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Brazilian President Lula da Silva signed a series of decrees demarcating six new territories for indigenous peoples, one of them a vast territory in the Amazon, and which would benefit the Maku and Tukano indigenous peoples. With this measure, the communities will be able to preserve their traditional way of life.
During a meeting of representatives of indigenous peoples in Brasilia, the president approved a series of decrees that seek to create new reserves and that guarantee indigenous people the exclusive use of natural resources while preserving their traditional way of life.
“It is a process that takes time, but we are going to work so that the largest possible number of indigenous reserves are demarcated. If we want to achieve zero deforestation by 2030, we need the maximum number of demarcated lands,” said President Lula.
The leftist president made the announcement on the occasion of the closing of the 19th edition of the “Terra Livre” (free land) camp, an annual gathering that brought together thousands of indigenous people from all over the country in an open-air area in the Brazilian capital.
Protection of the Amazon
Two of the six new demarcations approved last Friday are located in the Amazon, including the largest, called Unieuxi, assigned to 249 indigenous peoples of the Maku and Tukano peoples, in more than 550,000 hectares in the state of Amazonas (north). Two others are located in the northeast of the country, a fifth in the south and the last one in the central region.
Lula, 77, signed the decrees together with prominent indigenous leaders, such as the iconic chieftain Raoni Metuktire, who presented him with a traditional headdress of blue and red feathers and placed it on the president’s head. “In four years we will do more (for the indigenous peoples) than in the eight years that we have governed the country (2003-2010),” promised the left-wing president, who began his third term in government in January.
No new reserve was created under the mandate of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), Lula’s predecessor, who had promised before coming to power “not to give an inch” to the native peoples. Under the Bolsonaro presidency, average annual deforestation increased by 75% compared to the previous decade.
The last reserved area was created on April 26, 2018, under the presidency of Michel Temer (2016-2018), referring to the Baia do Guató indigenous land, an area of 20,000 hectares in the state of Mato Grosso (central-western ).
More demarcations
According to the latest census, dating from 2010, some 800,000 indigenous people live in the largest South American country, the majority on reservations that occupy 13.75% of the territory.
“When it is said that you occupy 14% of the territory and you think that is a lot, it is necessary to remember that before the arrival of the Portuguese you occupied 100% of the territory,” Lula said, cheered by the audience.
Last month, the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, announced that 14 territories (including the six approved on Friday) were ready to be placed under indigenous management, covering a total of about 900,000 hectares.
“We are going to write a new history, for the good of all humanity, of our planet,” said the minister on Friday, shortly before the signing of the decrees.
