BUENOS AIRES
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday officially recognized six indigenous territories in South American nation, promising to fulfill his campaign pledge to uphold the rights of Indigenous peoples by demarcating their lands.
In a press release, Brazil’s government said the demarcation had taken across six indigenous territories in six Brazilian states – Arara do Rio Amonia, Kariri-Xoco, Rio dos Indios, Tremembe da Barra do Mundau, Uneiuxi, Avá-Canoeiro.
It said the measures were the first to happen since 2018 while Lula’s administration will recreate the National Council for Indigenous policy and establish the Brazilian Policy for Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous lands.
Lula confirmed the official recognition on Twitter, calling “the fight for the demarcation of indigenous peoples” one of “respect, rights and protection of our nature and country”.
The former union leader also pledged to undertake the greatest number of possible demarcations of Indigenous land, labeling it not only a right of Indigenous peoples but also an aim to reach 2030 with zero deforestation, requiring land to be demarcated.
Lula went on to say that Brazilian officials “must” respond to the demands of Indigenous peoples who he says have been denied all their lives and as such indigenous people need more land, health and education.
Many environmentalists and defenders of Indigenous peoples and their territorial rights criticized former President Jair Bolsonaro’s policies, insisting he rolled back environmental protections, causing ecological destruction as illegal loggers, miners and ranchers have cleared large swathes of land which also impacted Indigenous peoples.
Lula also appeared to criticize Bolsonaro administration without using the former president’s name, insisting he went to Roraima, home to the Yanomami people, which has been experiencing health crisis due to wildcat gold mining and contaminated rivers.
Lula said he “never imagined that a government could its people remain like that”, describing malnourished children in Brazil – the third largest food producer worldwide.
Brazil’s president said it was necessary to respect their habits, customs and traditions and called it a “commitment” that he made on the campaign trail and pledged again to “fulfill”.
In November 2022, before assuming the presidency, Lula pledged at the UN climate change conference, COP27, to protect the Amazon rainforest and strengthen inspection bodies and monitoring systems and clamp down on “environmental crimes.”
Since returning to the presidency, Lula has sought to strengthen environmental bodies, created an Indigenous Ministry and relaunched the “Amazon Fund” that seeks to safeguard the Amazon biomass.
