SUNS  4338 Friday 4 December 1998



BRAZIL: AN ANTI-DRUGS POLICY INDEPENDENT OF WASHINGTON

Rio de Janeiro, Dec 2 (IPS/Mario Osava) - Brazil aims to mark its independence from the United States in the fight against drug trafficking, and is pressing for a regional Latin American strategy,
announced President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

Brazil, which will have "its own anti-drug policy...does not passively receive instructions" on how to tackle the problem from the viewpoint of drug consumer countries, he declared.

Cardoso inaugurated the first National Anti-Drug Forum last weekend, expressing his opposition to external meddling and "discriminatory practices" against countries where narcotics are produced. He also presented the blueprint for a new anti-drugs policy.

Brazil's position counterpoints Washington's posture, which emphasises efforts to curb production in Latin America, with aid conditioned on the presence of U.S. troops in the countries in question, and the application of their methods, such as the spraying of coca crops from the air.

Brazil has traditionally resisted pressure from Washington - refusing, for example, to directly involve the armed forces in cracking down on the drug trade.

Three years ago the government went so far as to send back around 700,000 dollars in aid, arguing that the amount was insignificant given the magnitude of the problem, and that it did not compensate the commitments demanded. Moreover, it was to go solely toward law enforcement, rather than prevention.

Today Brazil aims at developing an integrated policy with its neighbours, based on the view that monitoring the borders is crucial to reducing the social damages caused by drugs.

As well as the natural cooperation with its Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) partners - Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay - Brazil is getting ready to work out an agreement with Colombia for fighting drug trafficking along their shared border. Authorities from the two countries will meet in the border town of Tabatinga in February to sign a joint action plan.

A year ago, Brazil and Colombia signed accords limited to intercepting unauthorised cross-border air traffic and to monitoring the chemical substances used in processing cocaine. But the agreements are still pending ratification by the Brazilian Congress.

We must "reach the drug barons, the cartels," rather than merely cracking down on the small-time traffickers, said Walter Maierovitch, the head of the National Anti-Drugs Secretariat (Senad), recently set up by Cardoso to coordinate anti-drug activity.

According to Senad - which comes under the Military Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic - at least 17 international drug gangs operate in Brazil, doing business over the borders with Bolivia,
Colombia, Paraguay and Peru.

Drug trafficking is "a transnational challenge," while combatting it "is also a question of national sovereignty and individual rights," Maierovitch underlined.

Senad is in charge of coordinating and promoting strategies designed not only to crack down on trafficking and drug abuse, but also to prevent consumption of drugs and treat drug addicts, he said, referring to resistance by the Federal Police to accept Senad's authority.

Prevention as a priority must be a characteristic of anti-drug policies, according to the National Forum. "It is the basis for everything," said General Alberto Cardoso, head of the Military Cabinet.

The conclusions of the Forum recommended that the issue be included in educational curricula, starting as early as primary school. Schools have become major points of business for dealers in many Brazilian cities.

The 1,600 government authorities, independent experts and representatives of civil society participating in the Forum also suggested legislative reforms to facilitate law enforcement and
prevention, as well as damage control, such as needle-swapping programmes for drug addicts.

But one of the main targets of the new policy is to be legal drugs. The Forum called for a total ban on advertising liquor and tobacco within the next four years, and high taxes on consumption, the revenues from which would go toward rehabilitation of drug abusers.