT União

Lucas Barreto AP PSD

Marcio Bittar AC

Marcos Rogério RO PL

Margareth Buzetti MT PSD

Mecias de Jesus RR Republicanos

Omar Aziz AM PSD

Plínio Valério AM PSDB

Professora Dorinha Seabra TO União

Sérgio Petecão AC PSD

Wellington Fagundes MT

Weverton MA

Zequinha Marinho PA

Source: Chamber of Deputies

Credit: Jonas Pereira | Agência

Senado

“What we are doing now, with this new law, is giving legal consequence to the 2011 legislation. Basically, we intend to license with more clarity, efficiency, and fairness.”

Tereza Cristina, senator for PP-MS, rapporteur of the bill in the plenary.

nary vote, created a new license category: the Special Environmental License (LAE), which establishes a specific procedure for activities and projects considered strategic.

According to the approved text, it will be up to the Government Council, linked to the Chief of Staff's Office, to prepare every two years a proposal listing projects considered strategic for the country. These projects will be published by federal decree. The LAE process will occur in a single phase: drafting of the terms of reference, application for the special license, issuance of a conclusive technical opinion, and granting or denial of the license. The measure is seen as a way to facilitate the approval of ventures such as oil exploration on the Equatorial Margin, off the coast of Amapá — Alcolumbre’s home state.

In total, the new framework establishes seven types of environmental licenses, with defined deadlines for analysis by the competent authorities — except for the LAC, which will be automatic. Some projects may require more than one type of license, depending on the activity.

EXEMPTION FROM LICENSING

The approved text exempts various agricultural sector activities from environmental licensing, such as: cultivation of agriculturally relevant species (temporary, semi-perennial, and perennial), extensive and semi-intensive livestock farming, small-scale intensive livestock farming,

agricultural research that does not involve biological risk and has prior authorization.

Environmental licensing will also not be required for military-related ventures, projects considered of insignificant scale, emergency works in response to infrastructure collapse, accidents or disasters, and urgent works or interventions aimed at preventing imminent environmental damage or stopping situations that pose a risk to life, among others.

It was within these exemptions that Senator Eduardo Braga introduced Amendment 197 during the plenary discussion of the text, which “amends item VIII of the caput of Article 8 of the bill to expressly include, among the activities exempt from environmental licensing, maintenance and improvement services and works on existing infrastructure or in right-of-way and easement areas, including previously paved highways and maintenance dredging.”

The original text from the Chamber of Deputies did not include “previously paved highways,” which directly aligns with the interests of the Amazonas caucus, which has long advocated for the repaving of the 400-kilometer stretch of BR-319, currently impassable and awaiting licensing from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama). With a preliminary license granted since 2022, Ibama is awaiting the Ministry of Transport’s request for an Installation License (LI), which would allow the bidding and contracting process for the works to begin.

AMAZON IN FULL SUPPORT OF THE BILL

The Legal Amazon caucus in the Senate, composed of 27 members, overwhelmingly voted to approve the “Devastation Bill.” There were 25 senators from the region present at the session, of which 21 voted in favor and three voted against. As Senate President, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP) did not vote, while Senators Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP) and Eduardo Gomes (PL-TO) were absent.

All members of the Acre, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Roraima, and Rondônia caucuses endorsed the environmental licensing bill. Since last week, senators had already expressed support for the project, arguing that it would unlock investments in the country by providing clearer rules to follow, without harming the environment.

RAPPORTEUR TALKS ABOUT CLARITY IN LEGISLATION

The bill’s rapporteur in the plenary, Senator Tereza Cristina (PP-MS), who served as Minister of Agriculture under President Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022), said the text is a long-overdue response since the Federal Constitution, as the country had yet to properly address the issue, relying only on Complementary Law 140 of 2011, which outlines the division of licensing responsibilities among the federal, state, and municipal governments.

“We cannot retreat even a centimeter in the agendas that Brazil has already advanced, including environmental licensing, which has now suffered a death blow”

Marina Silva, Minister of the Environment.

“What we are doing now, with this new law, is giving legal consequence to the 2011 legislation. Basically, we intend to license with more clarity, efficiency, and fairness. The current tangle of regulations, with overlapping rules from various agencies and levels of government, hampers important initiatives, creates unnecessary litigation, and discourages responsible investment,” emphasized the rapporteur.

Of the nine states that make up the Legal Amazon, seven had full representation at the vote (three members each), with only two absentees: Randolfe Rodrigues and Eduardo Gomes. Only three senators opposed the bill: Ana Paula Lobato (PDT-MA), Beto Faro (PT-PA), and Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA). Gama had already spoken out in the Environment Committee, calling the text “very poor” to be voted on and had submitted a series of amendments, most of which were rejected.

“We are imbued with a sense that it is necessary to remove the shackles that hinder the sustainable development of our country”

Rogério Marinho, senator (PL-RN), party leader in the Senate.

According to Cristina, there are currently over 27,000 environmental regulations, which in practice create a dysfunctional reality — something that can be measured in numbers. “In 2022, the then Ministry of Infrastructure listed 5,053 projects halted due to issues with environmental licensing. These included highways, railways, waterways, transmission lines, pipelines, gas pipelines, and fiber optic cables. In 2021, 52 hydroelectric plants were suspended for the same reason, and ten were simply abandoned,” she stated, noting that 99 entities from the productive sector delivered an open letter of support for the licensing bill.

Senator Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), leader of the PL in the Senate, defended

the bill and stressed that it was thoroughly discussed by the House’s thematic committees. “We are imbued with a sense that it is necessary to remove the shackles that hinder the sustainable development of our country,” he said.

With the approval in the Senate, which introduced several changes, the bill now returns to the Chamber of Deputies — the original author of the proposal. If approved by federal deputies, the text will go to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for consideration. He may either sanction it in full, veto it entirely, or partially veto it. In the event of vetoes, Congress will reanalyze and may uphold or override them.

The senators from Amazonas — Plínio Valério, Omar Aziz, and Eduardo Braga — voted in favor of the bill. Braga had an amendment of his authorship approved, exempting from environmental licensing the services and works on previously paved highways, such as BR-319

Credit: Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

Some points of Bill 2,159/2021, approved in the Senate:

DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSING:

“Administrative process aimed at licensing activities or enterprises that use environmental resources, are actually or potentially polluting, or capable, in any way, of causing environmental degradation.”

NEW TYPES OF LICENSES:

► License by Adhesion and Commitment (LAC): A simplified licensing modality based on the entrepreneur’s self-declaration, which already exists in some states, without the need for prior impact studies. Automatically issued.

► Special Environmental License (LAE): This procedure, based on a single license, will follow a special process, skipping steps and having priority in analysis. It applies to projects previously listed as strategic by the Executive Branch, based on a recommendation from the Government Council. The maximum review period for issuing the license is one year.

► In addition to these two, the law also includes the following licenses: Preliminary (LP), Installation (LI), Operation (LO), Unified Environmental License (LAU), and Corrective Operation License (LOC). Senators established minimum and maximum

timeframes for the licensing authority to grant or deny authorizations.

► Exemption from environmental licensing for agricultural activities: A declaratory certificate may be submitted to certify that the entrepreneur is not illegally exploiting the environment.

► Only Indigenous Peoples in officially recognized lands and registered Quilombola communities will be heard in the licensing processes. This excludes groups still awaiting official recognition of their territories.

► Exemption from Licensing for the Following Works: military projects; projects of negligible scale; emergency works in response to infrastructure collapse, accidents, or disasters; urgent works and interventions aimed at preventing imminent environmental damage or halting situations that pose a risk to life; solid waste sorting plants, whether mechanized or not, among others.

► Basic Sanitation Projects will follow a simplified procedure and receive priority in license analysis.

► Licenses may be renewed indefinitely, provided there are no changes to the project.

► For Mining Projects, the rules of the National Environmental Council (Conama) will prevail until a specific law is enacted.

► The Senate Plenary Included in the list of projects exempted from environmental licensing the maintenance and improvement works on previously paved highways.

Primates in danger

Pied tamarin is on the list of the 25 most endangered primates in the world

Jadson Lima – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – The report “Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates” identified the pied tamarin (Saguinus bicolor), a small primate native to the Brazilian Amazon and a symbol of the city of Manaus (AM), as one of the 25 species most at risk of extinction. The 2023–2025 list includes primates facing serious threats due to habitat destruction, hunting, climate change, and the illegal wildlife trade.

The study was conducted by a group of 100 researchers and conservationists,

under the coordination of the Primate Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN SSC). The report was supported by institutions such as the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and the NGO Re:wild.

According to the report, the pied tamarin is endangered because it lives in a region impacted by urban expansion, roads, settlement, and agriculture. “Other threats that have been overlooked are diseases, as they are poorly studied. There is limited understanding of the effects of free-living and captive animal parasites and pathogens, which has become a major concern for conservation,” reads an excerpt.

The animal has a two-tone coat—dark brown body with a white collar—and is found exclusively in a restricted area of

Manaus (AM) and the municipalities of Rio Preto da Eva (AM) and Itacoatiara (AM), located 87 and 178 kilometers from the capital of Amazonas, respectively. The most significant recent advance for the species’ conservation was the creation of the Pied Tamarin Wildlife Refuge, with about 15,000 hectares and the capacity to support a viable long-term population.

Despite being the city’s official mascot since 2005, by Municipal Decree No. 8.101/05, the pied tamarin suffers from the unregulated expansion of the urban grid into forested areas. Remaining forest fragments, often isolated by roads or developments, reduce the animal’s range and hinder the formation of genetically viable populations.

In addition to the pied tamarin, native to the Amazon, another Brazilian species

Report was produced by a group of over 100 researchers and environmentalists

Credit: Ricardo Oliveira | Cenarium

endemic to the Caatinga, the Caatinga titi monkey (Callicebus barbarabrownae), also appears on the list of primates at risk of extinction. The study highlights that various research projects have significantly increased knowledge about the species' distribution, populations, and ecology— critical for the effective implementation of conservation actions.

PREVIOUS EDITIONS

Thirteen Brazilian primates have been included on the endangered species list since the first edition of the study in 2000. In total, these include three lion tamarin species (golden, Leontopithecus rosalia; black, Leontopithecus chrysopygus; and black-faced, Leontopithecus caissara), the two mountain marmosets (Callithrix aurita and Callithrix flaviceps), two capuchin monkeys (blond, Sapajus flavius; and yellow-breasted, Sapajus xanthosternos).

The list also includes the northern muriqui (Brachyteles hypoxanthus) and the Mato Grosso titi monkey (Plecturocebus grovesi). The Brazilian species that have appeared in the most editions are the red howler monkey (Alouatta guariba), endemic to the Atlantic Forest and threat-

The Pied Tamarin Wildlife Refuge has about 15,000 hectares and conditions to support a viable long-term population.

ened by deforestation, hunting, and yellow fever outbreaks, and the Ka’apor capuchin (Cebus kaapori), endemic to the Belém Endemism Center in the Amazon’s deforestation arc.

Pied tamarin is seen on rooftops in Amazonas

Pied tamarin is a species native to Amazonas

‘I felt assaulted doing my job’

Minister Marina Silva says she suffered gender-based violence by Senator Plínio Valério. Senators Omar Aziz and Marcos Rogério also made aggressive remarks toward the minister

Ana Cláudia Leocadio – From Cenarium

BRASÍLIA (DF) – The Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, considers she was subjected to gender-based violence by Senator Plínio Valério (PSDB-AM), who during a public hearing in the Senate’s Infrastructure Committee (CI) this Tuesday, the 27th, said he respected her not as a “minister” but as a “woman.” Marina left the session because she felt disrespected by the senator and conditioned her stay on a formal apology from him, which did not occur.

After abruptly leaving the meeting with the senators, Marina Silva had a hearing with the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), to discuss the bill that creates the General Law of Environmental Licensing, considered a setback by the ministry she leads.

Upon leaving, she was asked whether she considered the treatment in the Senate as gender-based violence. “Certainly, and this happens to us all the time. I now used ‘us’ to create sorority among us. Because you, in the previous government, many female

Marina Silva suffered attacks from senators during a Senate hearing

Credit: Reproduction | Agência Senado | Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

journalists were also attacked while doing your job. I felt assaulted while doing my job,” she said.

This is not the first time Plínio has been accused of gender-based violence against Marina. He was reported by eight federal congresswomen and one congressman to the Senate’s Ethics and Parliamentary Decorum Council for his statements in which he said he wanted to strangle the minister.

The strangulation comments against Marina were made by Plínio during an event of the Amazonas Trade Federation (Fecomércio-AM), in March this year, in Manaus. Upon receiving the Amazonas 2025 Commercial Merit Medal, he made statements against the minister regarding the BR-319 highway and, during his speech, said: “Imagine what it’s like to tolerate Marina for six hours without strangling her.”

In Representation 01/2025, filed on March 20 this year in the Senate, the lawmakers argue that the senator from Amazonas “overstepped his parliamentary immunity and violated women’s polit-

ical participation rights, demeaning the Minister’s status as a woman and inciting gender-based violence, thus encouraging discrimination based on female sex.”

Marina was also asked this Tuesday whether she intends to take legal action against the senator from Amazonas. “The statement the senator had made, that it was very hard for him not to strangle me, I was already analyzing with my lawyers. Now, he made the situation worse when they deliberately invite me as a senator and then say they don’t respect me as a minister. Thank God, I respect everyone, I always seek to have respectful dialogue. Now, what they will never get from me is submission,” she said.

The petition to the Senate was signed by federal deputies Nurse Ana Paula (PDT-CE), Benedita da Silva (PT-RJ), Duda Salabert (PDT-MG), Gisela Simona (União-MT), Jandira Feghali (PCdoB-RJ), Laura Carneiro (PSD-RJ), Maria Arraes (Solidariedade-PE), Tabata Amaral (PSB-SP), Talíria Petrone (PSOL-RJ), and federal deputy Túlio Gadêlha (REDE-PE).

“The woman deserves respect, the minister does not. That’s why I want to separate the two”

Plínio

Valério, senator from Amazonas.

The lawmakers base their request on Law 14.192/2021, which establishes rules to prevent, curb, and combat political violence against women, and on Senate Resolution No. 20/1993, which instituted the Code of Ethics and Parliamentary Decorum of the Federal Senate. They also use a post by CENARIUM on social media, which was the first to publish the video with the senator’s statements, as proof of the case’s national repercussion.

Gender-based violence includes forms of violence perpetrated against someone

Credit: Disclosure | Senado Federal

Marina Silva and Senator Plínio Valério argue during a Senate hearing

“Certainly [it was gender-based violence], and this happens to us all the time. I now used ‘us’ to create sorority among us. Because you, in the previous government, many female journalists were also assaulted while doing your job. I felt while doing my job”

Marina Silva, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

based on their gender or sexual orientation. It can be physical, psychological, sexual, or symbolic, with women being historically the most affected due to power inequalities.

The representation has been stalled in the Senate Ethics Council for two months and awaits the designation of the new committee members, whose mandate expired at the end of March. It is up to the Senate president, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), to appoint the new members, which has not yet occurred.

MARINA LEAVES HEARING

Minister Marina Silva was invited, at the request of Senator Lucas Barreto (PSD-AP), to provide information about studies and meetings held to create marine Conservation Units on the Coast of the State of Amapá, in the so-called Equatorial Margin. However, she ended up being questioned about other issues such as the paving of BR-319, potash exploration in Autazes (AM), and the “Ferrogrão” railway in Mato Grosso, for example.

After answering other senators’ questions, Plínio took the floor to question Marina. “Minister Marina, it’s good to see you again, and when I look at you, I see the minister; I’m not talking to the woman,” said the PSDB senator, who was immediately rebuked by Marina. “You’re talking to both,” she replied.

Plínio replied again: “No, no. Because the woman deserves respect, the minister does not. That’s why I want to separate the two.” That’s when the minister questioned him. “Why don’t you respect me as a minister? You’re the one who said you wanted to strangle me,” she fired back.

At that moment, the argument escalated, with intervention from the CI president, Senator Marcos Rogério (PL-RO), who was questioned by Marina on how he would react if she said she didn’t respect him. He asked his colleagues to try to maintain a civil environment until the end of the hearing, without disrespect.

Senator Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE) also intervened, demanded respect for the minister, and suggested the guest’s withdrawal if the disrespect continued. “The political

Marina Silva leaves the Federal Senate hearing after a discussion with Senator Plínio Valério

Credit: Disclosure | Senado Federal

Jadson Lima – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – Senator Marcos Rogério (PL-RO) told the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, to “know her place” during a hearing held this Tuesday, the 27th, in the Infrastructure Committee of the Federal Senate. The minister had been invited by the parliamentarians to participate in a session discussing studies for the creation of marine conservation units on the Equatorial Margin, on Brazil’s northern coast.

The debate between Marina and the senators escalated when Omar Aziz (PSD-AM) tried to accuse the minister of attempting to hinder the country’s development through decisions by the

‘Know your place’

Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA). After she reacted to the statements of the Amazonas senator, the senator from Rondônia, who was chairing the committee, claimed Marina lacked manners. Marcos Rogério is an ally of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

“These are Minister Marina Silva’s manners. She points her finger and… But I won’t play the victim,” said Marcos Rogério. With her finger raised, the minister said the senator wanted her to be a submissive woman and demanded respect. “Respect me, [you] know your place,” retorted the chair of the session.

After his statement, senators from Lula’s government base, who were attend-

ing the session—such as Senator Eliziane Gama (PSD-MA)—reacted against the committee chair. “What is this, president? You should know your place,” said Gama, who demanded respect for the minister. Then, the committee chair interrupted Marina again and claimed he asked her to know her place as a State Minister.

During the discussion, Rogério said he treats Marina with respect and dignity, as he does with all authorities who attend the committee. “We’ll have another hearing so we can continue this debate for longer,” said Rogério. Omar, without requesting the floor, said into the microphone: “No, next time it won’t be a hearing. It will be a summons,” he emphasized.

“Respect me, [you] know your place”

Marcos Rogério, senator from Rondônia.

Marina Silva and Senator Marcos Rogério, who told her to ‘know her place’

Marcela Leiros – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – During a hearing at the Federal Senate Infrastructure Committee this Tuesday, the 27th, Senator Omar Aziz (PSD/AM) blamed the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA), Marina Silva, for halted public works in the country, which delay development projects in Brazil. One of the projects mentioned was the BR-319 highway, which remains unfinished even after 40 years since its inauguration. In response, the minister stated that she is used as a cover to mask the “incompetence” of other governments.

The debate, which turned into a shouting match, revolved around the role of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) in licensing processes. The senator indicated that there was slowness on the part of the

“I’m not going to fall for your story of playing the victim with me”

Omar Aziz, senator from Amazonas.

Blame for halted construction

agency, affecting the progress of infrastructure projects.

“You are hindering the development of the country, I say this to you with the greatest naturalness in the world. You hinder the development of our country. There are over five thousand projects on hold because of this talk, governance, blah blah blah, yada yada,” said the senator.

Aziz also stated that people from Amazonas want the right to travel on BR-319. “I live in the Amazon. I live there. We do want BR-319, minister, to travel on, as you said. We do want it! We have the right to travel on BR-319, and it won’t be you who stops us from doing so. We, people from Amazonas, want to have the right to travel on BR-319. You walk on Avenida Paulista today, and we want to travel on BR-319,” Omar Aziz also said.

The minister responded to the statements by recalling that she had been out of government for 15 years and projects like BR-319 had not been carried out. “Why didn’t those so focused on concrete actions build BR-319? But there is a scapegoat who, even during 15 years, continued to be the scapegoat, to hide the incompetence of those who make promises and don’t fulfill them. That is concrete, very concrete. Or is it not true that from 2008 to 2023 there are 15 years? Why didn’t the Bolsonaro government do it?” questioned Marina Silva. “I’m not going to fall for your story of playing the victim with me,” said Omar, after Marina said she had become a ‘scapegoat.’

BR-319 was inaugurated in 1976 and connects the city of Manaus, in Amazonas, to Porto Velho, in Rondônia. For over 30 years, the highway has had unpaved sections that cause losses for those who need to travel on it.

Omar Aziz and Marina Silva also clashed

Credit: Reproduction | Agência Senado | Composition by Lucas Oliveira Cenarium

debate can be heated, points of view and differences can be expressed. But expressions of disrespect are unacceptable! When someone begins by saying, ‘I respect the woman but not the minister,’ that doesn’t belong in an institutional debate like this,” Carvalho said.

Marina reiterated that she was not disrespecting anyone and reminded them that Plínio had previously said he wanted to strangle her, in another hearing she attended. “I’m not provoking anyone; he’s the one who said he doesn’t respect me,” she said.

After attempts to resume the debate, the minister said she would only stay if Plínio apologized, because she was there as a State minister and not as a woman. “Either he apologizes, or I will leave. Because I was invited as a minister, and he doesn’t respect me as a minister. Ask me for an apology and I’ll stay. If you don’t, I’ll leave,” she stated.

The Amazonas senator refused to apologize and justified his stance by saying he had nothing against the woman, only differences with the minister. “You’re shouting, and when you say I’m a psychopath, are you believing in your own statement? (…) Are you afraid of me, minister?” said Plínio, as Marina left the room.

Regarding the BR-319, Marina said she was out of the federal government for 15 years and questioned why the highway wasn’t paved during that time. For her, it’s easier to make her the “scapegoat” than to admit the incompetence of still not being able to release the works, which require a governance policy capable of preventing environmental deforestation around the highway.

MINISTER JUSTIFIES HER STANCE

After leaving the hearing, Marina recalled that she served as a senator for 16 years and is currently a federal deputy for the state of São Paulo, on leave to serve as minister.

“I’m a former senator; I’m the Minister of the Environment. That’s the role I was invited for. Hearing a senator say he doesn’t respect me as a minister, I couldn’t react any other way. But I gave him a chance to apologize. Since he’s the same person who, the last time I came here also as a guest, said it was very difficult for him to spend six hours and ten minutes with me without strangling me, today he came here again to attack me. In addition to people assigning me responsibilities that are theirs,” Marina declared.

The minister was referring to another senator from Amazonas, Omar Aziz (PSD), who clashed with her shortly before Plínio Valério. At the time, he said Marina was responsible for approving the project that creates the new General Environmental Licensing Law, which passed in the Senate last week and is now awaiting review in the Chamber of Deputies.

“Because saying that the delay, the dismantling of environmental legislation, which was carried out here in the Senate with the approved report, is my responsibility, is to refuse to honor the vote of those who elected you. Because those who hold a senator’s or deputy’s mandate vote based on their convictions, not because someone forced them,” Marina countered.

Marina was emphatic about the treatment she received and how she positions herself in relation to it. “What can’t happen is someone thinking that because you’re a woman, because you’re Black, because you come from a humble background, that they can define who I am and still say I should stay in my place. My place is wherever all women deserve to be,” she said, after being the target of an argument with parliamentarians.

Social Security under suspicion

Amazon region lawmakers sign Joint Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry (CPMI) to investigate illegal deductions from INSS beneficiaries

Ana Cláudia Leocádio - From Cenarium

BRASÍLIA (DF) – Of the 259 signatures collected to create the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry (CPMI) to investigate illegal deductions from the benefits of National Institute of Social Security (INSS) beneficiaries, 48 came from members of the Legal Amazon caucus. Rondônia was the state that contributed the most, with nine signatures in total, according to the request filed by Federal Deputy Colonel Fernanda (PL-MT) and Senator Damares Alves (Republicanos-DF).

The request exceeded the number needed to establish a CPMI, which requires

at least 171 deputies and 27 senators, corresponding to one-third of each legislative house. The state with the highest number of signatures, Rondônia, contributed with seven deputies (out of a total of eight) and two senators (out of three).

Next is Mato Grosso, home state of CPMI author Colonel Fernanda (PL), with six deputies and two senators, totaling eight signatures.

In third place is Acre, with seven supporters—four of the eight federal deputies and all three senators. Amazonas, Pará, and Roraima contributed five signatures each. The difference is that no senator from Pará’s caucus signed the request. Amazonas contributed four deputies and one senator; Pará, five deputies; and Roraima, two deputies and all three senators.

Tocantins contributed three federal deputies and one senator. From Maranhão, no senator signed the request, which received support from three deputies. Amapá, with a

R$

6,3 bi

A scheme uncovered by the Federal Police and the Office of the Comptroller General caused R$ 6.3 billion in losses to INSS benefits. Most retirees and pensioners did not authorize these payments to associative entities.

total caucus of 11 members, had the fewest signatures: just two, one deputy and one senator.

Of the 48 signatures, 31 are from lawmakers affiliated with parties that hold ministries in President Lula's government, such as PSD, União, PP, PSB, MDB, and Republicanos. Highlights include União Brasil, with 11 Amazon region signatures, followed by PSD with six. Republicanos

Building of the National Institute of Social Security in Brasília

Credit: Rafa Neddermeyer Agência Brasil

Justification for the Investigation

In their justification, the CPMI’s authors argue that the amount estimated by the CGU, illegally deducted between 2019 and 2024, represents the direct subtraction of income from millions of Brazilians who depend on the INSS for survival, most of them elderly.

“The magnitude and duration of the scheme point to a systemic fraud, facilitated by institutional weaknesses within the INSS. The case involved not only external actors but also public servants, including the then-president of the INSS, who was removed and later dismissed. The investigation is essential to identify and correct these failures, improving the agency’s oversight and control mechanisms,” they wrote in the request.

According to the lawmakers, only a thorough investigation will make it possible to understand how the scheme was implemented, what mechanisms were bypassed, and which procedures must be revised. This will allow for the improvement of internal controls and help prevent similar frauds in the future.

Another investigation request was filed exclusively in the Chamber of Deputies on April 30 of this year. Proposed by Deputy Colonel Chrisóstomo (PL-RO), the request for a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) to investigate the unions involved in the INSS fraud received 185 signatures from lawmakers representing 14 parties.

and Progressistas each had four supporters; MDB had three; and PSB, two.

On April 23, Operation “No Deduction”, launched by the Federal Police (PF) in conjunction with the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), dismantled a scheme that may have caused R$ 6.3 billion in undue deductions of membership fees to associations from INSS beneficiaries’ payments. A CGU audit indicated that most retirees and pensioners never authorized these payments.

The scandal led to the resignation of the Minister of Social Security, Carlos Lupi, and the dismissal of six agency officials. INSS president Alessandro Stefanutto was removed from office.

Bolsonaro-Aligned Deputy Facilitated Frauds

Ana Pastana – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS (AM) – Federal Deputy from Amazonas, Captain Alberto Neto (PL-AM), was mentioned in a report by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo (Estadão) as the rapporteur of the Provisional Measure (MP) that loosened oversight on payroll deductions for retirees and pensioners of the INSS in 2021. At the time, the lawmaker defended on the House floor the report extending for two years the higher loan margin — from 35% to 40% — for retirees and pensioners to access payroll loans.

According to the newspaper, during the floor vote, Alberto Neto revealed that the extension request came from the Brazilian Confederation of Retirees and Pensioners (Cobap) and the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag). The initial proposal was to extend the deadline to 2023, but an agreement was made with the deputy to extend it only until 2022, with the possibility of an additional year by decree of the INSS president.

Both organizations are suspected of charging retirees monthly fees without their authorization.

“The original amendment extended the validation deadline until 2023. Later, in discussion with the rapporteur of the provisional measure, Deputy Capitão Alberto

Neto, it was decided that the extension would be until 2022, with the possibility of a further one-year extension by decree of the INSS president, achieving the same intended effect,” reads an excerpt of the report.

The justification for delaying the validation deadline was the COVID-19 pandemic. “This unpredictable context requires, especially from the Legislative Branch, understanding, tolerance, and deadline extensions, given the absolute impossibility of demanding compliance under the previously established timeline and conditions,” said the amendment text, signed by current Minister of Social Security, Wolney Queiroz.

WHAT DOES THE DEPUTY SAY?

In a statement to CENARIUM, Alberto Neto says the report is a baseless attempt to associate his name with a mafia operating in the Lula government. The lawmaker also states that he “reaffirms his commitment to defending retirees and pensioners.”

Alberto Neto is an ally of former president Jair Messias Bolsonaro (PL), from whom he received support in 2024 for his candidacy for Mayor of Manaus. The deputy made it to the second round of the municipal elections but was not elected.

Federal Deputy from Amazonas, Captain Alberto Neto

Credit: Composition by Paulo Dutra | Cenarium

Retirement or Reward?

Judge removed for suspected irregularities in court rulings that caused million-real losses retires with a salary of R$ 52,000

Jadson Lima - From Cenarium

Judge Elci Simões will receive remuneration equivalent to 40 minimum wages

MANAUS (AM) – The Court of Justice of Amazonas (TJAM) has decided to compulsorily retire Judge Elci Simões with a monthly salary of R$ 52,000. The decision was made unanimously by the institution’s Full Court and comes about three months after the magistrate’s precautionary removal by the National Council of Justice (CNJ), under suspicion of irregularities in court rulings that resulted in a temporary loss of approximately R$ 150 million for Eletrobras.

The retirement was confirmed nine days before Elci turned 75, the constitutional age limit for serving in the Judiciary, as established by the Federal Constitution. According to TJAM president Jomar Fernandes, the judge’s retirement became effective on his birthday, May 22, and the amount was set according to the public service salary cap, defined by the salary of Supreme Federal Court (STF) ministers.

During the TJAM session, broadcast on the institutional channel, the judges made statements about the retirement. The magistrate’s brother, Yêdo Simões, who also serves as a judge on the court, said that Elci was shaped by Christian teachings and highlighted his “productive

work aligned with the needs of the people seeking justice.”

“Judge Elci [Simões] was always a judge in the true sense of the word. In these 36 years of magistrature — which he would have completed on June 16 — he always acted in an exemplary and responsible manner and treated the judiciary as a true calling, giving each person their due and actively participating in all initiatives by the Amazonas Judiciary aimed at improving judicial services [...] I want to leave on record the effective contribution of the judge to the TJAM,” he stated.

Other judges present at the session also requested the floor to comment on the magistrate’s retirement. Cezar Luiz Bandiera recalled Elci’s career as a lawyer and described him as “ethical, dedicated, and a great legal professional.” To the judge, Elci fulfilled his mission.

“I met Judge Elci during his time as a lawyer. He was an ethical and dedicated professional who later enriched the judiciary. I wish all the best to my esteemed colleague, who fulfilled his journey in the judiciary. He was a great judge, and I am very happy to have shared years of my life with him,” he said.

“In these 36 years of magistrature he always acted in an exemplary and responsible manner and treated the judiciary as a true calling, giving each person their due”.

Yêdo Simões, judge.

Suspicious Decisions

Removed from office since February this year, the TJAM judge was responsible for rulings that initially suspended, but later allowed, the payment of debts claimed by lawyer Bruno Thomé de Souza. The amounts were withdrawn through ten warrants issued on February 10 by the judge of the district of Presidente Figueiredo (AM), Carlos Pimentel, who was also removed from his duties.

Bruno Thomé filed the lawsuit in 2021, represented by a law firm based in Amazonas. Near the conclusion of the case, four other law firms joined the proceedings but withdrew after the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ordered the money to be returned. Thomé claims that Eletrobras missed the deadlines to contest the case and did not question the authenticity of the documents, which he says were legitimate.

Reborn dolls on the Chamber’s agenda

Bills include the prohibition of medical consultations for these imitations, administrative sanctions for professionals who perform such consultations, and psychosocial support

Jadson Lima - From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – The Chamber of Deputies has received Bills proposing restrictions on the use of so-called reborn dolls/babies, hyper-realistic dolls that simulate newborns. The measures include the prohibition of medical consultations for these imitations in public and private health units, administrative sanctions for professionals who perform such consultations, as well as psychosocial support for people who develop emotional bonds with the dolls.

One of the bills was filed by federal deputy Delegate Paulo Bilynskyj (PL-SP). The proposal foresees penalties for health agents who provide care to these dolls, with sanctions ranging from warnings to dismissal in cases of recurrence or serious violation of functional duties. According to the lawmaker, the objective is to prevent the misuse of health services.

Credit: Disclosure

The debate gained momentum on social media after reports of citizens allegedly taking reborn dolls to medical appointments. In the bill’s justification, the lawmaker cites the risk of diverting the function of health services, although acknowledging that the dolls may be used by people in mourning, with traumas, or psychiatric disorders.

“These objects are generally used as an affective instrument by people experiencing grief, trauma, or psychiatric disorders. Although such conditions deserve care, the indiscriminate practice of simulating medical consultations to inanimate objects constitutes an unacceptable misuse of health services, especially when performed with public resources or to the detriment of real patients,” reads an excerpt.

Another proposal filed in the Chamber addresses the application of admin-

istrative sanctions to citizens who try to use reborn dolls to obtain benefits intended for infants. The bill also foresees a fine ranging from five to twenty minimum wages in case of noncompliance. The author of the proposal, deputy Zacharias Calil (União), argues that in cases of repeated practice, the fine amount should be doubled.

“The proposal aims to curb the fraudulent use of hyper-realistic dolls — popularly known as reborn babies — or any device simulating the presence of an infant to obtain benefits, priorities, and advantages legally guaranteed to babies and their guardians. This conduct not only breaches the objective good faith that must govern social and consumer relations but also overloads public services,” says an excerpt from the bill’s justification.

“The proposal does not intend, under any circumstances, to criminalize, ridicule, or pathologize the use of these objects, nor to restrict individual freedoms or legitimate expressions of affection. On the contrary: it is based on the principle of individual autonomy and freedom of conduct”

Rosangela Moro, federal deputy.

Psychological Care

Presented by deputy Rosangela Moro (União Brasil-SP), Bill 2323/2025 provides for psychosocial care for people who develop intense emotional bonds with human representation objects. The proposal includes humane support and qualified listening for people who present mental suffering related to dysfunctional emotional bonds with “reborn babies.”

“The proposal does not intend, under any circumstances, to criminalize, ridicule, or pathologize the use of these objects, nor to restrict individual freedoms or legitimate expressions of affection. On the contrary: it is based on the principle of individual autonomy and freedom of conduct, guided by the need to create institutional mechanisms for ethical and non-stigmatizing support,” the lawmaker says in the justification.

The bill also mentions that the regulation of guidelines will be the responsibility of the Executive Branch, which will also

be authorized to enter into agreements and cooperation terms with public and private higher education institutions, research centers, and scientific entities to promote clinical studies, research, and scientific analyses about the phenomenon of emotional bonds with human representation objects and their consequences on mental health.

PROCESSING

Before reaching the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies, the proposals must follow a long path through the legislative body’s thematic committees, which will debate the constitutionality of the matters, as well as possible changes to the texts. If approved by the deputies, the measures will be forwarded to the Senate, where they will follow the same process. To become law, the proposals, after approval by the National Congress, must be sanctioned by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

Seminf: over R$ 1 billion paid and districts forgotten

In Manaus, the Municipal Secretariat of Infrastructure moves R$ 1 billion in 12 months, while Work Districts show signs of abandonment

Ana Pastana – From Cenarium

Credit: Ricardo Oliveira

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento Cenarium

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento Cenarium

Machinery from the Manaus City Hall covered by vegetation in the Cidade de Deus neighborhood

Work District in Morro da Liberdade. Improvised Seminf signs used to cover a hole in the local wall

Wall marked by the current administration with peeling paint at the Work District in the Cidade de Deus neighborhood

MANAUS (AM) – The Manaus Municipal Secretariat of Infrastructure (Seminf), responsible for the planning, execution, inspection, and maintenance of the city's urban infrastructure, moved more than R$ 1 billion in 2024, according to information from the Transparency Portal of the Manaus City Hall. The significant amount, of which nearly half a billion reais were allocated to contract payments with five service provider companies, exposes a disconnect between the Secretariat’s expenditures and the reality of the city's Work Districts, Seminf subunits that are in precarious condition and show signs of abandonment.

The total budget allocated to Seminf, as outlined in the Annual Budget Laws (LOAs), during Mayor David Almeida’s (Avante) administration—from 2021, when he first took office as mayor of Manaus, until 2025 (budget approved in 2024), already in his second term—amounts to R$ 2,702,180,000. The budget forecasts may be subject to changes throughout the year, depending on additional credits, reductions, or reallocations. For example, the amount actually spent by the department last year was 102.5% higher than the amount originally forecast by the LOA for the same year, which was R$ 605,552,000. The department is led by Secretary and Dep-

uty Mayor Renato Junior (Avante), a member of the same party as David Almeida.

The 18 Work Districts of Manaus, spread across all city zones, are directly responsible for executing maintenance and construction services in the neighborhoods, such as preventing street flooding due to rain, paving, drainage, and other services. Demands are also made by local community members and official entities, such as the City Council, which request specific services from the Work Districts.

The financial movement of the Secretariat can be consulted on the Transparency Portal, which, according to the data provided, in 2024 paid a total amount exceeding R$ 428.8 million to five companies that received the highest payment values for providing services to the department throughout the year, ranging from road recovery to the supply of construction materials and public lighting maintenance.

Among the five, the one that received the most in 2024 was Manaus Luz Iluminação Pública SPE Ltda., which was allocated R$ 127.9 million. The company is registered under the National Registry of Legal Entities (CNPJ) No. 22.768.840/0001-31. Also among the top recipients are Construtora Etam Ltda. (CNPJ No. 22.768.840/000131), which received R$ 97.9 million; F. M. Rodrigues e Cia Ltda. (CNPJ No.

“The whole neighborhood is neglected, full of potholes, with streets you can’t drive through, especially the hills. That’s where there are the most holes”

João Vitor, self-employed, resident of Grande Vitória neighborhood.

Flow of payments by the Manaus City Hall Secretariat of Infrastructure in 2024

48.893.226/0011-67), with R$ 94.4 million; Nale Engenharia Ltda. (CNPJ No. 04.938.566/0001-10), with R$ 77.1 million; and Construtora Soma Ltda. (CNPJ No. 01.088.73/0001-11), with R$ 31.5 million. Adding up the amounts allocated to the five companies results in a total of R$ 428.8 million.

When consulting the Transparency Portal regarding the total amount paid by Seminf in 2024, information is shown such as the name of the Secretariat and the following corresponding figures: R$ 1,450,640,790.51 as the committed amount (reserved for the department), an increase in this amount of R$ 135,205,980.76, a canceled amount of R$ 381,768,693.55, a settled amount (approved after service delivery verification) of R$ 1,200,508,436.31, a paid amount

of R$ 1,216,961,537.81, and a canceled amount of R$ 13,033,726.38.

Further down in the document provided on the portal, information is also included about the amounts allocated to the Project Executing Unit (the department responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing municipal projects), along with the expenditure data of Seminf. These figures are: committed amount of R$ 12,782,599.86, increase in that amount of R$ 0.00, canceled amount of R$ 3,743,651.66, settled amount of R$ 9,038,948.20, paid amount of R$ 9,263,274.79, and canceled amount of R$ 180,692.80.

By adding the paid amounts of R$ 1,216,961,537.81 and R$ 9,263,274.79, the total reaches R$ 1,226,224,812.60 moved by Seminf in the year 2024.

WORK DISTRICTS

The significant amount of funds managed by the Secretariat in 2024 does not reflect the structural reality of the city's Work Districts. CENARIUM visited ten of the 18 districts in Manaus to assess the situation on the ground, between May 13 and 20 of this year, in the North, East, South, Center-South, and West zones, located in the neighborhoods of Cidade de Deus, Cidade Nova, Santa Etelvina, Mutirão, São José, Jorge Teixeira, Petrópolis, Morro da Liberdade, Aleixo, Compensa, and Centro.

The headquarters of the Work Districts visited by the report show signs of abandonment, trash scattered across the land, abandoned machines overtaken by vegetation, rusted, filled with debris, unfinished renovations, broken or damaged walls, and

Credit:

Dhyeizo Lemos | Semcom

Mayor David Almeida and Deputy Mayor Renato Junior visiting the Rei Pelé overpass construction

Loans of R$ 1.7 billion for construction works

Marcela Leiros – From Cenarium

During his first term as mayor of Manaus, David Almeida accumulated R$ 1,750,000,000 in loans, according to data collected by CENARIUM. There were three loans in 2023 — R$ 470,000,000.00, R$ 100,000,000.00, and R$ 600,000,000.00, respectively — and one the previous year, of R$ 580,000,000.00.

The latest, before being authorized, became the central point of a clash between the Municipal Council of Manaus (CMM) and the city hall. At the time, the legislative body denied the loan, which led the case to the courts. By decision of Amazonas State Court of Justice (TJAM) judge Jorge Manoel Lopes Lins, the council was forced to vote on the credit operation, which was approved by 22 votes in favor and 18 against.

During the impasse with the CMM, when commenting on the non-approval of the loan, Almeida detailed in which areas the funds would be applied. According to him, the amount would be used to pave 2,000 streets, dredge 12 streams, contain gullies during the rainy season, build the first Bible Square, four Basic Health Units, four daycares, and 42 bus terminals.

CENARIUM searched the Transparency Portal of the Manaus City Hall for data and information on which municipal projects the loan amounts were applied to. The report found that the portal does not provide details on the use of these public resources.

In 2025, two more loans have already been approved for the Manaus City Hall,

totaling R$ 2.6 billion, which raises the total value of loans by the Executive to R$ 4 billion when adding all those contracted since 2021.

The lack of transparency about the use of resources obtained through loans led councilor Rodrigo Guedes (Progressistas) to gather 11 signatures to establish a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) to investigate the allocation of the funds. On April 10 of this year, councilor Coronel Rosses (PL) took on the task of making the CPI viable, after Guedes stepped down, claiming that his name was being used as a justification for denying support to the loan investigation.

The commission needs 14 signatures to be established, however, it is “stalled” in the CMM.

Credit:

Luiz

André Nascimento | Cenarium

Work District in the Cidade de Deus neighborhood

“Neglect

and abandonment in the Work District of the North Zone of Manaus. The consequences of this are pothole-ridden streets, neighborhoods without infrastructure and without dignified conditions. The oversight will not stop”

Sergeant Salazar, councilman of Manaus.

lack of infrastructure in most locations. Despite the poor conditions and inadequate working environment, workers from the districts told the reporting team that the Seminf subunits continue to operate normally with the available structure.

In the Work District of the Cidade de Deus neighborhood, in the North Zone of Manaus, machinery such as dump trucks, compactors, loaders, crawler tractors, motor graders, and a backhoe are covered in vegetation, rusted, unusable, and damaged. The state of the vehicles indicates they have been in place for over a year. The large area contains debris, trash, concrete pipes typically used for drainage works, vegetation in several parts of the land, and four masonry structures to accommodate employees. At the entrance, a guard post painted in the visual identity colors of the Manaus City Hall indicates the site is under municipal management.

In the Cidade Nova neighborhood, also in the North Zone, the Work District— bearing the current administration’s visual identity colors—lacks visible identification for the public indicating it is a Seminf or Manaus City Hall works unit. The site mir-

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento | Cenarium

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento Cenarium

Work District in the Cidade Nova neighborhood, North Zone of Manaus

Work District in the Santa Etelvina neighborhood

“The project [for the renovation of the Works Districts] is being finalized and the works will begin soon”

Renato Junior, secretary of Seminf and deputy mayor of Manaus.

rors the Cidade de Deus unit, with trash, debris, and vegetation throughout the area.

Drone images captured by CENARIUM at the site confirmed that the headquarters' identification is stamped on the roof of one of the structures in the district. Concrete pipes, some machinery, and workers are also visible on-site.

Another North Zone neighborhood of Manaus that has a Work District for maintaining designated areas is Santa Etelvina. This smaller site, compared to others, has a masonry structure with air-conditioned rooms, computers, and space to accommodate workers. The grounds contain a large amount of sand, some construction support materials such as shovels, hoes,

Reelection with a R$ 13.7 million campaign

Marcela Leiros – From Cenarium

In 2024, Brazil held municipal elections and, in Manaus (AM), Mayor David Almeida (Avante) was reelected in the second round, held on October 27 of that year. He obtained 576,171 votes, corresponding to 54.59% of the valid votes, surpassing his opponent Capitão Alberto Neto (PL), who received 479,297 votes (45.41%).

David’s vice mayor is the city’s secretary of public works, Renato Junior, from the same party.

After the campaign, David Almeida declared total expenses of R$ 13,781,888.03, according to information from DivulgaCand, a system of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). The three main donors to the electoral campaign were the national leadership of Avante, which transferred R$ 12,736,025.00; businessman Humberto Soares da Silva, who contributed R$ 800,000.00; and Luciano Pinto Nascimento, who donated R$ 102,000.00.

In last year's campaign, David Almeida also had the support of senators Eduardo Braga (MDB) and Omar Aziz (PSD), allies of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The coalition “Avante, Manaus” included the parties Agir, PSD, Christian Democracy (DC), Avante, and the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB).

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento Cenarium

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento | Cenarium

Work District located in the São José neighborhood, East Zone of Manaus

Abandoned truck in the Petrópolis Work District

pipes, machinery, and concrete pipes. The Work District’s facade includes signage indicating the site’s purpose.

Another area visited by the report team was the East Zone of Manaus, in the São José neighborhood, where the abandonment situation is similar. Like other Work Districts, the site lacks identification indicating its function and is overrun by debris, sand piles, and vegetation.

A small blue masonry structure with a cement bench, iron doors, and windows also occupies the area. Nearby, there is a chemical toilet and another structure painted yellow and blue.

In the South Zone of the city, in the Petrópolis neighborhood, damaged and rusted vehicles were also found, apparently out of operation for some time. This larger site, compared to others, has signage from the Manaus City Hall on its external wall, labeled as the Petrópolis Work District. Concrete pipes, dry straw, vegetation, debris, and trash share space with construction materials and workers, much like the other units visited by CENARIUM. The

Credit:

Luiz

André Nascimento

Cenarium

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento

Cenarium

Other abandoned trucks in the Petrópolis Work District

Wall propped up with wooden boards at the Work District in Morro da Liberdade

site features an elevated area with a table, restrooms, and space for workers to prepare before starting their shifts.

In another South Zone neighborhood of the Amazonian capital, Morro da Liberdade, the situation mirrors that of other districts. The neglect is visible to passersby. The unit’s wall is damaged, and to patch the hole, Seminf construction warning signs are used as makeshift barricades. Further ahead, three wooden stakes support the leaning wall, which risks collapsing. This is the only identification of the site.

The grounds also contain debris, trash, and apparently unusable construction materials. A masonry structure is also present to accommodate staff. When the reporting team visited, minibuses were also present at the Morro da Liberdade unit, along with dump trucks parked outside the Work District.

In the West Zone of Manaus, where the City Hall headquarters is located, in the

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento Cenarium

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento Cenarium

Work District in the Compensa neighborhood

Work District in the city downtown

Compensa neighborhood, the infrastructure differs from the other Work Districts visited by CENARIUM. With a tall gray wall and a black iron gate, the site has a white masonry house where workers are received. A sign on the wall identifies the site’s purpose. Without trash or overgrown vegetation, the area contains piles of sand and trucks parked inside.

In downtown Manaus, the Work District is located at the Feira da Banana, sharing space with the municipal market’s parking lot. The unit is identified on a low gray wall with orange railings. The structure contains concrete materials, passenger vehicles, motorcycles, and even a minibus. The space is smaller than the parking area. An improvised blue tarp structure is also present, along with accumulated debris, Styrofoam, wheelbarrows, a wooden table with benches, and a chemical toilet. Outside, the unit shares space with a private parking lot and is frequented by homeless individuals and drug users.

Credit:

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento | Cenarium

Service materials at the city center Work District

Front of Seminf headquarters, in the Aleixo neighborhood

The reporting team also visited the Coroado neighborhood in the East Zone of Manaus, but the location where the Work District was supposed to operate could not be found. According to residents, the subunit was relocated to the main Seminf headquarters, located in the Aleixo neighborhood, in the Center-South Zone of the city.

In contrast to the reality found in ten of the 18 Work Districts visited by CENARIUM, the Secretariat’s headquarters features gatekeeping staff, structures marked with the current municipal administration’s visual identity, pavilions divided by sector, and appropriate areas for loading and unloading construction materials such as sand, concrete pipes, and others.

STREETS OF MANAUS

The current condition of Manaus’s streets reflects the neglect seen in its Work Districts, as uncovered by CENARIUM's investigation. In the Grande Vitória neighborhood, located in the city’s East Zone, Avenida Açaizeiro—one of the main roads in the area—has a large crater that severely

affects local life and commerce. Raw sewage, emitting a strong stench, further deteriorates residents’ quality of life.

João Victor, a self-employed business owner whose shop sits directly across from the crater, reports daily accidents at the site. Rainfall worsens the situation. “There are accidents here every day. Most are caused by motorcycles trying to avoid the potholes, and some by cars. When it rains, everything floods,” he said.

He adds that other parts of the neighborhood are impassable due to potholes. “The whole neighborhood is neglected, full of potholes, with streets you can’t drive through—especially the hills. That’s where there are the most holes.”

Shopkeeper João Marinho emphasized the health risks posed by contaminated water. “Nothing is being done about this situation. The water running through here is from septic tanks—it stinks. We're right next to a school, and when students leave, a passing car splashes this water on them. It’s disgraceful! This water is spreading disease. If it touches you, your skin starts itching immediately.”

In the Praça 14 neighborhood in the South Zone, 93-year-old retiree Teresinha Maciel dos Santos expressed sorrow and anxiety after her home, where she lives with an ailing elderly sister, flooded during heavy rainfall in March of this year. It wasn’t the first time.

Teresinha told CENARIUM she’s often alone when trying to save her few belongings during floods. “I’m the one who suffers most on this little stretch. People throw trash, throw this and that, and it blocks the drains. I have to clean it alone. When the rain comes, instead of crying, I sing; instead of staying silent, I talk, I shout—just to not give in to sadness.”

She explained that the deteriorating pavement and difficult access make it nearly impossible for garbage trucks to reach her street. As a result, trash piles up, and heavy rains wash it into the drains, clogging them and flooding the surroundings.

In May of this year, in the Mauazinho neighborhood, also in the East Zone, a landslide buried several houses. Rozineide Queiroz, a resident affected by the incident, said the issue began when a pipe began discharging water behind her house. “They placed a pipe that dumps water behind my house. Over time, with the rain, it started to dig, to erode... We tried to get help, but [the authorities] didn’t care—they didn’t come to check, didn’t do anything. If they had taken action at the start, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point. Now our homes are in danger.”

According to Law No. 20, dated July 31, 2013, it is the responsibility of Seminf to develop strategic plans for implementing infrastructure policies in basic sanitation, drainage, water supply, public works, public lighting, and urbanism. It is also tasked with overseeing, inspecting, and receiving public works and engineering services relevant to both direct and indirect public administration.

COUNCILORS’ DENUNCIATION

The councilor of Manaus, Sergeant Salazar (PL), used social media to denounce the lack of infrastructure in the Work Districts of Manaus. On Instagram, the councilman showed locations such as the Work District in the Cidade Nova neighborhood. “Neglect

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento

Business owner João Marinho complains about the lack of sanitation in the Grande Vitória neighborhood

and abandonment in the Work District of the North Zone of Manaus. The consequences of this are pothole-ridden streets, neighborhoods without infrastructure and without dignified conditions. The oversight will not stop,” he wrote.

Following the councilman’s denunciation on April 8 of this year, the secretary of Seminf and deputy mayor of Manaus, Renato Junior, promised to renovate all 18 Work Districts of the capital. “The project is being finalized and the construction will begin soon,” said the secretary, without setting a date for the start of the works at the time.

CENARIUM contacted Seminf to request the date for the start of the recovery works in the Work Districts of Manaus. The reporting team also requested details about the movement of more than R$ 1 billion by Seminf and how the resources were applied. By the time this report was closed, the magazine had not received a response.

Credit: Luiz André Nascimento | Cenarium

Credit: Ricardo Oliveira Cenarium

Retired Teresinha Maciel dos Santos, resident of Praça 14, cries after suffering losses due to flooding in her home

Collapsed slope in the Mauazinho neighborhood

Half a billion for five companies

Know which companies received the largest payments from Renato Junior’s administration at Seminf in 2024

Jadson Lima – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – Under the management of Renato Junior (Avante), the Manaus Municipal Secretariat of Infrastructure (Seminf) paid a total of R$ 428.8 million—almost half a billion reais—to five companies that provided ser-

vices to the department throughout 2024. CENARIUM found that these businesses were paid for services ranging from road rehabilitation to maintenance of public lighting in the capital of Amazonas. In addition to being the secretary, Renato Junior is also the vice mayor of Manaus in the current administration of Mayor David Almeida, from the same party.

Data from the Transparency Portal show that the company receiving the most during this period was Manaus Luz Iluminação Pública SPE Ltda., which was paid R$ 127.9 million. The company holds the concession to provide public lighting services in

Manaus. Following are Construtora Etam Ltda. (R$ 97.9 million); F M Rodrigues e Cia Ltda. (R$ 94.4 million); Nale Engenharia Ltda. (R$ 77.1 million); and Construtora Soma Ltda. (R$ 31.5 million).

The first payment to Manaus Luz Iluminação Pública SPE Ltda. referred to the amount committed in the same year and occurred on February 1, 2024, when the company received about R$ 40 million from the remaining balance of the 1st Addendum to Contract 12/2019, signed on April 15, 2020, valid until 2045. The total value of the contract is R$ 3,133,835,256.25.

Credit: Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

The vice mayor of Manaus and Secretary of Infrastructure, Renato Junior

During the period reviewed by CENARIUM, the largest payment from Renato Junior’s department to the company took place between June 26 and December 13, when the Manaus City Hall paid about R$ 74.8 million. The Transparency Portal reported that the payments were made through the Public Lighting Services of Manaus program. The amount is part of the overall contract signed between the company and Seminf.

CONSTRUTORA ETAM

Data reviewed by the report shows that Construtora Etam Ltda. was the second-highest recipient of funds from Seminf over the past year for providing services to the city's infrastructure department. The company is responsible for road recovery in the city and received about R$ 97.9 million

Five companies that received the most from Seminf in 2024

Manaus Luz Iluminação Pública SPE Ltda.

Consultora Etam Ltda.

Engenharia Ltda.

Source: Transparency Portal of the City Hall of Manaus

Ranking of companies that received the most payments from Seminf in 2024

Statements show the total amounts paid to the company Manaus Luz Iluminação Pública SPE Ltda. in 2024

Commitment statement shows where the total contract amount of R$ 3,133,835,256.25 with Manaus Luz was applied

neighborhood, located in the Central-West Zone of the capital.

3.1 billion

The total contract value between Seminf and the company Manaus Luz is R$ 3,133,835,256.25. It was the company that received the highest payment amounts in 2024.

from the municipal treasury, divided into 19 installments.

The first payment to Etam occurred between March 8 and 17 last year, when the statements were issued through the program "Urban Mobility of Manaus –Manaus Móvel," for the reconstruction of the city’s pavement system.

An amount of R$ 6 million was committed on January 2 and refers to the 1st measurement of the 3rd Addendum to contract 039/2022, signed between the company and Seminf, which provides for road recovery services in the Alvorada 2

The Transparency Portal reported that, on March 1, Renato Junior’s department committed another R$ 5 million for the Asfalta Manaus I program, also in the Alvorada 2 area. The amount was paid between April 9 and 17, after the issuance of six statements. According to available data, the funds refer to the 2nd measurement of the 3rd Addendum of the same contract signed between Seminf and Etam.

Data reviewed by CENARIUM also shows that on February 29, Seminf committed R$ 10 million for Etam to execute the connection between Efigênio Sales and José Lindoso (Torres) avenues, located in the Central-South Zone of the city, including the construction of the new overpass on Rua Rio Preto.

The commitment was made under the differentiated procurement regime 004/2003. One hundred and ninety-five days later, the first payment was made, divided into seven statements issued between October 11 and 17.

F M RODRIGUES E CIA. LTDA.

Construtora Etam Ltda. is followed by the company F M Rodrigues e Cia Ltda.,

whose main activity is the construction of electrical distribution stations and networks. Over the past year, the company received more than R$ 81.3 million in five installments.

The commitment notes indicate that the amount referred to compensation for the complete management and execution of the Public Lighting System (SIP) of Manaus, executed and unpaid, as per Contract Term No. 010/2015.

The expenses came from the Public Lighting Services program and were paid between June 20 and December 17 of last year. “The payments will be made as follows: May 2024: 2 (two) installments of R$ 11,808,084.93, totaling R$ 23,616,169.86. From June to November 2024, equal monthly installments of R$ 11,808,084.93 each,” reads a portion of the statement available on the Transparency Portal.

ASFALTA MANAUS 3 AND ASPHALT PLANT OPERATIONS

The rehabilitation of the road system in the central area and Historic Center of Manaus, with asphalt paving, sidewalks, curbs, and gutters, led Nale Engenharia

Ltda. to receive about R$ 77.1 million last year.

The company was contracted by the city hall, under the management of David Almeida, through the Urban Mobility of Manaus – Manaus Móvel program. Of the 27 commitment statements, two referred to the fiscal year of 2023.

Lastly, Construtora Soma Ltda., specialized in earthworks, closes the list of the five companies that received the most from Seminf Manaus in 2024. In total, about R$ 31.5 million was paid between August 21 and October 2, through the Urban and Technological Infrastructure Improvement Program of the Municipality of Manaus (Prominf).

The contractor was responsible for the continuous services of hot mix asphalt concrete (CBUQ) plant operations, including material supply, as stated in the contract excerpt.

Report shows the committed funds, the reinforcement, and the amount paid

Statements show the dates on which the amounts were paid to Construtora Etam Ltda.

ECONOMY & SOCIETY

Ltda.

Report on the payment of R$ 5 million to Etam

Total amount paid to the company F M Rodrigues is listed on the Transparency Portal

Credit: Reproduction Portal da Transparência

Document shows a contract addendum between Seminf and Construtora

Credit: Reproduction Portal da Transparência

Amounts paid by Seminf to Construtora Soma in 2024

Soma

ECONOMY & SOCIETY

and paid

Amount committed

to Nale Engenharia for Manaus’ road system

Lives Underwater

Flooding in Amazonas has already impacted 260,000 people, and 28 municipalities have declared a state of emergency

Jadson Lima – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – The number of municipalities in Amazonas that have declared a state of emergency due to the rising levels of the Solimões, Amazonas, Purus, Madeira, and Juruá rivers has increased to 28. In just one month, the number of cities affected by the river floods has more than doubled in the state, with over 260,000 people impacted. The data

was released by the Amazonas Civil Defense on May 23, through a monitoring bulletin.

The report "Flood Operation 2025", which presents updated information from monitoring systems, shows that the Madeira and Upper Solimões rivers account for the highest number of municipalities in emergency, with six each. Following this, the latest update lists five municipalities along the Juruá River, followed by the Middle and Lower Solimões rivers, with four each. In the Middle Amazonas, two cities declared emergency, and one city along the Purus River.

One of the municipalities newly added to the emergency list is Anamã (AM), located 165 kilometers from Manaus. Over the years, it has been one of the most severely affected by the Solimões River

floods, even becoming completely submerged during major flooding events, such as the one recorded in 2021. According to the hydrological monitoring update on May 24, the city was just 1.60 meters from reaching its historical flood level.

This year, another affected municipality is Humaitá (AM), located 332 kilometers from the state capital. The city declared a state of emergency on March 19, when Mayor Dedei Lobo (União) signed a decree valid for 180 days, allowing authorities to provide humanitarian aid. According to current monitoring, the city is now entering the recession period of the river.

According to Civil Defense, river level monitoring is carried out year-round, and once the flood threshold is exceeded, municipalities begin their initial response

Family in a canoe over the water with the map of Amazonas

Credit: Photo by Ricardo Oliveira | Cenarium | Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

actions through local administration. The state steps in with additional measures once the local capacity is surpassed, following the declaration and recognition of the emergency state.

A technical report from the agency, published in April, noted that “all river basins

in the State of Amazonas are in the flooding process, with local variations.” The document also indicated that water levels are expected to continue rising gradually and within normal parameters. “In the Negro basin, levels are normal, with flooding underway,” the report stated.

Credit: Disclosure Prefeitura

Hydroclimatological monitoring also indicates that 29 cities in Amazonas are on alert due to river levels.

ALERT AND ATTENTION

Hydroclimatological monitoring also indicates that 29 municipalities in Amazonas are on alert due to rising river levels. These are: Alvarães, Anori, Autazes, Barreirinha, Beruri, Boa Vista do Ramos, Caapiranga, Canutama, Coari, Codajás, Iranduba, Itacoatiara, Lábrea, Manacapuru.

The list also includes: Manaquiri, Manaus, Maués, Nhamundá, Novo Airão, Parintins, Pauini, Rio Preto da Eva, São Sebastião do Uatumã, Silves, Tabatinga, Tapauá, Tefé, Uarini, and Urucará. Civil Defense describes these locations as having a high level of risk and in need of constant monitoring.

Data was extracted from the Civil Defense of Amazonas

Madeira River flood peaks in Humaitá and government provides aid to those affected

Credit: Reproduction

Credit: Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

Number of cities in a state of emergency reaches 28 in Amazonas

Unfair competition

Chamber of Deputies approves creation of the Free Trade Zone of the Federal District and Surroundings with the same benefits as Manaus; Amazonas politicians criticize

Ana Cláudia Leocádio - From Cenarium

BRASÍLIA (DF) – The Commission for National Integration and Regional Development (Cindre) of the Chamber of Deputies has approved the creation of the Free Trade Zone of the Federal District and Surrounding Areas with the same tax, exchange, and administrative regimes provided for the Manaus Free Trade Zone (ZFM), for a period of 25 years. Proposed by Federal Deputy José Nelto (Podemos/ GO) in 2019, the text underwent two reports and was approved in the session last Wednesday, 23rd.

According to Bill 4247/2019, the Free Trade Zone of the Federal District and Surrounding Areas will have characteristics of free export and import trade and special tax incentives, and will cover 19 municipalities in the state of Goiás and another four in the state of Minas Gerais.

In his justification, the author of the project, José Nelto, praises the model

Free Trade Zone of the Federal District covers 19 municipalities in the state of Goiás and another four in Minas Gerais

Proposal authored by federal deputy José Nelto (Podemos/GO)

of the Manaus Free Trade Zone, which he considers a “very successful experience in the search for new regional development strategies adopted by the country.” “Its creation led, over half a century ago, to the establishment of an Industrial Hub that represents an important source of employment and income, technological advances, and environmental preservation,” stated the parliamentarian.

For Nelto, the establishment of this free trade zone in the Federal District and

surrounding areas would enable the formation of an industrial hub whose economic and social impacts would spread throughout the Central-West region. “It would represent, more than that, a first major movement towards the resumption of our development process, based on production, employment, and income, so long awaited by all Brazilians,” he emphasised.

APPROVAL

The voting on the matter was swift in the Commission. The rapporteur Gil-

Threat to Amazonas

For former Deputy Marcelo Ramos (PT/ AM), approving a free trade zone in the country’s central area means ending the economic model that sustains Amazonas. On his social media, he expressed indignation at the approval of the matter in the Chamber’s Commission without any protest from any State parliamentarian.

Two parliamentarians from Amazonas are members of Cindre: Fausto Júnior (União) and Silas Câmara (Republicanos), and Átila Lins (PSD) is a substitute. Fausto and Silas were present at the session, but neither expressed any opinion during the voting on the project proposed by the deputy from Goiás.

“Creating another Free Trade Zone in the central area of the country is ending our Free Trade Zone. And this was approved without anyone saying any-

“Besides there being no budget forecast for this tax exemption, the project does not comply with the Fiscal Responsibility Law”

Pauderney Aveluino, federal deputy.

thing,” complained the former parliamentarian, who now works as a consultant in Brasília.

According to Ramos, the project is harmful to the ZFM for several reasons. “If the Federal District, Goiás, and the surrounding areas, which are much more central in Brazil and much closer to consumer markets, with road connections to other states and a much better logistical infrastructure than ours, have the same tax incentives as Manaus, the entire industry will leave Manaus and relocate there because the costs will be much lower,” he warned.

The superintendent of the Manaus Free Trade Zone (Suframa), Bosco Saraiva, told CENARIUM that the new model is unlikely to succeed due to the Tax Reform, which protects the tax benefits of Amazonas.

son Daniel (Podemos/ES) recalled that the text had already received another report in favour, from colleague Cabo Gilberto Silva (PL/PB), which had not been voted on, but whose arguments were incorporated into the opinion approved by Cindre.

Now, the project needs to pass through two more committees of the Chamber, those of Finance and Taxation and of Constitution and Justice (CCJ), conclusively, without the need for plenary consideration.

“Creating another Free Trade Zone in the central area of the country is ending our Free Trade Zone”

Marcelo Ramos, former federal deputy.

Amazonas Deputy requests rapporteurship

From Cenarium*

MANAUS (AM) – Federal deputy Pauderney Avelino (União-AM) is working internally in the Chamber of Deputies to be appointed rapporteur of Bill No. 4,247/2019, which creates a Free Trade Zone in the Federal District and surrounding areas, with characteristics of free trade, export, import, and special tax incentives.

“I will wait for the bill that creates a new Free Trade Zone in the Federal District to arrive at the Finance and Taxation Committee (CFT), of which I am a member, to request to be the rapporteur of the matter. Besides there being no budget forecast for this tax exemption, the project does

not comply with the Fiscal Responsibility Law,” he said.

The proposal for the creation of a special trade zone covers the Federal District, as well as 35 municipalities in Goiás and four in Minas Gerais, which would have a tax, exchange, and administrative regime identical to that of the Manaus Free Trade Zone.

“In the CFT this bill will not pass. I am already in contact with the chairman of the committee, deputy Rogério Correia (PT-MG), so that I can analyze this matter. We will work to ensure that this bill does not pass this committee,” he concluded. (*) With information from the press office.

Roraima: epicenter of femicide

State topped the ranking with a rate of 10.4 deaths per 100,000 women

Marcela Leiros - From Cenarium*

MANAUS (AM) – States in the Amazon region recorded the highest rates of female homicides in 2023, according to data from the Atlas of Violence 2025, produced by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and the Brazilian Forum on Public Security. Roraima topped the ranking, with a rate of 10.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants – nearly three times the national average of 3.5. Amazonas, Bahia, and Rondônia also posted high rates, each

with 5.9 deaths per 100,000 women. Mato Grosso also appeared in the ranking with 5.7, the same rate as Pernambuco.

Senior researcher at the Forum, Manoela Miklos, pointed out that each locality has its own specificities. In the case of Roraima, for example, the issue of illegal mining was taken into account. “We conducted a hypothesis study with Roraima involving the presence of mining, so it’s a job that requires close examination of each of these states to understand which specific phenomena keep these rates high,” said Manoela.

In contrast, states in the Southeast and South registered the lowest female homicide rates. São Paulo had the lowest rate in

the country, with 1.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Minas Gerais (2.6) and the Federal District (2.7).

Lawyer Amanda Pinheiro, president of the Instituto As Manas, observes that violence against women results from a culture that objectifies them. “The patriarchal culture that roots education in machismo leads to women being objectified, seen as property of their partners, who do not accept them moving on with their lives after relationships end. Our population is of mixed origin between Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Northeasterners, which shows that machismo and misogyny are a universal violation of human rights, with violence against women still being

Data is from the 2025 Atlas of Violence, prepared by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and the Brazilian Forum on Public Security

Credit: Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

Rise in the national average

On the national level, reports of violence against women in Brazil increased in 2023, while homicide rates remained stagnant, despite an overall decline in murders in the country. There were 275,000 notifications of assault, compared to 221,000 in 2022.

The homicide rate remained at 3.5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in both years. Data from 2023 show 3,900 recorded homicides, a 2.5% increase from 2022, which had 3,800 victims.

Six out of ten cases of violence — 177,086 in total — occurred at home. Next came reports of community violence (59,611) — committed by people with no family ties, such as neighbours, colleagues, or strangers —, mixed violence (34,653), and institutional violence (3,925), where some type of hierarchy is involved.

All these categories saw increases when comparing 2022 to 2023.

Homicides of women in Brazil

In the breakdown by race, Black women are the most frequent victims of homicide, according to the Atlas, with 2.6 thousand deaths, or 68.2% of cases.

‘tolerable and justifiable’ in society,” she declared.

The data from the Atlas of Violence are based on the Mortality Information System of the Ministry of Health. For this reason, there are differences between the numbers used in the study and the statistics published by state Public Security secretariats and research based on criminal data. The 2023 microdata from the Notification of Grievances Information System, also from the Ministry of Health and used for information on assaults, are still preliminary.

Source: Atlas of Violence 2025 / Ipea and Brazilian Public Security Forum

Types of Violence

The most frequent form of violence in 2023 was physical (37.4%), followed by multiple forms (30.3%). Neglect accounted for 12% of cases, and psychological and sexual violence made up 10.1% and 9.5% of cases, respectively.

Over the course of life, neglect is the main form of violence against girls aged 0 to 9, accounting for 49.5% of cases. Sexual violence becomes most frequent between ages 10 and 14 (45.7%). From ages 20 to 69, physical violence is the most commonly reported. Neglect then becomes predominant again (33.3%) from age 70 onwards.

In the racial breakdown, Black women are the most frequent victims of homicide, according to the Atlas, with 2,600 deaths,

or 68.2% of cases. “The numbers reveal the tragic intersection between patriarchal culture and structural racism, both deeply rooted in Brazil,” the publication states.

The variation among the states also highlights the need for targeted public policies. This is the case with Roraima, for example, which has 10.4 female deaths per 100,000 inhabitants – well above the national average of 3.5.

“We conducted a hypothesis study with Roraima involving the presence of mining, so it’s a job that requires close examination of each of these states to understand which specific phenomena keep these rates high,” says Manoela. (*) With information from Folhapress

Other Amazon states are also at the top of the ranking

Credit: Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

Long Walk

Indigenous people walk two hours to reach the bus stop in Manaus

Ana Pastana - From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – Indigenous people from the Parque das Tribos community (Park of the Tribes), located in the Tarumã-Açu neighborhood, in the West Zone of Manaus, face difficulties accessing the public transportation system that serves the area. According to reports to CENARIUM, residents walk for more than two hours to reach the nearest bus stop.

The 16-year-old Guarani Indigenous youth Estevão da Silva Cavalcante is originally from the municipality of São Paulo de Olivença (985 kilometers from the capital of Amazonas) and is in Manaus seeking more educational opportunities. Estevão,

who studies in the São Jorge neighborhood, in the West Zone of Manaus, takes about two hours and 47 minutes to reach the bus stop.

“At 9 a.m. sharp, I’m already heading out [to the bus stop], then I catch the 11:40

a.m. bus and go to school,” he said, adding that he walks the route every day.

The student, who lives in a hard-to-access area, emphasized the need for bus stops closer to where he lives. “The only thing I’d really ask for is for the bus lines to reach

Operational infeasibility

CENARIUM contacted the Municipal Institute of Urban Mobility (Immu) to inquire about the difficulties with public transportation reported by residents of the Parque das Tribos community. In a statement, the agency informed that “currently, nine vehicles operate on the lines that serve the region,” specifically lines 011, 012, and 005.

When asked why buses do not operate in some areas of the community, the municipal institute explained that

“certain localities still do not have direct service due to the operational infeasibility of routing and maneuvering buses in deeper parts of the community.”

Additionally, Immu stated that “technical studies are underway aimed at improving service to the community” and that they are “evaluating viable access alternatives to ensure greater coverage, safety, and regularity in public transport operations in the region.”

Indigenous people from the Parque das Tribos community, in the Tarumã-Açu neighborhood, in the West Zone of Manaus

Credit: Composition by Paulo Dutra | Cenarium

all the way [to my home] and for there to be more bus stops over there,” he stressed.

Stay-at-home mother Jaqueline Duarte da Silva, an Indigenous woman from the Munduruku ethnicity, also has to walk about one kilometer to reach the nearest bus stop. She says that on weekends, the wait for a bus can take up to two hours. “On weekdays, the bus comes every hour, on weekends it’s every two hours,” she said.

When asked how long it takes her to reach the bus stop, Jaqueline said she walks one kilometer. “[I walk] a kilometer to catch the bus and, when it stops, sometimes only ‘Jesus takes over.’ Some drivers are in

Stay-At-Home mother

a good mood and stop, because the bus is already very full. We need more buses here. During the week, it should be three to four more routes to reduce the wait time of two to three hours. Right now, I need to leave, I’ve been here since 10:50 a.m. and I’ll only catch the bus at 11:45 or noon,” she stated.

During the reporting, the team witnessed the homemaker and her daughter waiting for a bus. After an hour of waiting, when a bus approached, Jaqueline was informed that the driver was going on a lunch break and another vehicle would pass by. “Now, it’s waiting until noon or 12:30,” she lamented.

Fare increase

The City of Manaus raised the public transportation fare from R$ 4.50 to R$ 6 for the full price. The new rate, effective as of April 20 of this year, was made official by the mayor of the Amazonas capital, David Almeida (Avante), through Decree 6.166/2025, published in a special edition of the Official Gazette of Manaus (DOM) on April 19.

According to the City of Manaus, although the full fare is R$ 6, discounts will be applied based on the user’s profile. Passengers paying in cash or using the PassaFácil card will receive a discount and pay R$ 5 per trip. Students without full fare exemption will continue to pay R$ 2.50, upon presentation of a valid student ID.

In February, the fare increase in Manaus was the subject of a Public Civil Action (ACP) by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the State of Amazonas (MP-AM) to suspend the fare hike, which at the time was set to rise from R$ 4.50 to R$ 5. The MP argued that the adjustment lacked transparency, as Immu and the Union of Passenger Transport Companies of the State of Amazonas (Sinetram) had not presented technical studies justifying the new fare.

According to the City of Manaus, the justification for the increase was fleet renewal. However, the MP-AM noted that “vehicle replacement is a contractual obligation of the concessionaires and should occur regularly to ensure quality transportation.”

Parque das Tribos

The Parque das Tribos neighborhood, the first Indigenous neighborhood in the capital of Amazonas, according to the municipal government, is home to over one thousand families from 35 different ethnic groups. In 2024, CENARIUM had already reported on the difficulties residents of Parque das Tribos faced in accessing public transportation in the neighborhood. At the time, the father of a high school student, Raimundo Nonato, lamented that his daughter had to endure a long journey just to access public transit.

“My daughter leaves at 4 p.m. to get to school. She only returns at 9 p.m., on a crowded bus with a heavy backpack. If she’s lucky, she gets home at 8 p.m., depending on the traffic or if nothing happens to the bus on the way,” he said at the time.

Sâmia Gonzaga da Silva, of the Kanamari ethnicity, a resident of Parque das Tribos since its founding, told the report at the time that many Indigenous people had lost job opportunities due to the delays in the region’s public transportation. “We spend hours at the bus stop and, when one comes, it’s full. The main issue is the delay. We would like more options and additional lines. The transportation situation here is a calamity,” she said.

Jaqueline da Silva and her daughter Aline da Silva

Indigenous student Estevão da Silva Cavalcante

Credit: Ricardo Oliveira Cenarium

Credit: Ricardo Oliveira | Cenarium

Parintins Festival: Profit from Indigenous culture and social exclusion?

Inory Kanamari

Ka tücüna naina. Greetings, reader. As an experienced Indigenous lawyer, and as a woman who proudly carries the struggle of my people, I must be clear: the Parintins Festival does not represent Indigenous peoples. On the contrary, it symbolizes exclusion, the misappropriation of our culture, and the invisibility of our voices. In an event that should at least reflect respect for and celebration of our roots, what we see is the exploitation of our history and traditions for the profit of non-Indigenous businesspeople, while the true owners of this culture are left on the sidelines, without any real participation or benefit.

The Parintins Festival, held annually, has become a powerful money-making machine for a business elite composed mostly of white and non-Indigenous individuals. One of the festival's main strategies is to give visibility to non-Indigenous people, distorting the image of the Indigenous person to please the audience's gaze, especially through the creation of the fictional character cunhã-poranga, a “warrior Indigenous woman.” This character is not only a false representation of Indigenous culture but also becomes a vehicle for the sexualization of the Indigenous female body, conveying the idea that Indigenous women’s bodies are objects of pleasure for a sick society. Cunhã-poranga serves as a sexualized caricature, feeding harmful and dangerous stereotypes about Indigenous women, turning them into objects of consumption and desire.

This type of representation not only distorts our identity but contributes to the objectification of Indigenous women's bodies, perpetuating the idea that we are available for the pleasure and exploitation of the dominant society. This sexualization is more than a stereotype; it fosters the belief that Indigenous women can be touched, abused, and treated as merchandise. A festival that should celebrate our culture and strengthen our identity becomes fertile ground for the exploitation and marginalization of our women, creating an environment where child prostitution and violence against women are normalized, encouraged by the false idea that our bodies are up for grabs.

The Parintins Festival, though wrapped in the guise of cultural celebration, in reality seeks only to enrich a minority. Although the cultural expressions of Indigenous peoples are beautifully displayed in the performances, the actual participation of Indigenous people is completely ignored. We are made invisible on our own land, while our culture and sacred rituals are recreated and distorted by those who do not belong to our peoples. The stage of this event has become a theater of a culture that belongs to us but is stolen, interpreted by those who have never lived our reality.

The idea that the festival “celebrates” Indigenous culture is a fallacy. It not only ignores the true representatives of that culture, but also perpetuates the false idea that we are willingly being used as objects of entertainment. There is no societal critique of this phenomenon, and the presence of

Indigenous people in these spaces is not treated with respect, but with complicit silence, as if our presence were unnecessary for the construction of an authentic narrative. There is no true inclusion, but a forced one, an appearance that aims to appease consciences while, in practice, nothing changes.

The Parintins Festival repeats itself annually, consolidating itself as a billion-dollar event. But what we see is that the wealth generated by the businesspeople—many from wealthy white families—never returns to Indigenous communities. Our territories, our stories, and our culture are sold at the price of gold, but none of this profit is returned to Indigenous peoples, who continue to live on the margins, surviving in precarious conditions. This billion-dollar event, seen as a milestone of cultural celebration, reflects the exclusion and marginalization of our people, without any questioning from the local population. The lack of critique and the normalization of this reality are clear symptoms of structural racism and xenophobia that permeate Amazonian society.

The devaluation of Indigenous peoples in Amazonas is a serious issue but treated with indifference by many. The festival only reinforces the silent policy of exclusion, where the stories and traditions of original peoples are disrespected and torn apart, while profits go into the hands of a few. The truth is that the festival organizers are not interested in preserving or respecting Indigenous culture, only in generating

profit and perpetuating the idea that our presence and our history are dispensable.

We Indigenous people do not only die when we are murdered or victims of physical violence. We die every day when our territories are stolen, when our stories are distorted, and our cultures are appropriated without our permission. The Parintins Festival is a reflection of this usurpation. It is the materialization of cultural theft, of an improper appropriation of what is ours, without any respect for our traditions or participation in the process.

It is necessary to publicly question: which people gave permission for their sacred rituals to be turned into spectacle? Where is the consultation, the consent, the active participation of Indigenous peoples in this process? We cannot allow our culture to continue being portrayed without our voice, without our decision-making power. This event does not benefit Indigenous communities but enriches businesspeople who are part of a white and oppressive elite.

In my journey as a lawyer, I see that the fight for justice for Indigenous peoples in Amazonas is a daily struggle against racism, exploitation, and exclusion. The Parintins Festival is not a genuine celebration of our culture. It is an industry that profits from our traditions, without giving us due recognition, without promoting our true inclusion, and without ensuring that the benefits reach those who really need them. The event does not represent my Kanamari people, nor does it represent any other Indigenous people in the region. Its only purpose is to generate profit for those who already hold power and wealth in this state, perpetuating a cruel cycle of exclusion.

The time has come for us to question ourselves, to question the organizers and the government: why is our culture used to enrich others, while we, the Indigenous people, remain on the margins, represented by those who, in many cases, despise us? True inclusion is not achieved by selling our

identity, but by guaranteeing our rights, our voice, and our participation. The Parintins Festival, unfortunately, is not and never will be a space of truth for the Indigenous peoples of Amazonas.

Bapo ikoni. Until the next article.

(*) Inory Kanamari, the first Indigenous lawyer of the Kanamari people. She served as president of the Commission for Support and Defense of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights at the OAB/AM from 2022 to 2024, and vice-president of the Special Commission for Support and Defense of Indigenous Peoples at the Federal Council of the OAB from 2023 to 2024. She also worked as a consultant on the project for the translation of the Federal Constitution into the Nheengatu Indigenous language at the National Council of Justice. She is a columnist for CENARIUM MAGAZINE, activist, poet, and member of the Academy of Letters, Sciences, and Culture of the Amazon (Alcama). She writes as a contributor every Tuesday for the Info.Revolução Portal.

Cunhã-poranga of the Caprichoso, Marciele Albuquerque

Cunhã-poranga of the Garantido, Isabelle Nogueira

Credit: Lucas Silva

Secom

Activist calls for protection

In an audio recording, environmental activist Pedro Paulo reported death threats and asked the government for protection

Ana Pastana - From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – After more than 10 days missing, environmental activist Pedro Paulo de Moraes Lima, 61 years old, sent an audio message to the Portal Info Revolução on Saturday, the 17th. Pedro is the director of the NGO Guardiões e Amigos do Parque Ecológico (Guardians and Friends of the Ecological Park (Gape) and had not been seen since May 6. In the recording, he said he is being threatened in Pará and sought refuge in Amazonas.

In the audio, Pedro confirms his identity and says he is in hiding in Amazonas. He asks for protection from the State government and the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association – Amazonas Chapter (OAB-AM). The activist also accuses lawyer Thiago José Souza dos Santos, called “Carcaça,” a man named Renato, and other individuals of physical assault and threats.

“My name is Pedro Paulo de Moras Lima, I am an activist and defender of GAP,

Pedro is director of the NGO Guardians and Friends of the Ecological Park

Paulo had gone missing after a series of events involving physical assaults, reports of illegal land sales, and accounts of intimidation. The information was recorded in a Police Report (BO) filed by Rosemary Pereira de Oliveira, of the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association – Pará Chapter (OAB-PA).

According to the report, Pedro Paulo was assaulted on May 3 by three residents of the Bela Vista housing complex, where he served as director of a socio-environmental association. One of

Assault led to disappearance

the aggressors was identified as lawyer Thiago José Souza dos Santos. According to Gape coordinator Flávio Trindade, Thiago was part of a board involved in the possible clandestine sale of environmental preservation areas.

On the afternoon of the assault, Paulo felt ill and, after receiving medical attention, was taken home by colleagues from the NGO. The next day, he again felt unwell, this time on a bus, and was taken to the Metropolitan Hospital by the Mobile Emergency Care Service (Samu). That evening,

he attended a meeting with Gape members but chose not to participate in the group’s traditional weekly livestream.

On the morning of May 6, a rideshare driver and close friend of Paulo went to the activist’s home to take him to a medical appointment but could not find him. Using a spare key to enter the house, he found a note that read: “I am being threatened with death,” signed “Paulo Lima.” That was the last known information about the environmental activist’s whereabouts.

“My name is Pedro Paulo de Moras Lima, I am an activist and defender of GAP Guardiões Amigos de Parques Ecológico. Today I am an environmental political refugee in the State of Amazonas, and I am here to request personal protection from the local government and the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association, OAB Amazonas, due to being physically assaulted and threatened with death by the lawyer Tiago, known as Carcaça, and others”

Pedro Paulo de Moraes, environmental activist, in an audio message sent to a news portal in Pará.

Guardiões Amigos de Parques Ecológico. Today I am an environmental political refugee in the State of Amazonas, and I am here to request personal protection from the local government and the Human Rights Commission of the Brazilian Bar Association, OAB Amazonas, due to being physically assaulted and threatened with death by the lawyer Tiago, known as Car-

Fabyo Cruz - From Cenarium

BELÉM (PA) – The disappearance of environmental activist Pedro Paulo de Moraes mobilized human rights organizations and raised an alert about possible threats faced by environmental defenders in the capital of Pará. According to Flávio Trindade, coordinator of Gape, there is a scheme involving community leaders and freelance professionals to legitimize the occupation and sale of public lands, even after rulings from the Pará State Prosecutor’s Office (MP-PA) confirmed the illegality

caça, and others, Renato and an unknown man appearing to be an armed militiaman, and by a vehicle from the 27th Battalion of the Military Police of the State of Pará,” he says.

Pedro Paulo also says in the recording that he will remain hidden until his physical safety is guaranteed. “I will stay at an undisclosed location until I can truly be

NGO Reported Disappearance

of such transactions. “The lawyer who assaulted Paulo was part of the board that sold environmental areas within the housing complex,” he said.

Activist Pedro Paulo is known for denouncing illegal occupations and defending green areas in Belém, especially around the Bela Vista Complex, a region under intense real estate pressure and land conflicts. His absence and the note found have heightened concerns among family, friends, and environmental activists. The Pará chapter of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB-Pará) and human

sure of my physical and moral integrity, and my safe and swift return to my birth State,” the audio sent to the news portal Info Revolução states.

CENARIUM contacted OAB-AM and the State government to request a statement regarding Pedro Paulo’s protection requests and is awaiting a response.

rights organizations are following the case closely and demanding a prompt response from authorities.

The Scientific Police of Pará (PCEPA) visited the location and conducted a forensic investigation, but so far have not released official information on the progress of the case. CENARIUM contacted the Pará Civil Police (PC-PA) to inquire about the investigation. In a statement, the force reported that “the Missing Persons Division is investigating the circumstances surrounding the victim’s disappearance.”

SSP-AM reports that sexual crimes against children and adolescents are 12% higher in the countryside of the state

Threat to childhood

Sexual crimes against children are more frequent in the countryside of Amazonas

Jadson

Lima - From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – Data from the Amazonas State Secretariat of Public Security (SSP-AM) consulted by CENARIUM show that sexual crimes against children and adolescents are 12% more frequent in the countryside of the state, compared to cases registered in Manaus. The crime indicators panel from the Integrated Center for Public Security Statistics (Ciesp), which records offenses, had its latest update in March 2025. 139

This was the number of incidents recorded in cities in the countryside of Amazonas in the first quarter of this year.

Credit: Composition by Paulo Dutra | Cenarium

Intensified Actions

At the end of April this year, the Amazonas Civil Police (PCAM) released partial data on arrests of suspects involved in crimes against children and adolescents throughout the state, from January to April. According to authorities, 110 people were arrested either through court-issued warrants or caught in the act.

Delegate Juliana Tuma, head of the Specialized Police Station for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (Depca) in Manaus, pointed out that the figures reached in the first four months of this year are results of PC-AM’s work combating crimes against children and adolescents. She also highlighted that encouragement of reports has helped authorities' actions and promised to intensify police operations.

“The operation reinforces the commitment of Security Forces and the protection net-

work to monitoring and combating violations of the rights of children and adolescents, especially in risk areas and vulnerable routes. We will further intensify operations, promoting qualified investigations, strengthening partnerships, and educational actions that reach more families, schools, and communities,” stated Tuma.

The delegate also emphasized the role of other agencies to guarantee effective combat against crimes. “The support of bodies such as the Guardianship Council, Public Defender’s Office, health and education units, along with other Security Forces, has been fundamental to the success of actions. This work allows early identification of violence situations, immediate support for victims, and the coordination of effective measures both to protect children and to hold perpetrators accountable,” she stressed.

The numbers reveal that in the first quarter, 139 incidents were recorded in countryside cities, compared to 122 in the Amazonas capital. SSP-AM reports do not specify which cities have the highest incidence of these crimes. It is also not possible, through the system, to confirm how many crimes were recorded in April. The report requested data by municipality from SSP-AM, but there was no response by the time of publication.

The five crimes against children and adolescents listed in the reports available from the department include: distribution of rape scenes; rape; statutory rape; sexual harassment; and sexual assault. The most recurring crime is statutory rape, with 197 records throughout the state; followed by sexual harassment (43); rape (33); sexual assault (9); and distribution of rape scenes (2).

“D-Day”

Depca in Manaus, the Metropolitan Police Department (DPM), and the Countryside Police Department (DPI) of PC-AM launched Operation Safe Paths across the state. The “D-Day” of police actions resulted in the arrest of 44 suspects in the Amazonas capital and 33 in countryside municipalities. According to PC-AM, officers involved in the operations arrested 37 people. In Manaus, five arrests were made in flagrante delicto, while in the countryside there were seven such arrests. The remaining arrests resulted from the execution of preventive detention warrants and criminal convictions. The operation also included lectures, educational, preventive, and repressive actions related to these crimes.

“This work allows early identification of violence situations, immediate support for victims, and the coordination of effective measures both to protect children and to hold perpetrators accountable”

Juliana Tuma, delegate.

Credit: Disclosure PC

Juliana Tuma, head of the Specialized Police Station for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (Depca)

Court also orders the completion of an Indigenous Component Study, to

Eneva banned from exploring gas in AM

Court decision suspends new licenses to Eneva due to lack of consultation with indigenous people

Marcela Leiros – From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – The Federal Court of the 1st Region, through Judge Mara Elisa Andrade, ordered the Amazonas Environmental Protection Institute (Ipaam) to cease issuing new environmental licenses for gas and oil exploration by Eneva S.A. in the municipalities of Silves and Itapiranga, in the countryside of the state. According to the court ruling, the

suspension will remain in place until the company consults the traditional peoples of the region.

The decision results from a Public Civil Action (ACP) filed in 2022 by the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the Rio Anebá (Apira) and the Association for Environmental and Cultural Preservation (Aspac), organizations affiliated with the Amazon

Working Group Network (GTA), aiming to halt Eneva’s activities in the area. According to indigenous representatives, the area impacted by operations houses at least seven villages with a population exceeding one thousand indigenous people.

Other conditions set by the judge include conducting an Indigenous Component Study (ECI), which must be reviewed by

be reviewed by Funai

Reported violations

In 2024, CENARIUM’s special report on violations of the rights of indigenous and traditional peoples in the Azulão Complex region interviewed the chief of the Gavião Real I village, Jonas Mura, who, living under threats, was included in the Human Rights Defenders Protection Program (PPDDH).

“It is regrettable that we cannot stay on our land without police escort. It is a completely different life, not having the freedom we once had—to fish, to hunt, to do what we liked,” the chief recounted.

Mura is part of nearly 200 indigenous and riverside families living around the so-called

“Azulão Complex,” located between the cities of Itapiranga and Silves, 226 and 181 kilometers from Manaus, respectively, in Amazonas state. Since 2021, the area has been under fossil fuel extraction operations for power generation (thermoelectric plants) by Eneva.

Eneva, which became the target of an investigation by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), also faces allegations of threats made by its employees, as reported by traditional peoples who claim to be ignored in the commercial exploitation process of the region, violating International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169.

Judicial victory

In a joint statement, Apira, Aspac, and the GTA Network celebrated the decision, calling it “an important judicial victory in defense of indigenous peoples’ rights and environmental protection in the Middle Amazonas region.” For the organizations, it represents recognition of the importance of a collective judicial process that considers new facts and evidence, especially related to guaranteeing fundamental rights such as life, health, and territory.

The group also highlighted the role of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) and Funai in the case.

“This achievement is the result of the resistance and mobilization of indigenous and traditional communities, who remain steadfast in defending their original rights. It is also the outcome of the decisive action of the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) and the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), which have fulfilled their role in protecting indigenous populations and the environment,” the statement reads.

the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), and studies related to isolated peoples in the region, which must be conducted by the General Coordination of Isolated and Recently Contacted Indians (CGIIRC), also part of Funai.

The judge’s order, which concerns the Azulão Complex, also prohibits Eneva from obstructing any traditional use of indigenous and riverside territories, especially in areas of wells overlapping the Gavião Real indigenous territory. As CENARIUM exposed in the report “The gas that suffocates the Amazon,” indigenous leaders in the territory have lived under death threats for questioning the gas and oil exploration process in the area.

When questioned by CENARIUM, Eneva stated it had not been notified of the referenced court ruling. “The company reiterates that its environmental licensing procedures followed all necessary steps, including public hearings and the issuance of installation and operation licenses, in compliance with legal requirements,” it said in a statement. Ipaam was also asked about the matter but had not responded by the time of publication.

Credit: Fotos de Ricardo Oliveira Cenarium Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

Abolition in Brazil took place with the enactment of the Lei Áurea, or Law 3.353, on May 13, 1888,

Without assertion of rights

Experts assess that the Abolition of Slavery in Brazil occurred without guaranteeing basic rights to the Black population

Marcela Leiros - From Cenarium

MANAUS (AM) – Although traditionally associated with a humanitarian advance, the Abolition of Slavery in Brazil, on 13 May 1888, did not represent real freedom for Black people, according to experts interviewed by CENARIUM. This is because it took place without guaranteeing basic rights to the Black population, after more than 300 years of slavery.

The abolition in Brazil occurred with the enactment of the Lei Áurea, or Law 3,353, on 13 May 1888, sanctioned by Princess Isabel, which declared slavery abolished throughout Brazilian territory. The country was one of the last in the West to abolish slavery, as noted by historian Lilia Schwarcz in the book Dictionary of Slavery and Freedom (2018), which she co-authored with Flávio dos Santos Gomes.

Speaking to CENARIUM , historian Juarez Silva Júnior noted that emancipation did not bring the necessary affirmative policies for the population enslaved for 350 years. “It resulted in a non-emancipatory act, of mere abolition, without any assertion of rights or reparations to the freed people. The Lei Áurea was the shortest law in Brazil-

ian history, and that was no coincidence,” Juarez Silva remarked.

The scholar added that 13 May is still considered a commemorative date, when it should be one of reflection. “Even with the popularisation of 20 November as ‘Black Consciousness Day’, many still do not understand why 13 May lost its status as a celebratory date,” he said.

For Luciana Brito, who holds a PhD in History from the University of São Paulo and is a professor at the Federal University of Recôncavo da Bahia, in an interview with Folhapress, the abolition occurred without reparations, freedom came without income, and migration to cities happened without housing rights.

sanctioned by Princess Isabel

Credit: Composition by Lucas Oliveira | Cenarium

Although traditionally associated with a humanitarian advance, the Abolition of Slavery in Brazil, on 13 May 1888, was, in practice, the result of economic pressures. For 350 years, Brazil’s economy was tied to enslaved labour: exploitation of Brazilwood, extraction of gold and precious stones, sugarcane, cattle ranching, and coffee plantations.

History teacher Cleomar Lima, who has 40 years of teaching experience, cites two pressures that led to abolition, both involving the English. In the first, after Brazil’s Independence and

External Pressures

the return of the then-Prince Regent Dom Pedro I to Portugal, the Regency turned to England after the Bank of Brazil was liquidated. On that occasion, the end of the international slave trade to Brazil was demanded.

Later, as a result of the Paraguayan War (1864–1870), the country again turned to England, when it received a new ultimatum. “Either end slavery, or there will be no further help, you see? So, Dom Pedro I faked an illness, took leave from government and placed his wife, his daughter [Princess Isabel], as regent. She was a

Demands

Since Independence in 1822, England had been demanding explicit actions from the Brazilian government to end trafficking. In response, in 1831, a law was passed declaring free all Africans disembarked at Brazilian ports after that year, but it was disrespected.

In the face of the new independent country’s disobedience, England passed the Aberdeen Act in 1845 to repress the international slave trade. Brazil still resisted for some years, but in 1850, after several English actions against Brazilian

ships, the Eusébio de Queirós Law was passed, which ended the trade to Brazil.

These were followed by the enactment of the Free Womb Law, passed on 28 September 1871, which declared free the children of enslaved women born from that date onward, and the Sexagenarian Law, which granted freedom to enslaved people over 60 years old in Brazil.

All culminated in the Lei Áurea, or Law 3,353, of 13 May 1888, sanctioned by Princess Isabel, which declared slavery abolished throughout Brazilian territory.

woman, he ordered her to end slavery, and no one would notice anything. And on 13 May 1888, it was a Sunday, at the time when people were going to mass, the princess signed the Lei Áurea,” explained Cleomar Lima.

Historian Juarez Silva Júnior adds: “The abolition had been in the making for nearly four decades when it occurred, and largely due to economic pressure from England and its market interests. A whole gradual process, surrounded by oligarchic and political resistance, took place before 13 May.”

“What kind of abolition is this, which came without citizenship, without the right to schooling, without access to land and without employment, but brought violence and the criminalisation of Black people and their everyday and cultural practices?”

Luciana Brito, Ph.D. in History.

“What kind of abolition is this, which came without citizenship, without the right to schooling, without access to land and without employment, but brought violence and the criminalisation of Black people and their everyday and cultural practices?” asks Luciana Brito.

“Of course, 13 May has an important role for the Brazilian Black population. An official law was created that ended slavery. But the next day leaves a legacy that continues to drag on even today for people who are already far removed from slavery in legal terms,” she says.

Painting representing the Abolition of Slavery in Brazil

Credit: Reproduction

T Community Abandoned

Study points out that trans and travesti people live without income and without labor rights in Pará

Fabyo Cruz - From Cenarium

BELÉM (PA) – In Pará, the trans, travesti*, and non-binary population lives on the margins of labour rights, relegated to informality, violence, and forced prostitution. This is the stark reality exposed by the study “Work, Employment and Income for Trans People in Pará”, conducted by the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) between 2022 and 2024. The survey, which interviewed 269 people in all regions of the State, was coordinated by the UFPA Institute of Legal Sciences, with support from the Public Labour Ministry (MPT) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The research reveals that over 60% of trans and travesti people live on up to one minimum wage per month. Unemployment is structural: nearly half of travestis (49.2%) have been out of the labour market for more than five years, and fewer than 10% have formal employment contracts.

Informal work and prostitution — often as the only survival option — are the norm.

“This study shows a systematic exclusion upheld by transphobia, racism, and class inequality,” says UFPA lawyer and professor Davi Haydee Almeida Lopes, who was part of the research’s core team. “It is a portrait of the legal void in which we live. Without specific laws or effective enforcement of existing ones, violence and discrimination remain unpunished,” he states.

FORCED PROSTITUTION

One of the most alarming findings in the report indicates that 61% of travestis and 58% of trans women have engaged in sex work as their sole source of income. The study refers to this as “forced prostitution” — not by choice, but due to the lack of alternatives, driven by rejection in the labour market and the hypersexualisation of trans bodies.

Denied citizenship

Exclusion also affects access to basic citizenship rights. Only 17.9% of those interviewed had undergone any type of gender-affirming surgery. The civil name rectification process remains a huge barrier: 90% of non-binary people and 61% of travestis have not completed it.

Even among those who access healthcare services, specialised care is scarce. The study highlights severe difficulties in accessing psychological counselling, hormone therapy, and transition surgeries through the Unified Health System (SUS). Over 80% of respondents receive no form of social benefit.

Davi Haydee emphasises that measures such as quotas in higher education and tax incentives have the potential for immediate impact. “Quotas tackle the root of the problem: access to education. Tax incentives help those outside school to enter the job market,” he explains.

For him, the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office need to educate themselves on the multiple layers of discrimination faced by this population. “Violence begins in childhood and follows us through life. Acknowledging this is the first step towards guaranteeing rights. Ignorance can no longer be an excuse for denying citizenship,” he concludes.

The research reveals that over 60% of trans and travesti people live on up to one minimum wage per month

Credit: Composition by Paulo Dutra | Cenarium

Violence is a constant element in the working lives of this population. Over 90% of trans people reported discrimination based on gender identity at work. Among travestis, 35% reported physical and verbal assaults, while 57% experienced verbal violence. The main aggressors? Clients and co-workers.

In addition, respect for gender identity is rare: only 43% of travestis have their pronouns respected at work. Among non-binary people, the figure is even more concerning — 23% state they are never addressed correctly.

*Travesti Identity

Travestis are people who embody a female gender construction, opposite to the sex designation assigned at birth, followed by a permanent physical transformation, which is recognised in social, familial, cultural, and interpersonal life through this identity. This definition is based on information from the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (Antra Brasil) and Portal Catarinas, which connects the feminist political agenda with fundamental and human rights in Brazil.

Institutionalized transphobia

61%

Of trans women have engaged in sex work as their only source of income.

For Adiara Pereira, professor and president of the Associação Vozes da Diversidade, based in Santarém (PA), the main barrier faced by the trans population in Pará is institutionalised transphobia. She describes the exclusion as an undeclared but systematically practiced policy. “The worst barrier is transphobia disguised as an excuse: ‘no vacancies’. Often, the trans person is educated and qualified — as in my case, I’m a teacher with a diploma recognised by the Ministry of Education — but the opportunities simply don’t come. It’s a silent blockade,” she highlights.

Adiara reports that, even though she is an active leader and participates in hearings with

the Public Prosecutor’s Office, she has never been invited to dialogue with the municipal executive of Santarém.

“During the campaign, the mayor invited all collectives. After the election, no one from the LGBT community was invited to the table. I’ve tried contacting the gay councillor in the city, but he’s never approached me. He’s on his second term. What kind of representation is that?” she asks.

She also criticises the use of religion by administrators as a justification for prejudice: “They say they’re not prejudiced, but they don’t create opportunities. A public official should

CONDITIONS OF THE TRANS POPULATION OF PARÁ IN THE MARKET

act as one, not as a missionary. Public policy cannot be shaped by a cisgender mindset for the LGBT population. It’s necessary to listen and engage with the movements.”

Adiara advocates for the creation of listening and decision-making spaces occupied by trans people within public and private institutions. “We need to stop using commemorative dates as a smokescreen. The fight against LGBTphobia must be daily. Prejudice begins at home and spreads through school, the workplace, institutions. It will only change when we occupy these spaces with policies made by and for us,” she concludes.

PROPOSALS TO REVERSE THE EXCLUSION SCENARIO

Quotas in universities and public institutions

Student aid for trans people

Tax incentives for companies that hire trans people

Creation of social and economic support centres

Public policy observatories focused on the trans population

Inclusion of gender identity in official databases

Ongoing campaigns to combat transphobia

Trash isn’t so trash after all: reinventing the future through the hands of new generations

Yara Amazônia Lins

Public administration, beyond its technical and regulatory tools, finds its true purpose when it connects with the real lives of people, the everyday challenges of cities, and the legitimate dreams of new generations. It was with this spirit that the Sustainable Solutions competition was born, promoted by the Public Accounts School of the Court of Accounts of the State of Amazonas (TCE-AM), with the firm goal of inspiring environmental awareness, student leadership, and civic innovation.

Among 97 projects submitted by schools from various municipalities across Amazonas, the standout was titled “Trash Isn’t So ‘Trash’ After All: Solid Waste Management”, developed by students Ludmila Miranda and Davi Ferreira Batista from Almirante Ernesto de Mello Baptista School in Manaus. Guided by teacher Mary Luci Souza Castro Florêncio, the proposal stood out not only technically—by presenting solutions such as smart storm drains, eco-friendly cleaning products, and selective waste collection campaigns—but, above all, it moved and mobilized an entire school community around a shared ideal: transforming waste into hope and learning.

As Director Cleny Ferreira Alves aptly summarized, “it felt like winning an Oscar.” And in fact, it was. Because what was awarded was more than just a school

project—it was a gesture toward the future. A call to collective responsibility for the planet. A living proof that when encouraged, our young people respond with creativity, courage, and an ethical commitment to life.

We live in a time when the organization and reuse of solid waste has become one of the most urgent challenges of urban management. The daily volume of garbage produced by urban populations demands not only technical solutions but, above all, deep cultural and educational changes. It is at this point that the initiative by TCE-AM reveals its transformative vocation: using environmental education as a tool for citizenship and as a platform to build a civilization grounded in sustainability principles.

By promoting the Sustainable Solutions competition, the Court reaffirms its educational mission and its role as a promoter of good practices, expanding the reach of environmental citizenship beyond offices and spreadsheets. We touched hearts. We illuminated minds. We planted seeds.

In the enthusiastic faces of Ludmila and Davi, in the emotion of mother Dicelia Assis Batista upon seeing her son's efforts recognized, and in the inspiring words of SEDUC’s Deputy Secretary Edilene Pinheiro, lies the proof that environmental

education is crucial for shaping social agents capable of thinking collectively, caring for nature, and transforming reality.

This is the most promising path that public institutions can follow: listening to the youth, trusting in the talent of schools, valuing science and creativity applied to local contexts. A truly sustainable society begins in the schoolyard, is nurtured by family awareness, and culminates in the work of institutions like TCE-AM that believe in the power of ideas and the pedagogy of example.

May the award granted to Almirante Ernesto de Mello Baptista School be just the beginning of a long journey of discovery and transformation. Because, after all, as this inspiring project has taught us, trash may be nothing more than a temporary name for what we have yet to learn to value. And by valuing what once seemed disposable, we will learn—together—how to build the future that the Amazon—and the planet—so desperately need.

(*) Current president of the Court of Accounts of the State of Amazonas (TCE-AM), Yara Amazônia Lins holds degrees in Accounting from the Federal University of Amazonas and in Law from Universidade Paulista. She joined TCE-AM in 1975 as a stenographer, became Deputy Auditor in 1989, and Auditor in 2002. Since 2014, she has served as a counselor of the Court.

Credit: Joel Arthus

TCEAM