October 27 thry 31, missionaries of CIMI, indigenous and non-indigenous guests have met in the Centro de Formação Vicente Cañas, in Luziânia, Goiás, in the XVIII CIMI General Assembly. With the theme “Peace and land for indigenous peoples”, the participants heard analyses regarding the de-territorialization of the traditional peoples and the domination of the territories by capital; the role of BNDES in financing of large projects; the energy model and the large projects that affect indigenous lands.

 

In the evaluation of the president of Cimi, Dom Erwin Kräutler, these days of meetings have been exceptional. “We have been gifted with information and important data that we did not have and that are important for our struggle”, he affirmed. Dom Erwin also noted the good choice of presenters. “The choice of those making presentations was most fortunate. We were given fundamentals for taking positions. I am very content. Many missionaries who are here, often times, have no possibility for deepening  [their understanding] in important questions, but now have this opportunity”, he concluded.

 

State of affairs

On the first day of the assembly, João Pedro Stédile, of the MST, highlighted that there currently exist three fronts in Latin America: a United States imperialism, based on an economy of militarized industry; a project still nameless, but that could be called Nationalist-capitalist, which finances large enterprises to act in the international market; and the ALBA – the Bolivarian Alliance of the peoples of the Americas – which would be an alternative to the other two visions mentioned. For him, it is necessary that the social movements define their vision and how they want to proceed. Further on day 27, the CIMI juridical advisor Paulo Machado, made an analysis of the current indigenist policy, emphasizing that the great dispute to be engaged is ideological, in defense of the rights of the indigenous peoples, and that there is a great deal invested in opposition to the constitutional rights of these peoples.

 

Current model of development

On the second day, the panel discussion “Current model of development: the large projects as strategy of de-territorialization of the traditional peoples and domination of the territories by capital”, was conducted in two parts. In the morning, Guilherme de Carvalho, from FASE-PA and Professor Célio Bergmann, from the USP (University of São Paulo), analyzed the logic of the large enterprises and the lack of space for the indigenous peoples from within this vision. The Brazilian every sector was also analyzed in relationship to the with the large enterprises, especially the Belo Monte hydroelectric project in the state of Pará.

 

In the afternoon, the panel was convened with the president of Cimi, Dom Erwin Kräutler and the journalist of the Plataforma BNDES, Carlos Tautz. The functions of the BNDES (National Bank of Economic and Social Development) were questioned in a talk by Tautz.

 

The problem of the BNDES, according to Tautz was the fact of the bank being created for financing social projects and initiatives of economic solidarity, for example, but in reality, is the major financier of private enterprise. With such financial support, the BNDES ends up financing works that injure and de-territorialize the indigenous peoples in all regions in Brazil. “It is not necessary to privatize the bank in order make the private interests viable”, he emphasized. The statement summarizes the activities undertaken and for whom they are undertaken. As Tautz explains, from within the law it benefits this or that economic group, making viable a model of extreme concentration of income. Dom Erwin presented an historical analysis of the struggle opposing the implantation of hydroelectric projects, especially that of the Belo Monte dam in Pará. 

 

Indigenous Contributions

On Day 28, the indigenous representatives presented scheduled testimony and talks regarding their struggles for their traditional lands, opposition to the criminalization of the indigenous peoples and the large projects that impact them.

 

Neguinho Truká emphasized in his speech the lack of commitment by the government for those who would be impacted by the transposition of the Rio São Francisco. “Our country is being privatized. What occurred with the social movements under the Lula government was an elimination! Today there exists no opposition and we need to speak and make the government listen to us”, he stated.

 

Also participating in the panel were Cacique Xukuru Marcos Luidson, who recounted the history of the struggle by his people for land and against the criminalization of the leaders; Eva Canoé, who highlighted the impact of the hydroelectrics in indigenous lands; Eliseu Guarani Kaiowá, who presented a talk about the battle against industrialized agriculture; and Augusto Kaingang, who detailed the devastation of the indigenous lands in southern Brazil and the compensatory policies that the government seeks to implement  to annul constitutional indigenous rights.

 

The Assembly closed on October 30 following approval of the lines of action for the entity for the next two years.

 

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IN PARANÁ GUARANI OCCUPY PORT ON FRONTIER RIVER WITH PARAGUAY

 

On the morning of October 29, circa 100 persons of the Guarani people closed, for six hours, the ferry that makes the crossing between Brazil and Paraguay in the city of Guaíra, in Paraná. The indigenous protestors are calling for the completion of the demarcation of their traditional territory and the reconstruction of their homes, which were destroyed by high winds last Sunday. They left the ferry after the mayor of Guaíra promised to conduct a hearing on the questions on Friday October 30.

 

According to Guarani Cacique, Inácio Martins, the situation in the village is precarious because many homes were destroyed during the high winds. One tree fell on a home injuring a Guarani youth, whose injuries included a broken leg. Another four persons sustained injuries. The storms also caused the roof collapse of the village school.

 

“We have already been waiting more than five months for the support of the prefecture and the Funai for the planting and the clearing of a road in the village. With the homes destroyed, there is nothing more to hope for, this is why we are protesting, because if we do not, no one will resolve anything”, the cacique further clarified. He also emphasized that the community awaits the conclusion of the work of the Technical Group designated by the National Foundation for Indigenous Affairs (Funai) for carrying out the identification of the traditional land of the people.

 

At present, circa 250 people live in the tekohá (traditional land) Marangatu. The community requested the support of Funai (National Foundation for Indigenous Affairs) to increase the area for planting of food crops. For subsistence, they depend on the state subsidy program of basic food baskets. The indigenous hope is that there will be a solution to this and other questions in the October 30 hearing slated with the presence of representatives of the Federal Public Ministry, Funai and the mayor.

 

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