(Brasilia) Thousands of indigenous Brazilians began camping in Brasilia on Tuesday to defend their rights and protest against the government of Jair Bolsonaro, whom they accuse of having favored the economic exploitation of their territories.
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Dressed in their traditional outfits, these representatives of hundreds of indigenous peoples occupied a large field on Tuesday, located four kilometers from the presidential palace, the Congress and the Supreme Court.
“We came here to ask the federal government to put an end to the threats hanging over our territories,” Sinezio Trovao, representative of the Maguta-Tikuna ethnic group, one of the most important indigenous peoples of the country, told AFP. ‘Amazon.
This annual camp, called Terra Livre (Free Land) has seen its last two editions canceled due to the pandemic.
Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro came to power in 2019 with a promise to open up existing indigenous reservations, already hard hit by deforestation, illegal mining and the illegal timber trade, to extractive industries.
Indigenous peoples represent some 0.2% of the 212 million Brazilians, but their reservations occupy about 13% of the country’s territory.
They denounce the government’s intention to accelerate certain economic projects which they consider harmful to the environment and to pass a law which would authorize mining on the reserves.