Brazil: Luiz Inácio unmasked by the indigenous peasantry

Featured image: indigenous peasant leader speak in a public event. Source: A Nova Democracia.

A Nova Democracia (AND) has reported on a public event carried out on September 12 in Rio de Janeiro, where a indigenous peasant leader openly and sharply confronted Luiz Inácio, who was present at that event. Luiz Inácio received an unexpected critique which expressed the anger of the indigenous peasants against the current government.

That indigenous peasant leader mentioned the Congress, the courts as well as the Luiz Inácio government. Thus, he stated that “Today we have the worst Congress in the history of the Republic”, “A judiciary power egocentric and partial”. He added “And a government which makes alliances and tricks to maintain itself ruling”. Moreover the peasant leader pointed the lack of handing over of lands, pointing also that his people live in a very limited territory which is waiting the demarcation of lands since 2009. Thus, going through 15 years and several governments lead by different parties, the situation remains as it was or even worst worse for those indigenous peasants. He also criticized that “[we have] still a considerable amount of press media which role is to serve the ruling system”.

AND reminds that this is a “critic moment to the Brazilian indigenous peoples. The National Congress, in fact, carried out attacks without precedents against the peoples of the countryside; in the case of the indigenous people, the temporary framework is labeled as “Law Project of indigenous genocide”. The Supreme Federal Court of Brazil which first stated that this project was unconstitutional, now is pushing forward to pass a law in favor of the big landlords in order to attack the indigenous peasantry and paralyze the process of land demarcation.

This process of increase increasing attacks against the Brazilian peasantry has been labeled by AND in its last Editorial as “rural civil war”, carried out by the big landlords by the use of the repressive forces of the old Brazilian State, as well paramilitary bands and criminal goons. Recently there have been many cases of latifundium terror by its troops and the troops of the old State. We have reported on the cases of terror agains the Guarani-Kaiowá in Mato Grosso do Sul, or the case of terror against the Avá-Guarani at western Parana. Also there were recent reports on the number of murders of activists in the countryside, and Brazil was the second country with most murders just after Colombia. This data along with the report from the Pastoral Commission of the land regarding the highest peak of conflicts for the land in the year 2023, demonstrate this reality.

The role of the old Brazilian State is being increasingly unmasked. AND points out that question as follows: “The unmasking of the pro-Latifundium role of the government has increased among the movements of the struggle for land”.