Lucas Landau / Reuters
Indigenous peoples have been protesting for ten days in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, against gold mining in their areas. The protests are directed against one person: President Jair Bolsonaro.
Thousands of indigenous people from 300 different peoples protested in Brasilia against President Jair Bolsonaro’s “anti-indigenous agenda”.
From April 4th to 14th they stayed in the Brazilian capital and occupied the place at the Ministry of Mines and Energy with their protest camp.
They wrote sayings with mud on its panes or smeared them on their faces or bodies. The mud is said to represent the pollution currently being caused by illegal gold mining in indigenous areas of the Amazon rainforest.
The occasion was the 18th edition of the so-called «Acampamento Terra Livre». The Free Country Camp was held for the first time in 2004 to raise awareness of the rights of indigenous people in Brazil.
An indigenous man smeared himself with mud and had the sentence “Mining kills” written in red on his back.
Another indigenous man also painted his face. The red should stand for the blood of the indigenous people. The mud is said to symbolize the gold and the pollution caused by its mining.
With their protest, they want to oppose Bolsonaro’s plans to use indigenous land commercially. The development was one of the campaign promises that Bolsonaro made to secure the presidency in 2018.
Since then, he has enacted several bills that, if passed, would significantly curtail the rights and lands of tribal people. According to the “New York Times” they fear an “ethnocide” – a cultural genocide.
A law stipulates that indigenous peoples can only claim land where they already lived before the 1988 constitution. The indigenous people would thereby lose the right to their traditional protected areas.
Before setting on one of the days of protests in Brasilia, the sun gave a warm glow to an indigenous man.
An indigenous woman held up a homemade sign that read ‘We fight to live’ during protests in Brasilia.
Thousands of indigenous people demonstrated in traditional guise in Brasilia against the president’s plans to commercially exploit their land.
Another law wants to allow the hitherto illegal gold mining in indigenous areas. Illegal mining has increased significantly in Brazil in recent years. According to the WWF, there are at least 2,500 illegal gold mines in the Amazon region alone. The reason for the “gold rush” is the high price of gold. But the fact that the government tolerates illegal gold mining may also have contributed to this.
This practice threatens the people who live there and the nature that surrounds them. Because the mercury used to separate gold from the sediment poisons the rivers, contaminates the soil.
According to the WWF, 70 percent of the mercury ends up in the atmosphere, 30 percent in the soil and in the water. And because the indigenous people eat fish and fruit, the mercury ultimately reaches them – and endangers their health.
Indigenous people attend an event at the Ministries Esplanade in Brasilia where Indigenous leaders can speak out against the proposed legislation.
A village of the Yanomami, one of the most famous indigenous groups in the Amazon.
Indigenous people wore traditional hats and jewelery at the protest marches, as well as T-shirts from “Acampamento Terra Livre”.
There are (also) political reasons why Bolsonaro wants to push gold mining in the Amazon region further: The miners form the hard core of his electorate – he needs their votes for his re-election in October.
Bolsonaro’s left-wing opponent, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has promised tribal peoples to stop illegal mining on their lands and recognize their land claims if he wins October’s elections.
Indigenous people held several marches through Brasilia during the ten days of protests.
One indigenous man wore a white ribbon across his forehead with the phrase “Lula President.”
Because of exploitation, violence in the Amazon has become commonplace. On the one hand, because the indigenous people are fighting back against illegal activity on their territory. On the other hand, because the miners act violently against them. There are also said to have been physical attacks on women and girls.
Indigenous women and children during an event in the protest camp.
The critical situation has led to politicization among the indigenous people. More than thirty indigenous people ran for Congress this year – more than ever before. There have also been repeated protests in recent years.
