On Saturday, some farmers accompanied by security guards tried to make an agreement with indigenous people. They offered a cow and some basic food baskets so that the Guarani people would leave the area. According to one of the community’s leaders, they did no accept the proposal, but fearing that they could be violently evicted from the area, they requested a truck for the farmers to drive them to the Taquapery village, where they were before.

Christiano Bortolotto, who is the president of the Rural Union of the city of Amambai, drove them back in a van. As the indigenous people got off the truck, shots were fired in their direction. Angélica Barrios, 22, remained at the hospital until this morning, when she returned to her village. The three other Guarani who were injured returned to the village on Sunday. During the conflict, one of the assaulters of the indigenous people was also injured.

After the incident, the indigenous people filed a police report with the Civil Police of the city of Coronel Sapucaia. On Tuesday (November 20), prosecutor Flávio Reis from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of the city of Ponta Porã requested the Civil Police to refer the case to the Federal Police. After the testimony of the first suspects, scheduled for late this week, the case will be referred to the Federal Police. Up to now, none of the indigenous people were heard.

Next Saturday (November 24), a committee composed of representatives from the Marçal de Souza Center for Human Rights, from the Coordinating Board of Social Movements (CMS – State of Mato Grosso do Sul), from the Brazilian BAR Association (OAB), and from other organizations will visit the camp where the Guarani people are staying. In addition to showing them their solidarity, they will hear what the indigenous people have to say about the events and will make a video about the reality faced by these Guarani families.

Yesterday (November 21), Funai sent some sets of basic items to the Guarani people. They also requested canvas, because many people, amongst whom children and pregnant women, have been exposed to rainy weather. Until today, November 22, no Funai representatives had visited the camp set up by the Guarani people. 

In January, these Guarani families had already tried to reoccupy the Kurussu Ambá land. On that occasion, the farmers also acted as if they were police officers and during the eviction security guards hired by them killed faith healer Xurete Lopes, 70. According to witnesses, Ortiz Lopes was murdered in July in front of his shack by a person hired by farmers from the region.

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The Tupinikim and Guarani peoples begin the environmental recovery of their land in the state of Espírito Santo

On November 15 and 16, the 2nd Replantar nossa Esperança (Replanting our Hope) Meeting was held in the Pau Brasil village, in Aracruz, in the state of Espírito Santo. The event represented the beginning of the environmental recovery process of the Tupinikim and Guarani peoples’ land, which was devastated by many years of eucalyptus monoculture developed by the Aracruz Celulose company. 

After they occupied their traditional land, which was declared an indigenous land in September of this year, the indigenous peoples must reorganize and environmentally recover an ecosystem which was devastated by eucalyptus monoculture projects, which left springs dry and poisoned the soil with pesticides. At the Meeting, the Tupinikim and Guarani peoples exchanged ideas on environmental recovery with other indigenous peoples and traditional communities.

Over 150 members from seven Tupinikim and Guarani villages attended the meeting, in addition to Pataxó leaders (from the state of Bahia) and representatives from traditional communities of Pardo River (state of Minas Gerais) and from different organizations.

The Pataxó shared experiences in environmental preservation and recovery and talked about the threats posed by the cellulose company Veracel. A strategy used by the Veracel company to expand the area used for eucalyptus monoculture is to try and entice leaders to support its project by offering them money.

Representatives from the East Cimi office discussed the experience of the Tupinambá people in implementing agroforestry systems and the “Return to the Forest” experience implemented by the Maxakali people, who have been promoting a natural succession of forests through agro-ecological practices. Tupinikim youths reported their experience with a tree nursery project in the Pau Brasil village.

The eucalyptus monoculture project also threatens the survival of other traditional communities, such as the those of the Geraizeiros. Companies that plant eucalyptus to produce coal, such as Gerdao, Floresta Minas, Replasa, V & M Florestal and Sidersa, have occupied thousands of hectares for this purpose in the north of the state of Minas Gerais, evicting dwellers from their lands to implement their projects. The Geraizeira community of Vereda Funda de Rio Pardo de Minas reoccupied a 6,000-hectare area and began to reforest areas which used to be exclusively used for planting eucalyptus with native species from the cerrado region.

The participants in the Meeting highlighted that the pre-established concepts of “modern agriculture” should be redefined and a loving relationship should be reestablished with mother earth, respecting the biodiversity. They also recalled that environmental recovery should be a subject taught in indigenous schools.

At the end of the event, a group of over 60 people planted about 2,000 seedlings of native species in a two-hectare area inside the land. Late in the afternoon it rained heavily, and the indigenous people mentioned, in an emotional tone, that “Nhanderu (God) is on our side, we are on the right path!”

(Markus Breuss – East Cimi office)

Brasília, November 22, 2007

www.cimi.org.br

Indianist Missionary Council

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