12/Apr/2017
On the last few years, Brazil’s indigenous people have been facing strong pressures that have intensified in all state power spaces. In parliament, have prevailed in all its levels, the the interest of groups mostly against indigenous peoples rights. In view of that is on the parliament that builds legal regulations that bind the whole society, it makes necessary to see this space as strategic to the empowerment of our people and achieve in an effective way that our struggles and agendas to be evidenced and transformed in resistance and power instruments in this accentuated context of strength correlation and of permanent attacks to the indigenous rights.
The damaged caused in Municipal councils that have indigenous populations are evident, and on the State Congresses, but without indigenous representation. Such losses are even bigger on the National Congress scope that on its composition does not even have an indigenous. This feature of legitimate representatives of indigenous peoples absence gives way to the strong reactionary, fundamentalist, and financial group’s interests agenda, highlighting the ruralist group, that historically acts as enemies of Indigenous People.
On the last City elections, we’ve acted strongly on the incentive of indigenous applications all over brazilian territory. This tactics resulted on important results. Hundreds of indigenous candidates runned to city councilors and mayors in several citiies of the country. We’ve reached the historical mark of 167 indigenous elected as city councilors and 5 indigenous elected mayors on their birth city, which we believe will defend a progressive and positive agenda that has in its chorum the struggle and claims of originating people and traditional communities, the human rights schedule, the environment and democracy defense, finally, the set of social policies conquered by all brazilian society.
However, the political system is antique, grounded on the economical power and instrumentalized by the elites of this country. For those reasons, it makes necessary to keep fighting for the political reformation, that is not reduced to the electoral reformation, to assure the traditionally marginalized society distinct segments power spaces and real and participative democracy, that allows for instance to the indigenous peoples the electoral dispute participation, being through the classic partisan path, of different electoral colleges or own autonomous social organization mechanisms, decision collective spaces. Considering that in 2018 all over the country will be focused on state and national elections to state and federal Congress, governors and Country President, the focus is that our people act no longer as mere supporting on the election process. That is why we call all the Brazil’s indigenous people that from now on, start their discussion on the local and regional scope about the need to launch even more indigenous candidates to the next elections dispute, encouraged warriors, willing to occupy the state parliament and National Congress.
Take this indigenous people struggle agenda to the political debate must be seen as a mission of all the brazilian indigenous movement.
By an increasingly indigenous parliament.
Brasília-DF, January 31st 2017.
Brazil’s Indigenous People Articulation – APIB
12/Apr/2017
Guarani Kaiowá and Ñandeva from Aty Guasu and Terena Board indigenous leaderships, peoples from Mato Grosso do Sul, besides directors of Brazil’s Indigenous People Articulation (Apib), have been to the Justice Ministry, on this friday early afternoon, 28, to reinforce complaint against the racist attacks of Luiz Carlos Heinze (PP/RS) and Alceu Moreira (PMDB/RS) congressmen (see here) and to express concern about the PEC 215 Special Commission.
“The racist attacks from the ruralists Congressmen happened in a Federal Congress public hearing. To the PEC 215, the ruralists already pledged about 20 hearings. We fear that these hearings are fit to, once again attack us in a racist way, with hate”, highlights Lindomar Terena.
The group was heard by representatives of National Security Secretary and the Indigenous Matters Special Advisory, ministry organisms. Territorial demands, besides protests against Ordinance 303, were also addressed at the meeting.
“We experienced a shameful State powers and capital owners or representatives agreement, to the detriment of our people constitutional rights. A virulent criminalization, delegitimizing, discrimination, racism and originary people extermination campaign”, says piece of the complaint-letter filed with the ministry.
Read in full:
TO THE MOST EXCELLENT MR. JOSÉ EDUARDO MARTINS CARDOZO STATE MINISTER OF JUSTICE
Valued Sir Minister,
We, indigenous leaderships signed above, in name of the Brazil’s Indigenous People Articulation – APIB, of the Guarani Kaiowá Great Council (Aty Guassu) and the Terena People Board, mobilized in Brasília – DF, we hereby denounce to your honor the intensified attacks promoted against our peoples rights, with great concern on this election year, by distincts society economical and political powers and from the brazilian State, that try to perpetuate, at any cost primarily the agro-export development model that make it viable their power, accumulation and profit interests, and appropriating and dispossession of our territories.
We experienced a shameful State powers and capital owners or representatives agreement, to the detriment of our people constitutional rights. A virulent criminalization, delegitimizing, discrimination, racism and originary people extermination campaign which seeks to legalize the assault and usurpation of indigenous territories and their wealth. Hence the commitment of these enemies to prevent in any way the demarcation of the few lands that were left with the colonial invasion.
Are part of this campaign:
- Public hearings promoted on distinct country regions by the Farming Parliamentary Front, with the purpose of giving the unconstitutional PEC 215 legality, that seeks to impair the indigenous, quilombola and preservation unities territorial rights effectiveness. On the other hand, said hearings, has been constituted in real stages of incitement to crime, to hatred, to racism and to the violence against our peoples and other marginalized segments of the population, just like happened in november 29th, 2013, in Vicente Dutra-RS county. We reported specially the speeches made by Luiz Carlos Heinze (PP/RS) and Alceu Moreira (PMDB/RS) congressmen, with absurd and unacceptable improprieties against homossexual, prostitutes, quilombolas and, specially, against the indigenous peoples. We delivered, to your knowledge, investigation and punishment video of this parliamentarians that gathers these sayings that on our understanding constitute crime, human rights attempt and rule of law disrespect.
- The Ordinance Nº 27, from february 7 2014, of the Union attorney general-UAG, Luís Inácio Lucena Adams, that determines to Union General Consulting – UGC and to the Litigious General-Secretary – SGCT the content adequacy analysis of AGU ordinance nº 303, from july 16, 2012, published on the I=Union Official Journal, Section 1, from february 17, 2012, to the terms of the judgment delivered by the Federal Supreme Court in the Petition Nº 3388. The trick obviously that the controversial and challengeable Ordinance 303, already in force , become law, as claimed by the agro-business representatives and the ruralist stand since 2012 which Minister Adams is a faithful subservient. Considering that the same is an affront to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 169 and responsible by worsening legal and social insecurity, violence actions, persecutions, threats and murders acted against indigenous peoples and communities promoted by their land invaders we claimed from Dilma’s government its immediate and definite revocation.
The same way we claim the revocation of other published instruments by the Executive Power such as the Ordinance 2498, from october 31st, 2011, that determines the summoning of federated beings to participate from indigenous lands identifying and delimitation procedures, the Interministerial Ordinance 419 from october 28, 2011, that restricts the term to the public administrations organs and entities expedite infrastructure that reach indigenous lands environmental licensings, and the Decree nº 7.957, from march 13, 2013, that institutes state instrument to Militarized repression of any action of the indigenous peoples, communities, organizations and social movements that decide to stand against enterprises that impact their territories.
- These rushes add to the voracious desire of the ruralist group to tear up the Federal Constitution that assures the indigenous rights to the lands they traditionally occupy. Are used for this purpose legislative different initiatives among which stand out the PEC 215, PLP 227, and the PL 1610 of indigenous lands mining.
In the face of this backdrop of threats to our peoples rights noticeably sharpened in regions as Mato Grosso do Sul, Amazonas, Bahia south, among others, we ask to Dilma’s government, specially to the ministry that your honor preside, the attendance to our demands hereby presented, prioritizing immediately our land demarcation, whose lacks contributes to the increase and aggravation of the actual picture of violence against our people.
Best regrards.
12/Apr/2017
APIB Public note
The Justice Minister declarations, the ruralist Osmar Serraglio, sworn in on the last 7th day, and published by Folha de São Paulo today, 3/10, demonstrate which side he is. His initial State Justice minister speeches give sequence to his notorious ignorance about indigenous peoples history, identity, culture and cosmovision and reaffirm his traditional vision and parliamentary practices that doesn’t respect this peoples, prejudiced and racist, and declared agro-business causes defender, as demonstrated by being reporter of PEC 215/00.
On the attempt to unqualify indigenous people originary and permanent territorial rights, recognized by constitutional letter of 1988, he affirms that the involved in countryside conflicts should stop arguing about lands, because they “do not fill anyone’s belly” and the indigenous just need “good life conditions”.
That is, the justice minister want the indigenous people to calm down, stop claim and cry out for respect of their land sacred right, trampled secularly by successive generations of invaders including Serraglio, for which the land only has one purpose: give profit at any cost, even though that implies destruction and death, of territories and peoples, of common assets, knowledges and millennial wisdom. At the end, to the old colonizers and new colonizers, remains to offer to the extermination survivors the faith to integrate integrating their world – capitalism -, without what is fundamental to their existence: the land and mother nature, that is far from being just a production mean, an external reality to be win and destroyed to achieve the goals of accumulation, profit, enrichment and consumption to exhaustion.
“Good life conditions” to the indigenous people, Mr. Minister, will ever come without the guarantee of living in peace and free on their territories, with sustainability dignified conditions, that presuppose to overcome the archaic thought of tutelary policies, assistencialism, paternalistic and authoritarian on which the State taken by the economic elite, from which you belong, have treated the indigenous people, robbing them the land and the exclusive usufruct right guaranteed by the Federal Constitution, based on juridic arguments and fallacious speeches, parliamentary and judiciary maneuvers, including the use of force.
To pacify the countryside crisis is enough that you order to unarm the militias and the agro-business farmers that murdered indigenous leaderships Brazil beyond, and keep the Magna Carta that 29 years ago determined that the Union demarcate the indigenous lands in five years.
Brasília – March 10th, 2017.
Brazil’s Indigenous People Articulation – APIB
Indigenous National Mobilization
