Thousands of Indigenous People Protest in Brazilian Capital

A large group of indigenous people lead a protest against the Brazilian government on April 25. The group clashed with police in the Capital of Brazil, Brasilia, where riot police had to be deployed. Thousands approached Congress to bring forward the issues they face, demanding land rights to keep loggers and farmers off their land. 13 indigenous people died because of land conflicts in 2016 (BBC, 2017), which has contributed to the growing tensions between the people and Brazil and the government. The conflict was violent, as many police fired tear gas and rubber bullets; some of the 4,000 protesters responded with spears (Reuters, 2017).

The natives have been involved in a number of land disputes with Brazilian citizens this year. Just recently, on May 1st, a group of farmers attacked and injured 13 natives in the state of Maranhao; the natives were occupying the land claimed that the land was stolen in the former military dictatorship that ended in the 1980’s (The Guardian, 2017). The numerous families never left and have began campaigning for the land back. “Right now, we’re witnessing the biggest assault on Brazilian Indians for the last 2 generations,” said Stephen Corry, director of Survival International (Survival International, 2017). Incidents like these have led them to Brasilia to protest.

The protest began peacefully, with the natives carrying coffins to symbolize the recent string of native murders over land. “We carried 200 coffins symbolizing the genocide and deaths of indigenous people at the hands of the authorities allied to agribusiness,” said Sonia Guajajara, one of the coordinators for the protest (Business Insider, 2017). There is much fear that the current government under President Temer will turn a blind eye to these attacks due to their friendly links with agribusiness lobbies. These murders have done nothing to soothe the natives, and tensions are rising.