One of the most important papers in Brazil, Folha de S.Paulo, came out today with an astonishing interview with Blairo Maggi (above). For those who never heard of him, Mr Maggi is the Man (capital letters there) behind the soy production lobby in Brazil. A lovely bunch whose ultimate intention is to convert Brazil – and the Amazon forest – into a big massive ranch to feed the world with meat and… soya beans I suppose. The lobby has recently kicked out the respected environmentalist Marina Silva, at the head of the Ministry for Environment.
The reason why I am dedicating a whole post to talk about the almighty farmer is to compare a little the British press with their Brazilian peers. A while ago, on the 20th of May 2005, The Independent published a picture of Mr Maggi covering the whole of the front page with a gasping headline: The Rape of the Rainforest… and the Man Behind It. This is what I call a courageous, determined, straight-forward front page. In other words, this was a paper with round macho balls. I particularly like the precision of the term “the rape of the rainforest”.
Now, the Brazilian Folha de S.Paulo – who very roughly speaking could be considered the equivalent of The Independent in Brazil, as it is the least right-wing paper in the country – published a whole page interview with the Man accompanied by the headline: Wearing police uniforms, those kids think they come to save the world. That is quoted directly from Mr Maggi referring to the federal police who has recently clamped down on illegal farmers and loggers. So what we have here is a newspaper which is not only being deferential towards Mr. Maggi, but is handing him a speakerphone just so he can shout abuse at the conservation police.
Can you see the difference in treatment? That is the problem with Brazilian papers. They are scared, weak, hopeless, little Sissys comparing to papers like The Independent. Now, that´s because we are talking about print journalism. I blushed the other day to realize that there is no investigative weekly programmes on any of the seven regular open channels in Brazil. That´s none, nada, dot, zero. A man like Maggi would be enough to create a whole series of documentaries, let alone a television special report.
So here is an appeal to researchers at BBC´s Panorama or Channel 4´s Dispatches. Why not fill a gap, providing an important service to humanity and, perhaps, even win a couple of awards? Just give it a go at a short 15-minute documentary on the King of the Soya – there you go, a nice catchy little title. Perhaps, this could inspire some well-intentioned TV script-writer in Brazil to make a bio-pic or a six-month long soap-opera on the build of his empire. A sympathetic one, that is, but it would be something nevertheless.
1 response so far ↓
david // 1 November, 2008 at 6:55 pm |
i agree it is disturbing how the newspaper in Sao Paulo covers Blairo Maggi
obviously he intends to run for President in 2010
as for feeding the world , it is another example of those that belong to the supreme rich in brazil are so greedy , they are neevr contented and there is never enough !