Brazil has announced the creation of two new indigenous territories

Last week, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, together with the Minister for Indigenous Peoples Sonia Guajajara and the Minister of Justice and Public Security Ricardo Lewandowski, signed the decrees approving two new indigenous lands in the territories of Bahia and Mato Grosso.The two new territories, in which members of the Pataxó and Karajá indigenous groups will live, will extend over approximately 35 thousand hectares.Thus, a total of 10 indigenous lands were approved in about a year and a half, thanks to the work of the two ministries involved and FUNAI (National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples)."There protection of ancestral peoples it is closely linked to the sustainability not only of our country, but of the entire planet" declared Minister Lewandowski during the meeting with the CNPI (National Council for Indigenous Policies), where the decrees were signed.«Supporting the rights of indigenous peoples means supporting the rights of humanity itself, to fight against climate change».

The Aldeia Velha indigenous land is located in Bahia, near the city of Porto Segure, and extends for 1,997.55 hectares.Around 320 families of the Pataxó indigenous group live inside.The Cacique Fontoura indigenous land, however, is located in Mato Grosso, between the municipalities of Luciara and São Félixdo Araguaia, and extends for 32,304.7 hectares.Around 489 people from the Karajá indigenous group live inside.With the addition of the latter two, the extension of the lands approved over the last year amounts to just under one million hectares.The result was also achieved thanks to the role played in the negotiations by the CNPI, a body abolished five years ago by Bolsonaro's government, but reintroduced by Lula with a 2023 decree.The organ plays a fundamental role in guarantee indigenous people adequate democratic participation in the development and deliberation of public policies that concern them, collaborating with local authorities and institutions.Its members include 30 indigenous people and 30 representatives of ministries, agencies and other bodies (such as the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Environment) and four indigenous associations.«This council is more important than a commission.You are the one guide the government in political decisions for the indigenous peoples that we will put into practice in this country" he declared Lula, during the meeting.The lands to be approved, the president then specified, would be a total of six, but for four of them there remain disputes to be resolved linked to the occupation of the territories by other people.In this regard, Lula reported that talks are underway with local governors to find adequate solutions as soon as possible.

The establishment of two new indigenous lands, in addition to those already created over the past year, is only the latest of the Lula government's initiatives to protect the environment and the rights of native peoples.Thanks to initiatives undertaken, the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has drastically slowed down its progress, with the protection of forests inhabited by indigenous populations and the fight against poaching activities, interrupted during the Bolsonaro era.In numerous territories it is also started, at the end of last year, it eviction of thousands of non-indigenous people from some territories of the Amazon, in order to return the lands to the original peoples and protect them from havoc and exploitation.Although a clear reversal of the trend in the deforestation of the Amazon is still a distant result, and although Lula himself has been harshly criticized for some controversial projects he wanted (such as the so-called “soybean railway”), Brazil is showing the world that with a minimal political will great changes can be implemented in the protection of the environment, rights and the planet.

[by Valeria Casolaro]