Brazil: enterprise of the Marinho and Armínio Fraga families becomes a target of the Federal Public Ministry

The Brazilian Federal Public Ministry (MPF) has asked the government of Bahia to revoke the construction permit for a mega tourist development in a federal public area.

The site is located on Boipeba Island, Cairu, in the Brazilian State of Bahia (BA), and is reserved for traditional communities.

The MPF’s request was made on Tuesday, 14.

The company interested in the enterprise is ‘Mangaba Cultivo de Coco’ (Mangaba Coconut Grow), one of the partners of which is businessman José Roberto of the Marinho family, current vice-president of the Globo Group board of directors.

Armínio Fraga, economist and former president of the Central Bank, is also a member of the company, which is trying to make the project on the Island of Boipeba viable.

The MPF asked the Institute of Environment and Water Resources of Bahia (Inema) not to authorize or license any development in federal public areas, especially those involving traditional communities protected by the Constitution in the areas of Cova da Onça, Monte Alegre, Moreré, Boipeba, Garapuá, and Batateira, in Cairu.

On March 7th of this year, Inema authorized the beginning of the works.

In addition, a request was sent to the Superintendence of Union Patrimony in Bahia (SPU/BA) to cancel any occupation registration or similar act in favor of Mangaba Cultivo de Coco or any of its partners or successors, natural or legal persons.

Jointly, the SPU must also evaluate the situation of all the registrations (Union property) on the islands of Tinharé and Boibepa (southern Bahia), guaranteeing the sustainable use of the territory in favor of the traditional communities.

The public prosecutors Ramiro Rockenbach and Paulo Marques, who signed the letters, state that the actions of Inema have been an obstacle to the way of being, living, and existing of the traditional communities in Bahia.

They also say the measures aim to ensure the “due protection of the rights of traditional peoples and communities.”

THE MARINHO AND FRAGA FAMILY ENTERPRISE

The Mangaba Cultivo de Coco economic group intends to build a mega-development of almost 1,700 hectares on the Castelhanos Farm, formerly the Cova da Onça Farm, in an area equivalent to almost 20% of Boipeba Island.

The initial project foresees 69 lots for permanent and summer residences, two inns of 3,500 square meters each, 82 houses, a leisure park, a pier and nautical infrastructure, an aerodrome, and an area for a golf course of 3.7 million square meters.

According to the MPF, the project violates the guidelines and recommendations of the Tinharé-Boipeba Environmental Protection Area Management Plan.

It also directly affects coastal ecosystems of extreme vulnerability, such as mangroves and beach strips, and disproportionate water consumption.

With information from Revista Oeste