HRW says Bolsonaro government policies threaten indigenous peoples

Human Right Watch condemned on Tuesday that the “harmful” policies and regulations adopted by Jair Bolsonaro’s government are fueling illegal activities and incursions against Brazil’s indigenous communities, “seriously” threatening the rights of those populations.

On the day of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, an NGO indicated that under the leadership of a far-right leader in Brazil the demarcation of indigenous territories was suspended and the bodies protecting them were weakened, leaving indigenous peoples “even more vulnerable”.

“The Brazilian government has transformed the agency responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples into an agency that puts those rights at risk,” said Maria Laura Canineu, Director Human Rights Watch (HRW) in Brazil- the message says.

According to Canineu, the policy pursued with Jair Bolsonaro came to power almost four years ago, called on those involved in illegal mining, poaching and the illegal timber trade to “encroach with impunity on indigenous lands, with devastating consequences for indigenous peoples and the environment.”

“Bureaucratic obstacles”

The human rights organization recalled that since he ran for president in 2018. Jair Bolsonaro He had already criticized the organizations responsible for looking after the indigenous peoples, and when he reached the highest position in the country, he fulfilled his promise to “beat them up.”

He also recalled the mass layoffs of government employees from the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), the “bureaucratic hurdles” placed in this and other organizations with direct or indirect relevance to indigenous peoples, and that indigenous leaders “and even members of the public ministries” were investigated by the police.

According to HRWthe number of specialized officials in the bodies responsible for the care of indigenous peoples and the environment has been significantly reduced under the current administration, which has facilitated the appointment of “deputies”, some of them “active military or police or from the reservation”, which created an atmosphere of “fear and intimidation” in entities.

The NGO also condemned that at least 241 indigenous territories are “pending” demarcation, which is a process that establishes territories that belong to indigenous peoples, providing them with legal certainty regarding collective rights over territories.

Added to this is a bill proposed by the government Jair Bolsonaro “which will prevent many indigenous peoples from regaining their traditional lands” as it forces them to prove that they were present in those places on October 5, 1988, the day the Brazilian Constitution was promulgated, a matter that is pending before the Supreme Court. Court.

Accumulation and exploitation of resources

Data from the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) show that in Brazil Seizure of indigenous land and exploitation of resources through illegal logging and illegal mining, hunting and fishing increased by 137% in 2020 compared to 2018, the year before arrival Jair Bolsonaro to power.

These activities have contributed to deforestation, especially in indigenous reserves in the Amazon, where deforestation in these areas increased by 138% in the first three years of the current government compared to the previous three years (2016-2018), according to the study. Social and Environmental Institute (ISA).

HRW He pointed out that the recent killings of Dom Phillips journalist and indigenous Bruno Araújo Pereira, who were killed in the vicinity of the Hawari Valley, an inhospitable place in the middle of the Amazonian jungle, are an example of the violence caused by this type of illegal activity. .

(As reported by EFE)

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