54% of all indigenous murders were registered in Mato Grosso do Sul.

The Report on Violence Against Indigenous Peoples in Brazil-2009 once again highlights the sad situation of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS) in the matter of violence against the indigenous peoples. With the highest incidence of murders – 54% – and elevated numbers relative to violence and neglect, the reality in the state confirms the direct relationship between land conflicts and violence. In these conflicts agribusiness and large scale plantations are posed against the indigenous peoples.

In the reports published since 2005, the difference was always striking when MS was compared to other parts of the country, a situation which persists in 2009. Last year, there were 60 cases of indigenous murder and of these, 33 were in MS. Recognizing the stark reality, CIMI legal counsel, together with its president, Don Erwin Kräutler and Secretary General of the CNBB, Dom Dimas Lara Barbosa visited some of the Kaiowá Guarani communities in the state, in March 2010, to witness their situations first hand and also to demonstrate support of the organization for these indigenous people.

In the report covering the year 2009, Iara Tatiana Bonin, PhD Ed. at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), highlights the question of "institutional racism in Mato Grosso do Sul, tracking the connection between strategies of confinement of indigenous communities in the 1920s, until the present invasions of lands by large-scale landowners. "The Guarani Kaiowá today constitute the largest ethnic group in the country, and also most intensely suffering the effects of a model of occupation and exploitation of land for agribusiness", she highlights in her text.

Violence: omission and  failure of assistance by the State
In 2009, the 133 registered cases of violence were provoked by omissions of government. Among the occurrences highlighted, once again, elevated mortality numbers were due to failures in health assistance, 41 in total. Of this number, 22 victims were among the Xavante people, of the community Parabubure, located in Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso.

According to information from CIMI missionaries, deaths occurred due to a variety of failings in the health services for the indigenous people over a period of two months. In the region there is no transport the work and prevention [measures] by health staff; lack of mattresses, medicines and basic materials, including for hygienic maintenance.

Another alarming set of data reflects a high malnutrition index. During the past year 90 cases were recorded in the Guarani Kaiowá community of Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul.  Added to this number are nine infant deaths due to low birth weight: 7 in São Paulo; one in Tocantins, and one in Paraná.

Criminalization: indigenous victim of persecution and violence in Brazil

The Report indicates that there is a growing process of criminalization of indigenous leaders and intensification in actions against their struggles in several states. The cases receiving the most attention were the one involving the Tupinambá, in Bahia, and the one involving a large number of Xukuru leaders in Pernambuco experiencing persecution.

 
In June of  2009, five indigenous persons of the Tupinambá community of Serra do  Padeiro, in the municipality of Buerarema, were captured and beaten by Federal Police. During the action, they were handcuffed, immobilized on the ground and received large doses of a chemical product, known as pepper spray, in their eyes. Medical examinations verified that three of them had received electric shocks in the dorsal and genital regions. These assaults, practiced with a refined cruelty and torture, were intended to intimidate the indigenous people into leaving the land that they traditionally occupy.

 

Thirty-five leaders of the Xukuru people are being criminalized. They were indicted and prosecuted for a variety of crimes, when in fact they are remaining steadfast in the struggle for recognition of their traditional territory

Violence of the large projects
The report further presents data on forms of violence and damage to the environment arising from omissions by government agencies, such as morosity in demarcation of the indigenous lands and land conflicts.

Other data make reference to the damages caused by major projects of the federal government. The works range from small central hydropower  for ecotourism programs, gas pipelines, mineral exploitation, railways and waterways. Such projects impact indigenous territories and affect the lives of several groups of indigenous peoples, including those who have little or no contact with the surrounding society.

An example of such works is the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the state of Pará, on the Xingu river. The project, advocated by the government as a source of development, will in fact precipitate disastrous and irreversible consequences to the environment and communities in the region. Several specialists and social movement organizations have documented the endless number of irregularities involved in the project, including failure to abide by Convention 169 of International Labour Organisation (ILO), which assures the right to hearings for indigenous peoples in cases where projects affect them.