Between 1995 and 1998, Cristovam Buarque was the Governor of the Federal District of Brasilia. Currently, he serves as Brazil’s Education Minister. Politician? and university Professor of Brasilia University, Brazilian Senator, Gristovam Buarque ran for President in the elections of 2006 for the Democratic Labor Party (PDT), having the senator Jefferson Peres as vice-president. The main flag of his campaign was federalization of basic public education.
For the memory of environment and humanity, we publish his opinion.
By Cristovam Buarque*
?During a discussion in the United States [NY University], someone asked my opinion regarding the internationalization of the Amazon Region. The youngster asserted that he expected a response of a humanist and not of a Brazilian.
This was the first time anyone had established the humanist viewpoint as the starting point for my response. In fact, as a Brazilian I would have responded simply against internationalization of the Amazon Region. Even if our governments have not given the attention that this treasure deserves, it is ours. I responded that, as a humanist, realizing the risk of environmental destruction that threatens the Amazon Region, I could imagine its internationalization, just as for everything else that is important to humanity.
If the Amazon Region, from a humanist’s point of view, has to be internationalized, then we should internationalize the oil reserves of the entire world as well. Oil is just as important to the well being of humanity as the Amazon Region for our future. Nevertheless, the owners of oil reserves feel it is in their right to increase or decrease oil production and to raise or lower the price. The rich of the world, feel they have the right to burn this valuable possession of humanity. Similarly, the financial capital of the wealthy nations should be internationalized. If the Amazon Region is a natural reserve for every human being, then it could not be burned down by the decision of a landowner or a country. To burn down the Amazon Region is so tragic, as the unemployment provoked by the arbitrary decisions of world wide speculators. We cannot permit that the world’s financial reserves serve to burn down entire nations according to the whims of speculations.
Before the (internationalization of the) Amazon Region, I would like to see the internationalization of all the world’s great museums. The Lourve cannot belong only to France. Each museum in the world is a guardian for the most beautiful works produced by the human genius. It cannot be permitted that these cultural possessions, as the natural possession of the Amazon Region, can be manipulated or be destroyed according to the whims of an owner or a country. Recently, a Japanese millionaire decided to have a painting of a grand master buried with him in the grave. This painting should have been internationalized. (…)
If the United States wants to internationalize the Amazon Region, due to the risk of leaving it in Brazilian hands, then we should internationalize all the nuclear stockpiles. Particularly since they have already shown that they are capable of using these weapons, causing a destruction thousands of times greater than the sad fires taken place in the Brazilian forests.
During their debates, the current U.S. presidential candidates have defended the idea of internationalizing the world forest reserves in exchange for the debt. We could begin to use this debt to guarantee the right of every child in the world to attend school. We could internationalize the children treating all of them, regardless of their birthplace, as a possession which deserves the care and attention of the entire world. Even more so than the Amazon Region. When the world leaders attend to the world’s poor children as possessions of Humanity, they will no longer permit that these children work when they should be studying, that they die when they should be living.
As humanist I accept to defend the internationalization of the world. So long as the world treats me as a Brazilian, I will fight so that our Amazon Region will be ours. Only ours.? **
*Buarque’s opinion does not necessarily reflect The MOREPISTS PRESS opinion neither MOREP Campaign.
**Brazilian Daily O Globo. October 23, 2000
***Pic? Wikipedia
FRENCH VERSION
Par M. Cristovam Buarque, ministre de l’?ducation Br?silien
?Au cours d’une conf?rence ? l’universit? de NY, je fus interrog? sur ce que je pensais au sujet de l’internationalisation de l’Amazonie. Un jeune ?tudiant affirma qu’il esp?rait une r?ponse d’un humaniste et non d’un Br?silien.
En tant que Br?silien, je m’?l?verais tout simplement contre l’internationalisation de l’Amazonie. Quelle que soit l’insuffisance de l’attention de nos gouvernements pour ce patrimoine, il est n?tre. En tant qu’humaniste, conscient du risque de d?gradation du milieu ambiant dont souffre l’Amazonie, je peux imaginer que l’Amazonie soit internationalis?e, comme du reste tout ce qui a de l’importance pour toute l’humanit?. Si, au nom d’une ?thique humaniste, nous devions internationaliser l’Amazonie, alors nous devrions internationaliser les
r?serves de p?trole du monde entier.
Le p?trole est aussi important pour le bien-?tre de l’humanit? que l’Amazonie l’est pour notre avenir. Et malgr? cela, les ma?tres des r?serves de p?trole se sentent le droit d’augmenter ou de diminuer l’extraction de p?trole, comme d’augmenter ou non son prix.
De la m?me mani?re, on devrait internationaliser le capital financier des pays riches. Si l’Amazonie est une r?serve pour tous les hommes, elle ne peut ?tre br?l?e par la volont? de son propri?taire, ou d’un pays. Br?ler l’Amazonie, c’est aussi grave que le ch?mage provoqu? par les d?cisions arbitraires des sp?culateurs de l’?conomie globale. Nous ne pouvons pas laisser les r?serves financi?res br?ler des pays entiers pour le bon plaisir de la sp?culation. Avant l’Amazonie, j’aimerais assister ? l’internationalisation de tous les grands mus?es du monde. Le Louvre ne doit pas appartenir ? la seule France. Chaque mus?e du monde est le gardien des plus belles oeuvres produites par le g?nie humain. On ne peut pas laisser ce patrimoine culturel, au m?me titre que le patrimoine naturel de l’Amazonie, ?tre manipul? et d?truit selon la fantaisie d’un seul propri?taire ou d’un seul pays. Il y a quelque temps, un millionnaire japonais a d?cid? d’enterrer avec lui le tableau d’un grand ma?tre. Avant que cela n’arrive, il faudrait internationaliser ce tableau.(…)
Si les ?tats-unis veulent internationaliser l’Amazonie, ? cause du risque que fait courir le fait de la laisser entre les mains des Br?siliens, alors internationalisons aussi tout l’arsenal nucl?aire.
Ne serait-ce que par ce qu’ils sont capables d’utiliser de telles armes, ce qui provoquerait une destruction mille fois plus vaste que les d?plorables incendies des for?ts Br?siliennes. Au cours de leurs d?bats, les actuels candidats ? la Pr?sidence des ?tats-unis ont soutenu l’id?e d’une internationalisation des r?serves florestales du monde en ?change d’un effacement de la dette. Commen?ons donc par utiliser cette dette pour s’assurer que tous les enfants du monde aient la possibilit? de manger et d’aller ? l’?cole. Internationalisons les enfants, en les traitant, o? qu’ils naissent, comme un patrimoine qui m?rite l’attention du monde entier. Davantage encore que l’Amazonie. Quand les dirigeants du monde traiteront les enfants pauvres du monde comme un Patrimoine de l’Humanit?, ils ne les laisseront pas travailler alors qu’ils devraient aller ? l’?cole; ils ne les laisseront pas mourir alors qu’ils devraient vivre.
En tant qu’humaniste, j’accepte de d?fendre l’id?e d’une internationalisation du monde. Mais tant que le monde me traitera comme un Br?silien, je lutterai pour que l’Amazonie soit ? nous. Et seulement ? nous!”
8 Responses to Cristovam Buarque: For The Internalization of Public Related Interests. We cannot permit that the world’s financial reserves serve to burn down entire nations according to the whims of speculations.