News Bulletin 897: Indigenous and Indigenist entities publish manifesto on restructuring of National Foundation of Indigenous Affairs (FUNAI)
Seven entities of the indigenous and indigenist movement, on Thursday, January 21, 2010, published a manifesto on the publication of Decree 7.056, of 28 December, 2009, which restructures the FUNAI. The participating entities, Cimi among them, affirm the importance of there being a FUNAI restructuring, but highlight that it was not done in the best manner, because it failed to respect the indigenous peoples right to be heard. According to the memorandum, the restructuring was “intramural”, resulting in the peoples feeling disrespected.
On another point, the document also states that such comportment by FUNAI introduced the possibility that [contracted] “corporate sectors of the agency, opposed to any change… could join together to cause tumult in the process”. In relation to the statements by FUNAI that the National Commission of Indigenous Policy (CNPI) already knew of the restructuring process, the manifesto refutes. “To present an overview of the proposal for restructuring in the CNPI without the possibility of democratic debate, as was done with the proposals for the Statute of the Indigenous Peoples or the Legislative Project of the Council of Indigenist Policy, cannot be characterized as consultation or a product of deliberation in this jurisdiction”.
According to the document, the entities also hope that “indigenous participation be assured in the accompaniment of the implementation of restructuring, after duly rendering it adequate to the real interests of the indigenous peoples and organizations”. In closing, they assure vigilance in the defense of the rights of the indigenous peoples, taking into consideration their real necessities and aspirations.
Demonstrations
The protests against the publication of the decree began in
CIMI – Indigenist Missionary Council
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