Land Raids Against Indigenous Populations Surge in Brazil

Far-right president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has been accused of allowing land invaders to seize territory from indigenous tribes. IMAGE: commons.wikimedia.org

Since January 2019, when Jair Bolsonaro took office as Brazilian President, 153 indigenous territories have been invaded by loggers and land grabbers, over double last year's figure of 76. Activists claim that the president’s far-right policies and rhetoric have caused the spike. 

The invaders, seeking economic opportunities, enter protected reservations by the hundreds in order to cut down trees, clear paths, and partition the land. 

Tribal leaders and activists have accused Bolsonaro and his supporters of drastically increasing these illegal seizures. Bolsonaro’s policies have favored economic development over the protection of the environment and indigenous populations in the region. In fact, individuals in the western state of Rondônia, the region where landgrabbers and loggers abuse indigenous lands the most, supported Bolsonaro in the 2018 elections at a rate of 78 percent. Many even cite the president’s politics as justification for the seizure.

Eleven days into Bolsonaro’s presidency, 40 landgrabbers, some of them armed, invaded the Uru-eu-wau-wau Indigenous Reservation in Rondônia and began cutting down trees. The group cleared 15.5 miles of trails and broke up land owned by the indigenous tribe into smaller plots to be used for personal convenience. Similar raids have continued throughout Bolsonaro’s mandate without executive action taken to halt the illegal seizures. 

Bolsonaro’s rhetoric has not only inspired the seizure of land but has also made it difficult for activists to vocalize their protests:

“We’re scared,” said Awapu, a young indigenous chief from western Brazil who has received death threats for speaking out against the invader, adding, “Nobody wants to die.”

Amidst the surge of land grabbing, activists like Awapu and organizations that support the rights of indigenous groups in Brazil have come under attack. On September 6, one of the country’s leading indigenous land rights activists Maxciel Pereira dos Santos was murdered by an unidentified shooter riding on a motorcycle. Santos had previously worked for 12 years at Brazil’s indigenous affairs agency, FUNAI. In a statement, Indigenistas Associados (INA), the labor union representing employees of FUNAI, cited evidence that the murder occurred in retaliation for Santos’s active role in preventing extrajudicial land seizures in areas with the highest population of uncontacted indigenous groups. 

The threats against indigenous land are not only coming from illegal actors, however. The Bolsonaro administration is currently preparing a bill directed to Congress that would legalize and institutionalize mining on indigenous lands. 

“Indians don’t want to be poor landowners living on rich soils – especially the richest soils on Earth,” Bolsonaro stated at last month’s UN General Assembly, referring to the many precious metals that are expected to lie beneath indigenous territories. 

The nation's mining secretary, Alexandre Vidigal de Oliveira, suggested that the government seeks communication and compensation for the indigenous tribes living in the areas where the government plans to establish mining operations. 

Activists and indigenous leaders do not accept the claims of the government, believing that the new legislation will only legitimize the stealing of indigenous lands. Progressive Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, who has supported indigenous rights, tweeted, “Not since the dictatorship have indigenous people felt as threatened as they are today.”

Bolsonaro’s policies have continually favored economic interests over protection, whether it be of the indigenous lands or the environment. The surge in land seizures against indigenous populations has left many pondering their ability to maintain their ancestral homes.

“We feel sad,” said Awapu. “We don’t know where this will end.”