The donation farce of the agribusiness, industrial tree plantation, oil and mining sectors in Brazil during the battle against Covid-19. We invite organizations to sign-on this letter to strengthen the struggle and resistance against the impacts of corporations in the territories. It is open to sign until September 19.
[emailpetition id="20"]
A network of civil society organizations and social movements launches the letter "The donation farce of the agribusiness, industrial tree plantation, oil and mining sectors in Brazil during the battle against Covid-19". The letter exposes the false solidarity of corporations in the present context of the health crisis in which Brazil is immersed.
The letter exposes how big companies take advantage of this time of crisis with the Covid-19 pandemic to strengthen the image of their brands by making donations to vulnerable populations. Meanwhile, they continue operating in the midst of the pandemic exposing their workers to the risk of contamination. Besides, the measures of the Federal Government lead to strengthen corporations´ control over the territories they occupy, for example, declaring their activities as "essential" ones.
Organizations and social movements expose the corporate “humanitarian” marketing campaign carried out by the national media company Globo. With this campaign called “Solidariedade SA”, the Globo company promotes, for example, the CMPC woodpulp company in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which donated 70 million of Brazilian reals, which represents a mere 7% of the company's net income in 2019. The letter exposes that, at the same time, the Federal Government allowed the pulp companies to renegotiate their debts and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) granted them new loans, which represents a financial gain for them. However, the public is not informed about this spending of public money, money that could have helped the population in such a crucial time.
The letter also highlights the role played by social movements and NGOs that, without receiving the same prominent visibility in the media, do provide support to populations in need in urban and rural areas by donating food and cleaning materials and creating networks of solidarity throughout the country.
Read the full letter in English here. Also available in Portuguese and Spanish.
We invite organizations to sign-on this letter until September 19.