Brazil: Avá-Guarani Peasants Conquer Three Thousand Hectares
We share some extracts of the report found in A Nova Democracia.
The ratification of the 240 million reais agreement for the purchase of 3,000 hectares for the Avá-Guarani in western Paraná is seen as a significant victory, but insufficient and marked by a backdrop of violence. This pact, signed on March 24 during the General Assembly of the Guarani Yvyrupa Commission (CGY), arises as a belated response to the flooding of 19 Tekoha, part of Guarani territory, caused by the construction of the Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant. This project resulted in the expulsion of thousands of people from their homes and the submersion of sacred sites.
The CGY, which has been the main Guarani organization in southern and southeastern Brazil since 2006, gathered over 1,000 indigenous peasant leaders at its assembly to discuss crucial issues, with the struggle for land being the most important. During the signing of the agreement, Leader Celso Japoty Alves from Tekoha Ocoy highlighted the contradiction between the joy of the achievement and the reality that the agreement is merely a minimal restoration of what has been lost. He stated that his dream is not just to obtain 3,000 hectares, but for the entire territory to be demarcated, warning that they do not want future negotiations to occur “with our blood.”
The peasant leader also denounced the ongoing genocide against the Avá-Guarani, evidenced by the violent attacks they have recently suffered. He emphasized that the acquired area represents only a small fraction of their ancestral territory and criticized the state model that pays large sums to big landlords for lands that historically belonged to indigenous peoples. The amount of 240 million reais raises questions about the logic underpinning this system, where the state enriches big landlords while the Avá-Guarani have resisted colonization and territorial dispossession for centuries. For example, the construction of the hydroelectric Itaipú is a symbol of this process of colonial violence which flooded 135,000 hectares and relocated 40,000 people. It also affected the sacred places of the Avá Guarani.
The Avá-Guarani consider the recent agreement as a “symbolic act” that reflects their history of oppression and resistance. While it represents a step forward, it is insufficient to guarantee a dignified life and does not confront the historical plunder perpetrated by big landlords. This situation reveals the semi-colonial nature of the Brazilian state, which favors the interests of dominant classes while oppressing indigenous peoples. The peasant struggle of the Avá-Guarani is a living example of popular resistance, reaffirming that only through organization and struggle can true transformations be achieved.
