On 10 July Brazil’s minister for indigenous peoples, Sônia Guajajara, gave an interview to the media outlet Repórter Brasil, in which she called for a “greater security force” to remove illegal wildcat miners (known as ‘garimpeiros’) from the demarcated Yanomami indigenous territory (TI) in the northern state of Roraima.
Analysis:
In February the government led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva deployed security forces to clear out illegal mining groups from the Yanomami TI in what was a strong signal of its declared commitment to defend indigenous communities from armed criminal groups such as garimpeiros. However, Guajajara told Repórter Brasil that a lot more needs to be done on the Yanomami issue and lamented the legislative setbacks to indigenous land rights, such as the PL 490 bill (known as the ‘Marco Temporal’), which would limit the number of indigenous communities which can apply for protected demarcated status.
- Guajajara cited figures from the federal police (PF) and environmental agency (Ibama) on the progress of the security operations in the Yanomami demarcation, which reported that 82% of garimpeiros have already been removed from the TI.
- Despite the ongoing clampdown led by various government agencies, violence persists in the TI. An attack on a Yanomami village, Parima, on 3 July in which a child was shot dead and five villagers were injured was denounced by the indigenous people’s ministry as a garimpeiro attack. However, local authorities have yet to apprehend the perpetrators and confirm their motivations.
- When asked about the Lula government’s failures to stop anti-indigenous legislation, such as the ‘Marco Temporal’ bill, Guajajara rejected claims that the government’s “political will” was faltering. Instead, she blamed the “bancada ruralista and its allies” in congress – an allusion to the agribusiness lobby which enjoys a strong presence in both houses and welcomes the limits placed on indigenous land demarcations.
Looking Ahead: Yanomami territory spans Roraima and neighbouring Amazonas and includes territory in neighbouring Venezuela, which is also preyed upon by illegal mining groups. The need to tackle transnational garimpeiro networks and violations of indigenous land rights is among the issues likely to be discussed by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (OTCA), an international socio-environmental group of which Brazil and Venezuela are both members, which is due to hold a summit on 8-9 August.
