Indians urge Brazil’s next President to protect ancestral land

This page was created in 2010 and may contain language which is now outdated.

Indians representing many of Brazil’s 233 tribes have demanded that the country’s next President map out their ancestral land which has been taken from them for industrial projects, cattle ranching, and soya planting.

They also call for the suspension of large-scale industrial projects which will irreversibly damage their land, improved health and education services, and a more participatory role in the restructuring of FUNAI, the government’s Indian affairs department.

These demands are set out in a letter sent to the presidential candidates following a landmark protest against the theft of Indigenous land and the killing of their leaders.

More than 600 Indians attended the protest, which took place in Mato Grosso do Sul state to draw attention to the critical situation of the Guarani Indians who live there.

The Indians state in their letter, ‘Here, cattle, sugarcane, eucalyptus and soya are worth more than the life of an Indigenous child, more than a human life’.

Anastácio Peralta Guarani said at the protest, ‘The big companies step all over us, but we must not become disheartened – we must fight!’

A Guarani Indian from Laranjeira Nanderu community, which has been living on the side of a highway for almost two years, said, ‘Many babies have died. Many people are ill because we don’t have food or water. We are dying there’.

Earlier this week, a group of Guarani Indians met with President Lula and demanded that their land be protected. Ambrósio Vilhava, star of the film ‘Birdwatchers’, told Lula that the Indians’ land must be mapped out immediately.

Brazil’s presidential election is due to be held on 3 October.