In front of the National Congress in Brasilia around 1000 Indians of 100 different indigenous peoples put up their tents of black plastic demanding the Brazilian government to demarcate their traditional lands and discuss the large infrastructure projects that will have several negative impacts on their ancestral lands.

The encampment is called ´Terra Livre´, which means Free Land, and is organized for the 4^th time this year. It is always in the week of 19^th April (coming Thursday), because it is the National Indian Day in Brazil.
Monday the manifestation opened with a discussion about the government project PAC (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento – Acceleration Program for Grow) in which several infrastructure projects, like dams and hydroelectric plants, throughout the country are unified, all mend for economic growth. “There are no studies done yet about the consequences of these projects for the indigenous lands, like floods, destroying fishing waters, growing monocultures with negative environmental impacts etc. We want to be informed and consulted before the works start”, Jecinaldo Cabral, indigenous leader and secretary of the Indian organization Coiab, commented.

A delegation of Funai, the government organization on indigenous issues, was this year also present at the Encampment, including the new president Marcio Meira. During his speech he promised that he will follow the land demarcation processes from close by and that he will implement developing projects in the areas that are already demarcated. He also announced to visit the indigenous areas more frequently to establish a permanent dialogue with the indigenous peoples. The last promise he made is the officially installation of the National Council on Indigenous Policy, which is a demand of the Encampment already for a long time. A victory for the indigenous people!

The coming days there will be other discussions and activities in Brasilia and in the rest of the country, ending with a hearing with president Lula on Thursday.