Solidarity to Indigenous People in Brazil: denounce genocide

April 19, 2021 - Indigenous People Day in Brazil

Translated by Mauricio Pupo from Montreal, QC, Comitê de Luta - Canadá; Membro da FIBRA - Our huge thanks to Mauricio for the support!

(Rezador Guarani e Kaiowá durante protesto na manhã desta segunda (19) na Praça dos Três Poderes, em Brasília. Photo: Tiago Miotto/Cimi)

On this 19th of April, a symbolic date dedicated to the indigenous peoples, in memory of our ancestors and of the leadership who fell in battle, we are here to reaffirm the fight for our rights. 

We do not accept that a genocidal government, along with politicians close to the agribusiness and mining industries, promote scams in the attempt of attacking our rights and create an environment prone to the approval of projects aimed at the exploitation and DEVASTATION of our lands.

The coronavirus, allied to the criminal disregard of the Bolsonaro administration, already took the lives of 1000 natives, infected 52 thousand and affected over 160 peoples, according to data from the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB). In several cases, it took the elderly, guardians of our ancestral wisdom. We demand the immediate vaccination of all natives of Brazil, including of those who live in an urban environment, as per the decision of the Supreme Court (STF). 

The administration of captain Bolsonaro takes advantage of a sanitary crisis scenario, which he strengthened himself, to impose his agenda and his death-oriented projects, among them the PL 191/2020 which opens up mining, the exploitation of hydric resources and other projects of destruction in our lands; PL 490/07 prevents the demarcation of our lands. 

So we have decided to come to the federal capital, aware of the risks we face at the moment, because it is our understanding that the risks brought by the death-oriented projects of the Bolsonaro government are even greater, they commit our lands and the future of our generations and can cause our genocide. We are placing our lives at risk today so our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have the possibility of a dignified life tomorrow. 

To soften the risks we run, we are taking all the measures at our reach: only leaderships already immunized with the second dose of the vaccine are taking part of our delegations. We are keeping social distancing, the use of masks and alcohol gel, and further care to avoid contamination. We will look after ourselves - as much as we have during this last year. 

We are here to show support to the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), their leaderships and actions. We enhance, with our mobilization, the Manifest broadcast by the APIB on this 19th April 2021. 

We demand the immediate resumption of all indigenous lands of Brazil, which are completely paralyzed since the current government took office. May the delegate indicated by the rural bench as the chair of Funai stop serving anti-indigenous interests and fulfill his institutional role in implementing our rights. 

We are here to defend the constitutional right to the exclusive usufruct of our lands. We denounce that cases of exploitation of indigenous lands by non-indigenous persons, such as the leases, logging and mining, among others, are used by farmers, gold prospectors, loggers and some politicians as a strategic mechanism of division and the promotion of internal conflicts in indigenous lands. 

We demand the immediate retreat of all invaders who exploit illegally and criminally our lands. 

We are here to defend and thank the Supreme Court, their judges, for the rulings in the framework of ADPF 709 (which obliged the government to present a plan of combat against the coronavirus among the nations and determined the withdrawal of invaders indigenous lands); for the Severance Action 2686 (which reopened discussions about the demarcation of Guyraroká Indigenous Lands); for the injunctions issued in the framework of the Special Appeal Motion 1.017.365, with the Effect (which prevented evictions of our communities and administrative and judicial setbacks in the demarcation of our lands). 

We reiterate the request to the Head of the Supreme Court, Judge Luiz Fux, to set in motion, urgently, the ruling of the Special Appeal Motion 1.017.365, with Effect. 

We are here to denounce and fight against the thesis of the Legal Framework. We defend the original rights over our lands. In that sense, we demand and expect that all Judges of the Supreme Court, upon ruling on the Special Appeal Motion above mentioned, scrap once and for all the so-called Legal Framework and reaffirm for once the original rights over our lands. 

The Pandemic will pass. The cattle here will not. Fora Bolsonaro. 

Brasília, DF, 19th April 2021.

Rezador Guarani e Kaiowá durante protesto na manhã desta segunda (19) na Praça dos Três Poderes, em Brasília. Crédito da foto: Tiago Miotto/Cimi