Juan de Toronto sent us this reading.
SANTA CRUZ FORESTS IN DANGER OF BECOMING CARBON
Brazilian businessman Eike Batista EBX owner of the company's main shareholder, the Pantanal, and Thermo partner Rio Tinto Iron and Steel Pole Corumbá is located in the center attention to the pressure to obtain the environmental permit processing furnace iron coal-fired plant has been built illegally on the border with Brazil. EBX
just completed construction of a plant Quijarro Puerto furnace to produce pig iron from iron ore from Corumbá, coal-fired Pantanal vegetable, without environmental license, as provided under Bolivian law. At the same time, the legality of its action in Bolivia is in doubt because of the temporary nature of the partnership of the administrators of the Free Zone of Puerto Suarez, SA ZOFRAMAQ corporation. To this is added that this provisional company was formed at a later date to begin construction of the plant and ZOFRAMAQ is itself a corporation formed exclusively purposes of handling, storage and freight forwarding and manufacture [1].
The company is also one of the applicants for the tender of Mutun was suspended by the government the then President Rodríguez Veltzé when going to proceed with the opening of proposals, subsequently extended by the current President Morales. The suspension was due to irregularities found in the process initiated under the government of Carlos Mesa, including the orientation of the procedures to favor the company EBX, by adapting the tender to the technology proposed by this company that is manufacturing pig iron (reduced iron) with charcoal, although the State's interest was the industrialization of iron using gas-based processes, which involves using a completely different technology.
When the bidding of Mutún was suspended in December 2005, Eike Batista knew that never achieved the award in a transparent process, so that accelerated the construction of the four blast furnaces in Puerto Suarez, in partnership with ZOFRAMAQ administration, the Tumpa business groups and monasteries (monasteries Fernando, Fernando Tuma, Carlos Alberto Couples, Ernesto Monasteries, Enrique Menacho, Carlos Zenzano, Carlos Krutzfeldt), who leased 282 hectares of land in the Free Zone of Puerto Suarez, through an interim contract venture to the border.
To do this, Eike Batista created in May 2005, Metallurgy of Bolivia EBX made by Javier Urcullo Law Office, Jose Antonio Criales and Maria Eugenia Antezana, with a capital of $ 5000 to invest in steel and mining. On 20 September the same year signed a provisional contract with ZOFRAMAQ venture, but the pig iron plant construction had already started several months earlier, as the press realizes Santa Cruz, without authorization. ZOFRAMAQ participation in the contract is 1%, that is, its function is to provide land for the establishment of the Brazilian company on the frontier, but the ownership of the project is 99% EBX.
In 2004, Eike Batista managed to overcome the rejection of the Cooperative CRE Rural Electrification that it opposed the sale of cheap gas to Brazil, having even made the civic mobilizations in the region, made a decree which expressly prohibits the sale of gas by side branches. The argument was that he could not deliver the gas to boost competition in Brazil, instead of promoting national gas industry is the main advantage of the region to attract investment. However, its inclusion as a shareholder of the Thermo Pantanal, the CRE quickly changed his mind. Moreover, according to Batista, the CRE entered into partnership with a strategic role: viable gas supply through a branch of "particular" Bolivia-Brazil pipeline. With a Bolivian company in society, would be easier to make way for the construction of an alternative product with lower rates. In addition to the CRE, joined the company Petrobras Bolivia, which supplies gas to MSGas, the company that distributes the energy in Matto Grosso do Sul and turn him over to the Thermo Pantanal.
But EBX achieved more with the CRE: the September 30, 2005, Sandro Giordano, interim president of the country in a record time of one week, passed the 3183 law authorizing the export of gas via the ramp to Corumbá Mutun Thermo Pantanal, at the price set The new Hydrocarbons Law for domestic consumption, ie a subsidized price.
Since 1983, Eike Batista, the Baron of energy ventures in various projects through its business group that includes as MPX (energy), AMX (water resources, claims to have discovered water in the Atacama desert, with which feed copper mines) and MMX (steel).
The 2006 Eike Batista has been rated by the international press as a speculator, because of the scandal that arose with the Termo Ceara, a thermoelectric plant in Brazil for which he won a contract signed harmful to former President Enrique Cardoso, which includes the clause entitled " contribution quota ", which Petrobras paid monthly for all costs of investment of the company without receiving any income.
The February 16, 2005, the company MPX (EBX company and U.S. MDU) was fined the sum of 2976 million reais for submitting false information to the National Electric Energy Agency ANEEL. The penalty had been applied in July 2004 but an appeal by EBX delayed the disclosure of investigations.
For the plant in Bolivia, EBX holds that 450000 require tons of charcoal from native forests. According to estimates by the Forestry Department and the same EBX, for the first phase will require not only deforestation entire Bolivian Pantanal and the whole German Busch province, but all the native forest region of Santa Cruz, at a rate of 12.750 hectares per year. Subsequently, the company intends to plant eucalyptus trees in the wetlands most important to the global climate.
Specifications and Draft Risk Sharing Contract Bid of Mutún, adapted to the company EBX and are being modified by the current government also established:
- That all obligations of the parties were suspended in As the environmental impact study is approved in final form by the competent authorities within 180 days of the contract approved and authorized by the legislature.
- The exclusive right of exploitation of deposits of limestone and manganese. As for the price, this is stipulated in Annex 4 and notes that will be calculated by multiplying the cost of production by 0.05% for each of these products. Furthermore, these payments will be considered as payment for participation in the venture. In other words, is not paid by the limestone and manganese, although this metal is considered a strategic element, its uses, its scarcity, as its high price.
- The use and enjoyment of all waters, surface rights, easements and customs relating to the contract area.
- The rooms of the school, hospital, housing and equipment in the contract area.
- Production should start only from the sixth year of signing the contract. Meanwhile, the investor could export raw ore, which was maintained after the start of production of pig iron and sponge iron, although limited to three times the amount of such production.
- The state would guarantee and ensure the gas supply in quantity and quality needed for the implementation of Shared Risk Contract, throughout the period of its validity, at the lowest price agreed to set the option of building a pipeline to this contract. This means that although the production of pig iron and sponge iron just would begin the 6th year, or that the investor had not proposed a process technology with high use of gas, since the beginning of the contract the state should ensure the provision of cheap gas .
- In case of conflict between the Shared Risk Contract and any law, contract prevailed.
- was established for the transferability of the rights of the company.
- were established as causes for terminating the contract:
- water supply interruption. The iron treatment process is highly demanding and highly polluting water.
- If the state does not ensure the peaceful possession
- If they had not granted the environmental license despite the legal requirements are met by the investor. No state can make such claims against itself, saying its officials can refuse licenses in contravention of established procedures.
- If you have not signed the contract for gas supplies on terms satisfactory in terms of quantity and prices.
Consequently, this is another great scam. Clearly, Eike Batista and his group of companies required to support the mobilization and disinformation they deem necessary to save investments in order to obtain approval from the Environmental License, even if it means leaving Santa Cruz without a square meter of native forest and the innumerable and negative social and environmental impacts in the region and the world.
is also clear that not interested in Mutún, but if you win the bidding for gas supply for its huge investments in Matto Grosso steel mining and Batista interests with its partners, deplete native forests of the Pantanal, something that can not do in Brazil. On January 24, 2006 the IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) fined with 24 million reais to two steel mills in Matto Grosso do Sul by irregularities in the use of charcoal.
blackmail carried out with the alleged dismissal of 500 workers and company EBX Bolinter who built the furnaces, the government's rejection of the environmental permit, conceal the fact that at the conclusion of the works will be fired anyway the workers. You can hide the information about the low employment generation in this type of industry and the only labor required will be as aggravating deforestation to be acquired at ludicrous prices.
Thus the quest for sustainability and the development of the region goes through:
Listening to the Voices of the Pantanal and chiquitanos, indigenous peoples, peasant communities in the province Germain Busch and especially the border towns such as San Pedrito, Chalera, San Juan del Mutún, Carmen de la Frontera and others whose fortunes only to transport, to access water, gas, services and education are dramatic as they watch helplessly as the Bolivian gas powers the activities across the border.
is time that the country turn its gaze to the Pantanal, the territory and its inhabitants, to know and value the knowledge, dedication and community expectations of the people of this region of the country, in order to generate profound changes in policies so far implemented the abandonment of border lands, delivery of resources and neglect of its people.
request the Embassy of Brazil in Bolivia make possible the immediate withdrawal of Bolivia EBX company, and give all the information concerning the processes facing justice in Brazil.
In the new period of change that the country can not afford to legalize the illegal. By the principles of sovereignty and independence, if EBX and other similar hydrocarbon and mining should be investigated and punished as appropriate, in compliance with the State Constitution, the Law on the Environment and the body existing policy.
country's natural resources are the heritage of Bolivians. Its use for development, job creation and economic growth requires the mainstreaming of policies to ensure social and environmental sustainability, ie to ensure the development of present and future generations.
April 21, 2006 __________________________
[1] International companies usually border, which operate on outsourcing by companies in another country where the final products are re-imported without payment of customs duties.
FOBOMADE
Forum Bolivian
on Environment and Development
Phone:
2 315059 Fax: 2 315058
comunicacion@fobomade.org.bo
http://www.fobomade.org.bo
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