Indigenous groups want the Brazilian government to recognize more of their territories and protect them from criminal activities. A group of 40 Indigenous leaders met President Lula at the presidential palace.
Thousands of Indigenous people marched through Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, on Thursday, protesting against the government’s failure to recognize more of their ancestral lands officially.
Along with calling for more land recognition, some tribes also protested a proposed 950-kilometer (590-mile) rail project.
The Ferrograo railway will transport grain from farms in the central part of the country, to ports along the Tapajos River, a large Amazon tributary.
Lula fails to quell concerns
One of the people’s main grievances is what they call the failure of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government to fulfill its promise of legally recognizing more of the land they have lived on for centuries.
This recognition is crucial to safeguard their territories from encroachment by unauthorized loggers, illegal miners and land grabbers.
Lula’s administration has created 10 Indigenous territories, but Indigenous leaders told him in the meeting it is not enough.
He later said on X, formally known as Twitter: “It is my moral duty to do what I can to minimize the suffering of Indigenous people and guarantee their rights,”
However, Indigenous leader Chief Edinho of the Macuxi tribe in Roraima state told reporters: “We left well aware that our struggle continues.
“We have a government that talks to us, but a farm lobby that stops it from governing.”
Source: Dw
