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News > Brazil

Brazilians Protest Against Attempt to End Land Demarcations

  • Citizens protesting agaisnt L-490 bill outside the Nereu Ramos Palace, Brasilia, Brazil, June, 2021.

    Citizens protesting agaisnt L-490 bill outside the Nereu Ramos Palace, Brasilia, Brazil, June, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @SEND7podcast

Published 28 June 2021
Opinion

Indigenous peoples reject a bill aimed at interrupting the process of demarcation of their territories in the Amazon basin.

On Monday, the Brazilian Indigenous people are holding demonstrations throughout the country to protest against the possible approval the L-490, a bill that seeks to interrupt the process of demarcation of Indigenous territories to facilitate the privatization of Amazonian lands.

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This bill plans to transfer the responsibility for the demarcation of territories from the Indigenous People Foundation (FUNAI), which is an institution controlled by the Executive branch, to the Federal Congress.

By doing so, the Indigenous lands will be open to illegal miners or to any other activity considered to be economically relevant by either the Lower House or the Senate.

Although the L-490 must yet be fully approved, it is most likely to be accepted by the Congress since President Jair Bolsonaro and its right-wing allies are activelly promoting it.

The meme reads, "Rio de Janeiro, June 28, 2021: Indigenous peoples on Monday block President Castelo Branco avenue, in Maracana, in the north of Rio de Janeiro, to protest against PL490, a bill that modifies the demarcation of the Indigenous territories. Fight for the land. Say NO to PL490."
 

According to the Brazilian president, the control of Amazonian forests by Indigenous peoples generates economic inequality and inefficiency. "In 61 percent of their territories, Brazil cannot do anything," he complained. However, during the first two years of his mandate, between 2019 and 2020, deforestation increased by 48.3 percent in Amazon protected areas.

Last week, the Police attacked with tear gas and rubber balls the Indigenous citizens who were protesting peacefully at the front of the National Congress in Brasilia.

Besides rejecting the L-490 bill, they were also protesting over the appointment of Joaquim Pereira as Environmental Minister. This politician comes from a dynasty of coffee producers who are fighting in the courts for a piece of land in the Jaragua Indigenous territory in Sao Paulo.

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Brazil Indigenous rights lands

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Jair Bolsonaro Joaquim Pereira

Nodal
by teleSUR/ ag-JF
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