No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveBrazilian official resigns over indigenous protests

Brazilian official resigns over indigenous protests

BRASILIA, Brazil – The Brazilian official in charge of indigenous affairs resigned Friday amid protests by indigenous residents locked in land feuds with white farmers and opposed to construction of a huge dam in the Amazon.

Marta Azevedo, president of the National Indigenous Foundation, or FUNAI, decided to step down, saying she needed to undergo medical treatment and could not carry out her duties, a government statement said.

Azevedo, who had taken up her post in April 2012, quit as President Dilma Rousseff faces the most violent protests by the country’s indigenous groups since she came to power two and a half years ago.

The violence has been sparked by a spate of disputes in central Mato Grosso do Sul. An indigenous Terena man died last week during a police operation ordered to expel 1,000 protesters who occupied a white-owned farm in the state.

One percent of the Brazilian population controls 46 percent of the cultivated land.

Armed with bows, arrows and spears and wearing face paint, feathers and straw clothing, 200 indigenous people amassed Thursday in central Brasilia, where they aired their complaints outside Rousseff’s office.

“We demand an end to the violence against indigenous people, we want the return of our ancestral lands occupied by landowners,” said Gilma Veron, an ethnic Terena from the hamlet of Buriti in Mato Grosso do Sul.

The federal government has deployed a 110-strong contingent of the National Force, a special police unit, in the Mato Grosso do Sul town of Sidrolandia, where indigenous Terena are occupying the white-owned farm to demand the return of their ancestral lands.

Rousseff has said her government will respect any decision made by judicial authorities on the land dispute, but she favors negotiations “to prevent conflicts, deaths and injuries.”

Indigenous Mundukuru opposed to construction of the huge Belo Monte dam in the Amazon also traveled to Brasilia this week to air their own grievances, insisting that they were not consulted before the work began as required by law.

The $13 billion project is expected to flood a 500-square-kilometer (200-square-mile) area along the Xingu River, displacing 16,000 people, according to the government.

The dam, expected to produce 11,000 megawatts of electricity, would be the third-biggest in the world, after China’s Three Gorges and Brazil’s Itaipu dam in the south.

Indigenous groups say the dam will harm their way of life. Environmentalists have warned of deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and irreparable damage to the ecosystem.

And Brazil’s powerful landowners scheduled their own protest in Mato Grosso do Sul next week against invasions of their ranches by area indigenous groups, the Agriculture and Livestock Confederation of Brazil said.

Indigenous people represent less than one percent of Brazil’s 194 million people and occupy 12 percent of the national territory, mainly in the Amazon.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Faces Scrutiny After Murder of Exiled Nicaraguan Officer

The Costa Rican government is facing growing criticism after the murder of exiled Nicaraguan military officer Roberto Samcam, who was shot to death in...

Costa Rica’s Chaves Slams Supreme Court as “National Disgrace” in Corruption Case

On Wednesday, President Rodrigo Chaves didn’t hold back. In his weekly press conference, he slammed the Supreme Court, calling it a “national disgrace” that’s...

Peruvian Scientists Identify New Frog Species in Piura’s Highlands

A team of Peruvian scientists recently identified three new frog species in the misty peaks of the Huancabamba mountain range in northern Peru’s Piura...

Chiquita Brands Leaves Panama Amid Protests, Talks Underway to Resume

Laid-off workers from the U.S.-based banana company Chiquita Brands said on Monday that they are hoping for the company’s return to Panama, after it...

Costa Rica Identified as Key Maritime Route for Cocaine Trafficking

Costa Rica appears among the main maritime and aerial routes for cocaine trafficking between South and North America, according to the World Drug Report 2025 published...

Life After MS-13 in El Salvador as Residents Seek a Fragile Peace

Esperanza Martinez lost three relatives who were murdered and saw numerous bodies left in the streets of her neighborhood, a former stronghold of the...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica