Anais da ABC (cem anos): sobre paleontologia

Um número especial dos Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, comemorativo dos 110 anos da entidade, dedicado inteiramente à paleontologia brasileira:

Newsletter - Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences ISSUE 35 AABC - Volume 91 (Suppl. 2) 2019

	The present volume of the AABC is the last one to be published for the celebrations of the centenary of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. Here we have gathered a total of 20 interesting contributions in the field of paleontology. The reader will find the description of new fossil mammals and reptiles, including dinosaurs, pterosaurs and crocodylomorphs; biogeographic studies involving fishes; description of Jurassic conifer-like leaves, parasites in coprolites (ancient animal droppings); osteohistological studies; reviews of the so called Pleistocene megafauna when giant mammals roamed our planet; new geological information on important paleontological deposits; and much more! Last but not least, notice the editorial which provides a quick overview of the top fields covered by recent studies on fossils around the world. Please keep notice that previous editions of the Newsletter are available at the ABC website. All abstracts of the newsletters have been provided by the authors. Since 2000, all papers published by the AABC can be downloaded free of charge at the SciELO site. We are now inviting you to scroll through the text and click on the title of the article that interests you! Alexander W. A. Kellner Editor-in-Chief

	EARTH SCIENCES

	1- Distributional patterns of Aptian-Albian paleoichthyofauna of Brazil and Africa based on Track analysis Authors: Thaís C.C. Parméra, Valéria Gallo, Hilda M.A. da Silva and  Francisco J. de Figueiredo The distributional pattern of Aptian-Albian paleoicthyofauna is poorly known and therefore requires study. Useful tools to interpret these patterns are certain methodologies in Historical Biogeography. In our study, we analyze the Aptian-Albian paleoichthyofauna of Brazil and Africa using the track analysis. From the results (occurrences, individual tracks, generalized tracks and nodes), it was possible to obtain an overview of the biodiversity as well as the distributional pattern of fishes of this interval in Brazil and Africa, considering the events as the break-up of Gondwana, the formation of Atlantic Ocean, and eustatic movements that affected South America and Africa.  Read here

	2- Holocene history of a lake filling and vegetation dynamics of the Serra Sul dos Carajás, southeast Amazonia Authors: José T.F. Guimarães, Prafulla K. Sahoo, Pedro W.M. Souza-Filho, Mariana M.J. Costa de Figueiredo, Luiza S. Reis, Marcio S. da Silva and Tarcísio M. Rodrigues An interdisciplinary study in a lacustrine core of the Serra dos Carajás identified trends in Holocene paleoclimatology. Increase of debris from 9500 to 7000 cal yr BP suggests high weathering of catchment rocks, and deposition into the lake basin under mudflows. In addition, montane savanna and forest formation were already established suggesting predominance of wet climate. However, from 7000 to 3000 cal yr BP, a decline of debris input and forests indicated that lake levels dropped under drier climate. After 3000 cal yr BP, lake and forests acquired their current structures, which suggests return of wetter climate conditions.  Read here

	3- A new saurolophine hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Shandong, China Authors: Jialiang Zhang, Xiaolin Wang, Qiang Wang, Shunxing Jiang, Xin Cheng, Ning Li and Rui Qiu The Laiyang Hadrosauroid Fauna, represented by Tsintaosaurus and Tanius, is one of the most important Late Cretaceous dinosaur faunas in China, where Chinese geologists and paleontologists first reported dinosaurs, dinosaur eggs, pterosaurs, insects, and plants. Recently, a new saurolophine dinosaur, Laiyangosaurus youngi (new genus and species) has been described based on several cranial material from the Jingangkou Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of Laiyang. This new taxon is distinguished by four autapomorphies and a unique combination of characters. A phylogenetic analysis suggests that Laiyangosaurus lies in Edmontosaurini, a clade including Edmontosaurus, Shantungosaurus Kundurosaurus and Kerberosaurus.  Read here

	4- New Crocodyliform specimens from Recôncavo-Tucano Basin (Early Cretaceous) of Bahia, Brazil Authors: Rafael G. de Souza and Diogenes A. Campos  Four new crocodyliform specimens are described from the Early Cretaceous Bahia Supergroup (Recôncavo-Tucano Basin), which are an osteoderm, a fibula, a tibia, and some autopodial bones. No further identification besides Mesoeucrocodylia was made due to their fragmentary nature and the reduced number of recognized synapomorphies for more inclusive clades. With exception of the fibula, all other specimens have at least one particular feature, which could not be associated to any recognizable species. Those new specimens described here increase the diversity of Early Cretaceous crocodyliforms from Brazil highlighting the great fossiliferous potential of Recôncavo-Tucano Basin.  Read here

	5- A review of the Quaternary Scelidotheriinae (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Tardigrada) from the Tarija-Padcaya basin, Bolivia Authors: Ángel R. Miño-Boilini, Alfredo A. Carlini, Alfredo E. Zurita, Esteban Soibelzon and  Santiago M.  Rodríguez-Bualó  The subfamily Scelidotheriinae (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Tardigrada) constitutes a particular group of fossil ground sloth that inhabited South America since the middle Miocene to the early Holocene in the current territories of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador and Colombia. More precisely, in Bolivia the Tarija-Padcaya Valley contains one of the most important record of this ground sloths. In this contribution we carry out a taxonomic revision of the Scelidotheriinae present in this area in order to infer the diversity that this group reached during the Pleistocene. Our results indicate that only one species can be recognized as valid, Catonyx tarijensis.  Read here

	6- Baalsaurus mansillai gen. et sp. nov. a new titanosaurian sauropod (Late Cretaceous) from Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina Authors: Jorge O. Calvo and  Bernardo González Riga  There are more than 70 taxa of titanosaurid sauropods; however, just 10 of them have partial or complete dentaries. Baalsaurus mansillai, gen. et sp. nov. from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina presents a dentary with an unusual rectangular “L” shape with almost all alveoli on the anterior ramus. There are two types of morphology in titanosaur dentaries; “L” shaped or “U” shaped. Baalsaurus mansillai presents a ventrally and anteriorly inclined symphysis and a wide ventral Meckelian groove surrounded by a thin lamina that forms a keel on the ventral border of the dentary.  Read here

	7- A new protodidelphid (Mammalia, Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia) from the Itaboraí Basin and its implications for the evolution of the Protodidelphidae Author: Leonardo M. Carneiro The Protodidelphidae is an extinct group of opossum marsupials, which is presently represented only by the extant didelphids. The study describes a new representative of this group, named as Bergqvistherium primigenia. The Protodidelphidae was a generalized and rare group of marsupials before the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a paleoclimatic event that increased the global temperatures and the extension of the tropical forests. After the PETM, the protodidelphis increased in size, diversity, abundance, and acquired evident adaptations to frugivory. The study supports the PETM as the main environmental event responsible for the evolution of this group.  Read here

	8- First record of Acanthocephala parasites eggs in coprolites preliminary assigned to Crocodyliformes  from the  Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous), São Paulo,  Brazil  Authors: Daniel F.F. Cardia, Reinaldo J. Bertini, Lucilene G.  Camossi and Luiz  A. Letizio This paper presents the oldest record of Acanthocephala eggs, dating 80-70 million years, in a coprolite assigned to Crocodyliformes from the Adamantina Formation, recovered in sedimentary rocks of the region of Santo Anastácio Municipality, Southwestern São Paulo State, Brazil. For this, a paleoparasitological investigation was carried out on 53 coprolites. After laboratory processing, the presence of four Acanthocephala eggs, group of intestinal helminths that still parasitize several vertebrates worldwide, could be observed in sample of one of these ichnofossils. Our study inaugurates investigations about Veterinary Paleoparasitology in Crocodylomorpha coprolites from the Bauru Group, Campanian-Maastrichtian, Upper Cretaceous from the Paraná Basin.  Read here

	9- The Neostratotype of Itapecuru Formation (Lower-Middle Albian) and Its Impact for Mesozoic Stratigraphy of Parnaíba Basin Author: Francisco J. Corrêa-Martins  The research that established the Itapecuru Formation neostratotype of the Mesozoic section of the Parnaíba Basin discovered that the lithological unit is mainly composed of mudrocks, contrary to previous studies. The establishment of their lithofacies and associations allowed them to be interpreted as part of an anastomosed river system, deposited under a semi-arid paleoclimate marked by seasonality. It is important to highlight that the petrographic analysis revealed the frequent occurrence of carbonized phytoclasts, which indicates the existence of significant vegetation near the channels, as well as the periodic occurrence of fires, during part of the deposition of the Itapecuru Formation.  Read here

	10- Permineralized conifer-like leaves from the Jurassic of Patagonia (Argentina) and its paleoenvironmental implications  Authors: Georgina M.  Del Fueyo, Silvia C.  Gnaedinger, Maiten A. Lafuente Diaz and  Martín A. Carrizo Anatomically preserved conifer-like leaves from the Middle Jurassic La Matilde Formation  in Patagonia are described. The general foliar habit indicates affinity with the large, multi-veined leaves of the Araucariaceae. Anatomically, the permineralized leaves exhibit xeromorphic foliar features: thick-walled epidermal cells, isobilateral mesophyll with well-developed palisade cells and mechanical tissue. The general leaf anatomy along with sedimentological data may suggest that during the deposition of the La Matilde Formation at the Barda Blanca locality, the parent plant was well adapted to a high light intensity with an adequate quantity of water in the soil increasing the maximum leaf conductance of CO2.  Read here

	11-Mammal tooth traces in a ferruginous cave in southeastern Brazil and their relevance to cave legal protection Authors: André G. Vasconcelos, Jonathas S. Bittencourt and Augusto S. Auler  We describe the first occurrence of biogenic alterations made by mammal teeth within an iron formation cave at Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The traces are a product of geophagy or sharpening of teeth. The traces were compared with tooth traces artificially imprinted. This assessment suggested that at least seven extant rodents are potential tracemakers, all of them still living in the area. The age of the traces is unknown, thus its relevance to paleontology is elusive. Yet, regardless of their fossil nature, ichnological features should be considered as an additional value for cave protection, according to the Brazilian legislation.  Read here

	12- Osteohistology of the silesaurid Sacisaurus agudoensis from southern Brazil (Late Triassic)  and implications for growth in early dinosaurs Authors: Fábio H. Veiga, Jennifer Botha-Brink, Ana Maria Ribeiro, Jorge Ferigolo and  Marina B. Soares  In this contribution, we provide the first osteohistological description of the limb bones of the silesaurid Sacisaurus agudoensis. The analysis reveals uninterrupted fibrolamellar bone tissue indicating rapid growth. Importantly, we discuss the growth pattern of this taxon and the hypothesis that simpler vascular pattern appears to be typical of all silesaurids studied to date which indicates relatively slower growth rates compared to Dinosauria. Given that few silesaurids taxa have been analyzed histologically, our study helps to fills the knowledge gap on dinosauriform growth, which is an important contribution towards understanding the acquisition of dinosaur osteohistological characteristics and hence growth patterns.  Read here

	13- New material  of Sinopterus (Pterosauria, Tapejaridae) from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of China Authors: Xinjun Zhang, Shunxing Jiang, Xin Cheng and Xiaolin Wang  Tapejaridae is a clade of toothless pterosaurs typically characterized by a large nasoantorbital fenestra and a premaxillary crest that extends from the anterior to the posterior part of the skull. Sinopterus dongi was the first reported Chinese tapejarid. Another genus “Huaxiapterus” was described, but it was later on determined that “Huaxiapterus” is in fact an invalid name. Here, we report on a new juvenile specimen of Sinopterus atavismus from the Jiufotang Formation of western Liaoning, China, and revise the diagnosis of this species.  Read here

	14- An overview of the appendicular skeletal anatomy of South American titanosaurian sauropods, with definition of a newly recognized clade  Authors: Bernardo J. González Riga, Matthew C. Lamanna, Alejandro Otero, Leonardo D. Ortiz David, Alexander W.A.  Kellner and  Lucio M. Ibiricu Sauropods were long-necked plant-eating dinosaurs that exceeded all other land-living backboned animals in maximum body size. Representatives of the sauropod subgroup Titanosauria were the most abundant and diverse herbivorous dinosaurs in the Southern Hemisphere landmasses during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period, in the few tens of millions of years prior to the mass extinction that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago. In the present paper, Bernardo J. González Riga and colleagues present an extensive study of the shoulder, hip, and limb bones of South American titanosaurs, and recognize the presence of a newly-identified titanosaur lineage that they name Colossosauria (meaning “giant dinosaurs”). Colossosaurs include the heaviest terrestrial animals known to date (with maximum masses reaching as much as 50–70 tons), such as the Argentinean forms Argentinosaurus, Patagotitan, and Notocolossus, the latter boasting a powerfully-built humerus 1.76 m in length. The extreme body size of the largest titanosaurs poses considerable challenges for understanding the behavior and locomotion of these enormous animals.  Read here

	15- Morphology of the megaspore Lagenoisporites magnus (Chi and Hills 1976) Candilier et al. (1982), from the Carboniferous (lower Mississippian: mid-upper Tournaisian) of Bolivia Authors: Marcela Quetglas, Cecilia Macluf and  Mercedes Di Pasquo Megaspores assigned to Lagenoisporites magnus, from mid-upper Tournaisian of Bolivia, were studied using light, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy. Megaspores were laterally compressed and presented a spherical body, bearing complex processes, and a proximal hologula with verrucae. These megaspores were assigned to the Lepidocarpaceae (arborescent lycopsids), as in section view, exospore structure presented a three-dimensional network of fused elements. Due to its similarity to the Isoetes structure, it is evident that megaspores structure has remained intact inside the heterosporous lycopsids. Therefore; the L. magnus structure not only would confirm its affinity with Lycophyta fossils but also with the living ones.  Read here

	16- A dinosaur ilium from the Late Triassic of Brazil with comments on key-character supporting Saturnaliinae   Authors: Maurício S. Garcia, Flávio A. Pretto, Sérgio Dias-da-Silva and Rodrigo T.  Müller A dinosaur specimen from Brazilian Triassic rocks with the oldest dinosaur records worldwide reinforces the idea that early dinosaurs experienced considerable variation along its development stages. Thus, when these issues are overlooked, specimens at different development stages may be misidentified as distinct taxa. Therefore, the specimen led us to identify a possible development pathway regarding morphological variations present in the pelvic girdle of several early dinosaurs, especially sauropodomorphs, members of the lineage that would give rise to the largest terrestrial vertebrates the planet has ever witnessed.  Read here

	17- A new toothless pterosaur (Pterodactyloidea) from Southern Brazil with insights into the paleoecology of a Cretaceous desert Authors: Alexander W.A. Kellner, Luiz C. Weinschütz, Borja Holgado, Renan A.M. Bantim and Juliana M.  Sayão  A new extinct flying reptile is described. Named Keresdrakon vilsoni, the new species was recovered from Southern Brazil from a deposit that several million of years ago represented an oasis in a desert. More important than revealing the new species, the study shows the first direct evidence of sympatry in pterosaurs: two species occurred in the same geographical region each specializing on different prey items. Also, a dinosaur co-occurred in the same area, allowing a glimpse into the paleoecology of an ancient desert. Keresdrakon most likely had a solitary behavior and was feeding on small pterosaurs or scavenged carcasses of dinosaurs.  Read here

	18- Osteoderm microstructure of Riostegotherium yanei, the oldest Xenarthra Authors: Lílian P. Bergqvist, Paulo Victor Luiz G.C. Pereira, Alessandra S.  Machado, Mariela C. de Castro, Luiza  B. Melki and Ricardo T. Lopes Riostegotherium yanei, from Itaboraí Basin, Brazil, is the oldest Xenarthra so far (Early Eocene). It was defined based on isolated osteoderms, and this paper aims to describe them from the perspective of histology and micro-CT approaches, expanding the available data on cingulate osteoderm microstructure. The osteoderms have a three-layered structure composed of two layers of non-Haversian compact bone enclosing a central layer of primary and secondary osteons. This internal organization is distinct from other Astegotheriini of comparable age, but similar to the extant Dasypus. The 3D reconstruction of revealed two patterns of internal organization, one with larger cavities and the other with smaller, more numerous, and more interconnected cavities.  Read here

	19- Pterodactyloid pterosaur bones from Cretaceous deposits of the Antarctic Peninsula Authors: Alexander W.A. Kellner, Taissa Rodrigues, Fabiana R. Costa, Luiz C. Weinschütz, Rodrigo G. Figueiredo, Geovane A. de Souza, Arthur S. Brum, Lúcia H.S. Eleutério, Carsten W. Mueller, Juliana M. Sayão Extinct vertebrate remains from Antarctica are comparatively rare and quite hard to find due to the climatic conditions that makes prospection for fossils difficult. The expeditions carried out by the PALEOANTAR project have recovered hundreds of isolated bones in several sites of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here we report the first pterosaur elements found in Late Cretaceous deposits of the James Ross and Vega islands which, despite their incompleteness, show that large flying reptiles were widespread through all parts of the planet, including the Antarctic Peninsula.  Read here

	BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

	20-The Evolution of Pneumatic Foramina in Pterosaur Vertebrae Authors: Richard Buchmann and Taissa Rodrigues A cladistical analysis was performed after the incorporation of eight new characters referring to the position of pneumatic foramina present in the vertebral column of pterosaurs, which not explored in data matrix previously suggested. Posteriorly, these new characters were mapped in the strict consensus tree, this is significant because the mapping has potential to verify possible homologies on the skeletal pneumatization in pterosaurs. According to our analysis, the mapping identified that most of the added characters evolved independently in several lineages, and just in two of the eight characters appeared once in the evolution of the clade.  Read here

	All abstracts of the publications were provided by the respective authors.

Lições da Revolução Francesa - John O. McGinnis (Law and Liberty)

Lessons of the French Revolution

by John O. McGinnisLaw and Liberty, 

February 20, 2020

Other than the American Revolution, the French Revolution is the political event of modernity with the longest-lasting influence. Both revolutions created new regimes (although only America’s lasted) and advanced political ideals that still resonate around the world. It is not a surprise that famous politicians of recent times still assess an upheaval that occurred 200 years ago in a different nation than their own: “It resulted in a lot of headless corpses and a tyrant” was Margaret Thatcher’s verdict on its 200th birthday. Zhou Enlai was less certain, suggesting that even after 175 years, it was “too soon to tell” about the revolution’s ultimate significance.

Thus, it is always worth learning more about the French Revolution, and Jeremy Popkin’s The New World Begins is the most important English language history of this epochal event since Simon Schama’s Citizens appeared 30 years ago. Its fair-minded and fast-paced recounting of the events allows for a reassessment of the Revolution’s causes and of its value. Popkin provides a brilliant frame for understanding what sparked and sustained the revolt by contrasting the life of Louis XVI, the French King who lost his head, with one of his subjects, Jacques Menetra, a skilled glazier who left a full memoir of his own life in the turbulent times.

Louis XVI was not unintelligent, but his entire education and routine left him unfit to understand his nation, let alone deal shrewdly with a political cataclysm. His lessons as a youngster focused on the glorious past of his ancestors, and his routine as an adult confined his experience, giving him few opportunities to meet with people outside fawning courtiers. It is thus not surprising that Bourbons like Louis “learned nothing and forgot nothing” in Talleyrand’s well-known jibe. Incredibly, Louis XVI journeyed outside the environs of Paris only once before his failed attempt to escape abroad in 1791.

In contrast, Menetra traveled around much of France. While he was not well-educated, he was literate and skilled in creating social (not to mention sexual) networks wherever he went. The country, Popkin implies, was full of Menetras. Their collective power and intelligence overmatched a monarchy that had few reliable sources of information and a self-understanding that was at least a century out of date.

Nevertheless, I believe Popkin could have done more with his framing device by briefly juxtaposing Menetra with a skilled and propertied artisan of the American colonies just prior to their Revolution. The important contrast there is that for all his worldliness Menetra had no experience of popular government. Even those colonists who did not vote heard through newspapers about their colonial assemblies, and many Americans of Menetra’s class actually participated in governance. The representative assemblies of colonial America before its revolution thus sharply contrast with the complete absence of any popular input into government in France.

To be sure, the French monarchy was not absolutist. The most important restraints on its power were thirteen “parlements” that sat throughout the country. These were not legislatures, however, but judges, often holding hereditary office. While they sometimes opposed the King, they were nobles themselves, not republican schoolmasters educating their countrymen in the exercise of popular responsibility. When in 1789 the King summoned an Estates General, a legislative assembly composed of the three classes of nobles, religious officials, and commoners, it was the first time it had met since 1612!

As a result, people like Menetra had no sense of the give-and-take of representative government, and no appreciation of pluralism. The absence of this tradition helps explain why the Revolution, from the taking of the Bastille on, was again and again propelled by popular uprisings when part of the population either became incensed at some turn of events or was manipulated to support a faction in the National Assembly, the body that rapidly succeeded the Estates General when the commoners declared themselves a unicameral assembly. Americans were skilled at compromise because of their long experience of representation in the colonies, but the French relied on direct and violent action, being wholly unschooled in any institution of representative government.

Edmund Burke observed that French philosphes abetted the violence of the Revolution because their abstract theories did not grow organically from political experience. But France had not even fledgling democratic experience on which their political philosophers could draw. As Bernard Bailyn makes clear in his great book, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, many of the English political philosophers on which the colonists relied were themselves practical statesmen, like the Earl of Shaftesbury, or at least advisors to such statesmen, like John Locke. In contrast, Jean-Jacques Rousseau—the patron philosopher of the Revolution—had no substantial connection to politicians. His theory of the General Will, which posits that there is a collective will for the general good that can be sharply distinguished from the view of particular groups within society, discouraged compromise because it made it easier for any faction to fancy itself the sole reflection of that general will. When American statesmen like John Adams read his works, they thought him mad.

Popkin’s narrative shows how many of the famous actors in the Revolution—from Georges Danton to Maximillian Robespierre—were borne along by the current of a people unlearned in democracy. As a result, the leaders of the Revolution had little choice but to engage in conspiracies against other factions, because they rightly feared that other factions would also seek to conspire against them, mobilizing the French street at the first opportunity. Danton still has statues in his honor in France and is often contrasted as the good revolutionary compared to the bloodthirsty Robespierre (much like Lenin was once contrasted with Stalin). But in this book, Danton comes across as just a less deft (and more corrupt) schemer in the days of the Terror. Indeed, Robespierre is shown to be more moderate than this reputation. There were politicians farther to his left who were even more eager to destroy the past, whatever the cost, particularly when it came to the Catholic Church. Robespierre tried to restrain them.

My greatest disagreement with this outstanding achievement of narrative history is the author’s ultimately positive assessment of the French Revolution. At one point he somewhat excuses the Terror, while lamenting its dreadful excesses, by noting that the Revolution could probably not have survived without it. But on balance, why was the survival of the Revolution desirable? For instance, if Louis XVI had escaped (and it was his lack of ruthlessness in refusing to leave his family behind that doomed his attempt) and had come back with an army to put down the rebellion, the world and France would likely have been better off in the short and long term. Louis XVI was more moderate than the Bourbon brothers who succeeded him after the Restoration and could well have begun the transition to a constitutional monarchy. In any event, the current of the times was such that transition would have occurred.

As it was, the immediate legacy of the revolution was a military dictatorship under Napoleon that killed millions of the French and other Europeans in wars of conquest. That dictatorship—predicted by Edmund Burke ten years earlier—was a direct reaction to the continual chaos of the Revolution. And Napoleon’s wars were a continuation of the wars of revolutionary liberation that began almost as soon as the Bastille fell.

Even in peace and even in its home country, the legacy of the revolution continues to be an unfortunate one. When democratically elected French leaders try to make needed political reforms against vested interests, like unaffordable pensions for select groups, they are generally defeated by strikes and illegal disruptions. The spirit of the Revolution lives on in France as an impediment to democratic compromise and, even more ironically, as a protector of anachronistic privilege.

John O. McGinnis is the George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law at Northwestern University. His book Accelerating Democracy was published by Princeton University Press in 2012. McGinnis is also the coauthor with Mike Rappaport of Originalism and the Good Constitution published by Harvard University Press in 2013 . He is a graduate of Harvard College, Balliol College, Oxford, and Harvard Law School. He has published in leading law reviews, including the Harvard, Chicago, and Stanford Law Reviews and the Yale Law Journal, and in journals of opinion, including National Affairs and National Review.

Embaixador Nestor Forster: programa de trabalho nos EUA

'Quer proteger a Amazônia? Compre mais do Brasil’, diz escolhido por Bolsonaro para a embaixada nos EUA

O diplomata Nestor Forster terá seu nome ainda submetido pelo plenário do Senado

O Globo, 18/02/2020

https://oglobo.globo.com/mundo/quer-proteger-amazonia-compre-mais-do-brasil-diz-escolhido-por-bolsonaro-para-embaixada-nos-eua-24258400

SÃO PAULO - Aprovado pela Comissão de Relações Exteriores do Senado na última quinta-feira para assumir a Embaixada do Brasil nos Estados Unidos, o diplomata Nestor Forster, 56 anos, disse em entrevista ao GLOBO que entre suas prioridades estará atuar para dirimir o que chama de fake news a respeito da Amazônia. No ano passado, diante das queimadas e índices de desmatamento da floresta, vários congressistas americanos apresentaram projetos para dificultar o comércio entre os dois países como uma forma de retaliação a questões ambientais. 

"Penalizar a exportação de empresas brasileiras usando a Amazônia como desculpa é algo que prejudica a Amazônia, porque as grandes empresas que exportam são as que têm mais recursos para observar a lei ambiental. É contraproducente", afirmou Forster. Antes de assumir a embaixada em Washington, um dos principais postos da diplomacia, ele ainda precisa ter seu nome submetido ao plenário do Senado, o que deve ocorrer nos próximos dias.

Leia mais:Ideia de alinhamento automático com os EUA é mito, diz Forster

Qual o seu plano de trabalho, se for aprovado pelo plenário?

Se eu vier a ser aprovado pelo plenário do Senado, tenho um desafio enorme para dar forma concreta a esta imensa energia que existe na relação entre o presidente [Jair] Bolsonaro e o presidente [Donald] Trump. Queremos promover uma aproximação do Brasil em áreas como comércio e investimentos, atrair mais investimentos americanos para o Brasil, gerar mais emprego e renda aqui para os brasileiros. Queremos ter maior acesso ao mercado americano, isso é algo que queremos perseguir como objetivo de médio prazo. E a coisa que  podemos fazer mais rapidamente é na facilitação de negócios, de reduzir os elementos do custo Brasil.

Que outras áreas podem ser incentivadas?

Nós temos imensa agenda na área de cooperação científica e tecnológica, no tema espacial, utilização da Base de Alcântara (Maranhão) para o lançamento de satélites, e, além disso, temos a possibilidade de aprofundar a cooperação na  área de defesa e segurança.

O senhor também tem planos de deixar um legado cultural em Washington?

Sim, a gente começou uma série de eventos culturais, promovendo um concerto de Villa-Lobos, a peça “Pulando como um saci” fez grande sucesso, conseguimos encher o auditório da embaixada. E temos talvez o maior tesouro brasileiro nos Estados Unidos, a biblioteca que o diplomata e historiador Oliveira Lima (1867-1928) doou a uma universidade de Washington. Eram originalmente 30 mil obras, hoje são 60 mil, e pelo menos 5 mil delas são obras raras. É a maior biblioteca brasileira fora do Brasil. A ideia seria trabalhar com a Universidade Católica, onde isso está localizado, para fazermos um grande centro de estudos ibero-americano, como era o desejo do Oliveira Lima, deixando uma marca perene da cultura brasileira na capital americana.

Mas como seria este centro?

Não quero soar megalômano, mas a obra está lá, se trata de trabalhar com a universidade para conseguir doações, financiamento. A universidade poderia doar o terreno, há grandes empresas brasileiras que poderiam ter interesse nisso, não só do estado de Pernambuco, de onde veio Oliveira Lima, que poderiam fazer o seu aporte e deixar a sua marca.

O senhor tem falado muito também com os produtores de vinhos do Brasil...

Conversei com todas as principais vinícolas brasileiras, as do Sul mas também as do Vale de São Francisco, o prefeito de Petrolina (PE) esteve na embaixada, e precisamos ampliar a presença do vinho brasileiro, não apenas como “enfeite diplomático”, mas com uma presença comercial. A nossa ideia é fazer um grande evento de degustação de vinho brasileiro em Washington no segundo semestre e levar os produtores para entrar em contato com os distribuidores locais. É um setor com valor agregado, que gera emprego e renda. Vamos tornar uma rotina servir produtos brasileiros, começando pelo vinho, em nossos eventos da embaixada. Depois podemos avançar para outros, é o que se chama soft power. Eu brinco sempre, ninguém vai na Embaixada da Suécia e sai de lá sem comer um salmão. A Embaixada da Itália em Washington tem uma cantina que é uma beleza. É uma forma de difundir a cultura brasileira a partir destes produtos.

Parte da agenda que o senhor prevê para este ano pode ser afetada pelas eleições americanas?

De forma alguma. Isso introduz um elemento de certa complexidade, mas a relação entre os países não deve parar e não podemos perder este “momentum” que foi gerado pela excelente relação entre os dois presidentes.

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Mas, no lado democrata, os principais candidatos têm falado muito sobre o Brasil, quase sempre de maneira crítica por causa da questão amazônica. Uma eventual troca de poder não pode prejudicar esta relação entre Brasil e EUA?

É muito cedo para especular sobre isso, os elementos que vão definir o futuro da campanha eleitoral americana não estão dados ainda. O papel da diplomacia é procurar esclarecer a realidade, os fatos, os dados. Não estamos em Washington para fazer propaganda para o Brasil e nem para distorcer nada. Ao contrário, queremos corrigir os exageros, as desinformações que às vezes circulam e que podem prejudicar a imagem do país. Às vezes temos até interesse protecionista disfarçado de preocupação ambiental, e nossa obrigação é, imediatamente, mostrar os fatos. 84% da Amazônia estão  de pé, e muito bem, graças ao Brasil. O mundo deveria agradecer ao Brasil por ser a potência ambiental que é.

Mas no último ano vários congressistas apresentaram projetos para dificultar o comércio entre os dois países por questões ambientais. Isso pode prosperar?

Não acredito. Quando surgiu este tipo de iniciativa no Congresso, nós procuramos deputados e senadores dos dois partidos, mostrando os fatos, qual o problema da queimada, qual a sua extensão. Mostramos que o último ano está na média dos últimos dez anos, houve anos com muito mais queimadas, como 2005, 2007 e 2010, que a preocupação com o meio ambiente é enorme no governo de Jair Bolsonaro. Tanto que a Operação Verde Brasil foi a maior mobilização do país contra queimadas, com 43 mil soldados, 2.500 bombeiros, equipamentos sem precedentes envolvidos nisso.

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Mas no exterior a visão é de que o Brasil está passando por uma crise ambiental.

A política ambiental do presidente Bolsonaro leva em conta que temos 25 milhões de brasileiros que vivem na Amazônia, região com o mais baixo IDH do país. E não podemos cercar a Amazônia e transformá-la em um imenso parque para que europeus e americanos ricos passem suas férias. Temos que pensar nestes 25 milhões de brasileiros que estão lá, dar a eles oportunidade de emprego, melhor renda, serviços públicos de melhor qualidade. E isso vem como? Com projetos sustentáveis na área da bioeconomia. Há uma enormidade de coisas que podem ser feitas. Temos empresas brasileiras pioneiras na área de cosméticos, fármacos, a área de piscicultura tem um potencial enorme. Os peixes amazônicos podem ter uma criação sustentada e trazer mais renda para a região, além de toda a área do ecoturismo, que tem melhorado muito. É disso que se trata. Penalizar a exportação de empresas brasileiras usando a Amazônia como desculpa é algo que prejudica a Amazônia, porque as grandes empresas que exportam são as que têm mais recursos para observar a lei ambiental. É contraproducente. Quer proteger a Amazônia? Compre mais do Brasil, não menos, isso vai gerar renda e recursos até para a preservação.

Dada a proximidade entre Bolsonaro e Trump, a reeleição do republicano em novembro seria melhor para o país?

Nós trabalharemos com o resultado que vier das urnas do povo americano.

Tem crescido muito o aumento de deportações de brasileiros detidos na fronteira dos EUA, que tentam entrar ilegalmente no país. Como o senhor pretende lidar com este tema?

Há preocupação sobre isso, aumentou muito o número de brasileiros apreendidos na fronteira, de 1.600 em 2018 para cerca de 18 mil no ano passado, 95% são famílias. Então temos duas dimensões: primeiro de assistência consular e humanitária, e temos dez consulados nos EUA que procuram prestar toda a assistência a estes brasileiros. Eu digo e repito: para os consulados brasileiros, não há brasileiro ilegal, vai ser atendido como qualquer outro, sem nenhuma pergunta sobre situação migratória nos EUA, isso é um problema das autoridades americanas. Porém, temos alguns limites para ver se há alguma discriminação, se as instalações são adequadas, se dramas humanos específicos têm sido tratados. A outra dimensão é a razão para este aumento expressivo de brasileiros. Segundo investigação da Polícia Federal, o aumento está relacionado à migração dos coiotes, organizações de crimes organizados. Não vamos romantizar este pessoal, eles traficam pessoas e drogas, e costumavam levar centro-americanos para para os EUA, mas como o México fechou sua fronteira sul, eles se voltaram ao Brasil. Temos violação de interesse de menores, aluguel de crianças para pseudofamílias, coisas que nos preocupam muito. A comunidade brasileira nos Estados Unidos tem uma imagem muito boa: ordeira, trabalhadora, alegre e festiva.

O que pode surgir da nova visita do presidente Bolsonaro aos EUA, para a Flórida, em março?

Essa visita é mais um bom momento de nosso relacionamento bilateral, e o presidente vai realizar uma agenda em um seminário de investimentos em Miami. O Brasil é o maior investidor externo na Flórida, são cerca de US$ 20 bilhões. Há um grande interesse das autoridades do próprio estado nesta visita. Vai ter este componente de investimento. O presidente também deverá ter contato com a comunidade brasileira na Flórida, que é muito expressiva. Vai assinalar mais um ponto da excelência do relacionamento entre o Brasil e os EUA, do muito que temos a fazer juntos.

Imigração:EUA deportam mais 130 brasileiros, e há pelo menos 139 na fila para devolução

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