Brazil's indigenous people fight back against Bolsonaro's attacks on Amazon

Germany and Brazil have a long history of partnering on environmental protection. But President Jair Bolsonaro's stances on Brazil's indigenous people and their lands threaten the progress that has been made.

Date 06.01.2019
Author Astrid Prange



"Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was convinced that the country was big enough for nature reserves and agribusinesses to exist side by side," says Thomas Fatheuer of the Kobra network, which connects activists and academics focused on Brazil. Fatheuer knows the country well, as he lived there for 20 years and headed the Rio de Janeiro office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the German political foundation affiliated with the Green party . "But," he says, "the message of the new President Bolsonaro is that Brazil now needs to give more space to agribusiness."

After being sworn in, Bolsonaro wasted no time to make good on his promise. He started by shifting the power to designate indigenous land and nature reserves from Brazil's Ministry of Justice to the country's Ministry of Agriculture, which is headed by agricultural lobbyist Tereza Cristina Dias.

Bolsonaro also made lawyer Ricardo Salles Brazil's new environmental minister. While serving as environment secretary for Sao Paulo state between July 2016 and August 2017, Salles controversially allowed industrial companies to operate in nature reserves.



13 percent of Brazil is indigenous lands — a few of which still shelter some of the world's last uncontacted tribes


Indigenous peoples fight back

Bolsonaro recently took aim at the country's environmental agency Ibama on Twitter, saying that it was an "industry of fines” and that "fewer than one million people live in the isolated reserves for indigenous peoples, who are exploited by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)."

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https://www.dw.com/en/brazils-indigenous-people-fight-back-against-bolsonaros-attacks-on-amazon/a-46974782