10/08/2024 – 11:33
With the demarcation process stalled since 2011, indigenous people from Mato Grosso do Sul face armed security guards in a territory that has already been recognized by Funai, but which continues to be dominated by farmers. From a canvas tent that serves as a makeshift home, Germano Alziro watches the security guards hired by farmers in Douradina, in Mato Grosso do Sul, brandishing weapons. He is one of the young leaders of the Guarani-Kaiowá people who are seeking to return to the lands that were traditionally occupied by the indigenous people.
Waiting for formal demarcation since 2011, around 120 indigenous people decided to camp at a point in the claimed territory on July 14. The response from the farmers was violent: fireworks and shots were fired at the group.
“We have been waiting for the State for a long time, we can’t take it anymore, so we decided to do self-demarcation. The situation here is critical, there is a lot of violence, we are not safe,” says Alziro, a master’s student at the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS).
After news of the first clashes in the area, the National Force was sent, but withdrew shortly after. It was during this absence that the situation worsened. On August 4, young indigenous people who were leading the group to protect the elderly and children were shot. At least 11 people were seriously injured. One of them still has a bullet lodged in his head.
For those who follow the history of the Guarani and Kaiowá closely, like Matias Rempel, from the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi), this is not a mere conflict.
“There is a massacre that, in terms of its historical and temporal dimensions, is a process of genocide. There are very well-identified actors and interests that are inflicting extreme violence against a people,” Rempel told DW.
Expelled from the land
The Guarani and Kaiowá currently live in the south of Mato Grosso do Sul and part of Paraguay. Their greed for their territory intensified after the Paraguayan War in 1864, when soldiers began to settle in the region.
The situation worsened when the Brazilian government began implementing plans to occupy the so-called “empty” lands in the early 1910s. From 1940 onwards, the expulsion of indigenous people became recurrent and they began to be confined to small reservations. It was at this time that the National Agricultural Colony of Dourados (CAND) was created, which attracted many farmers to the state to expand the agricultural frontier in the country.
While agribusiness flourished, with sugarcane, soybean, corn and cattle farming, around 40,000 indigenous people were forced to live on scattered fragments of land. For decades, they were used as slave-like labor in the fields and on infrastructure projects, according to studies by CIMI.
“Farmers have to understand that this is an ancestral territory. The first footprints are from the Guarani people, and colonization arrived recently. They invaded our lands and must have the decency to recognize that this is indigenous territory,” says Natanael Vilharva Caceres, a representative of the Guarani Kaiowá Movement and historian.
Delay in demarcation
The disputed territory is the Panambi-Lagoa Rica Indigenous Land (TI). With 121 square kilometers, it is spread across the cities of Itaporã and Douradina. According to Alziro, an indigenous leader and geographer, four farms are currently located in the area.
In the early 2000s, the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) began technical studies to identify and demarcate the TI. The measure was a response to the commitment made with the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) to recognize the Guarani-Kaiowá territories. The delimitation was carried out in 2011, but the administrative process was suspended due to court decisions in favor of the farmers.
“There is a lack of commitment from the Brazilian government to resolve this land issue in Mato Grosso do Sul. It is clear that agribusiness has a political and economic power that dominates Congress,” says Diógenes Cariaga, a professor at UEMS who is monitoring the situation.
In the classroom, Cariaga hears stories directly from several indigenous students who are camped out at the points they are trying to retake. “The families are greatly impacted by the violence that has this historical dimension caused by the State, which privatized the lands with indigenous people present,” he adds.
The Federal Public Defender’s Office condemned the violence and asked the federal government to guarantee the safety of the indigenous people. The commander of the National Force team that was leading the operation on the day of the most severe attack was removed. He is accused by the indigenous movement of spreading misinformation and inflaming the farmers.
Hunger and fear
Opposite the tent where Germano Alziro is staying with his family, another camp has been set up. They are the farmers’ security guards, who the indigenous people call jagunços.
Several leaders interviewed by DW describe the psychological terror and fear of death that they experience. Every night, more than 50 pickup trucks drive by at high speed, turning their headlights on and off, screeching tires, and their occupants brandish weapons.
Of the 121 square kilometers already recognized as TI Panambi-Lagoa Rica, small areas are home to seven indigenous camps. They live in precarious conditions, have no space to plant crops, and are prohibited from hunting and fishing by the gunmen.
“We are running out of food. People are already going hungry. We can’t go into the city to sell our products, buy things or receive benefits because we are harassed and persecuted. There are businesses that won’t even let us in,” says Alziro.
An official delegation with representatives from Funai and the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples visited the site of the reoccupation. This Friday (09/08), a group of indigenous leaders went to Brasília to seek support to finalize the demarcation.
“We expected that the Lula government would resolve the demarcation. He said that this would be a priority. But there has been no progress,” criticizes Caceres.
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