Indigenous Peoples Protest Against the COP30 in Brazil

Featured image: Indigenous protesters invade the celebration of the COP30 in Belém. Source: A Nova Democracia.

The opportunist government of the PT, led by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is attempting to use the UN Conference on Climate Change in Belém to proclaim itself as the defender of the environment and the interests of Indigenous peoples. However, the Indigenous peoples of Brazil during these days are revealing the true role of the current Brazilian government.

While the Brazilian government allegedly aims to attract hundreds of billions of dollars in investments to combat climate change and deforestation, the reality is that attacks from big landlords, the defense of their interests in numerous cases of land-grabbing, and the murders of Indigenous people defending their ancestral lands are daily occurrences in Brazil. Numerous reports on this matter can be read below:

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A Nova Democracia (AND) reminds us that only in 2024, the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi) reported 211 murders of Indigenous people, a disturbing increase compared to the recent years. Additionally, the Brazilian newspaper points to the new “Temporary Framework Law” (Law 14.701/2023) as the “engine of the new offensive,” extending deadlines, delaying demarcations, and legitimizing disputes over land that were already violent. Just taking one example of Indigenous peasants highlights the size of the problem: the Guarani-Kaiowá in Mato Grosso do Sul have faced 99 land conflicts involving 13,906 people, with 54 attempted murders. Between 2003 and 2019, at least 539 Guarani-Kaiowá were murdered.

This reality is very clear to the Indigenous people, who, on the second day of COP30, protested and occupied the so-called “Blue Zone,” the official negotiation area of the meeting. About 60 participants were involved in the protest, and there was at least one injury. The Military Police, National Force, and UN security clashed with the protesters. The demonstrators carried placards against the sale of their lands, asserting that COP30 does not represent the interests of Indigenous peasants but those of the bourgeoisie, criticizing agribusiness and the search for oil in the Amazonas.