Report No. 950: Guarani movement in South Brazil growing stronger
(original portuguese text)
About 300 people participated, from 4 to 7 February, in the Guarani Leadership Meeting and in the meeting of the Council of the Organisation of Guarani People in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. There were 200 indigenous and more than 100 other participants like supporters of the cause, social movements and supportgroups.
The land tenure situation, the restructuring of FUNAI (National Foundation for Indigenous Affairs) and indigenous health care were the main points of concern and received most emphasis in the meeting. On land tenure, the most worrisome aspect is the lack of demarcation as the majority of the Guarani lands in Rio Grande do Sul is not demarcated. But demarcated areas face problems as well: they are limited to very small areas. The third issue is that many fazendeiros (large scale farm interests) remain on indigenous lands.
Regarding the restructuring of FUNAI, the indigenous people feel the lack of dialogue from the official indigenist agency in relation to measures being taken as well as to the restructuring process of the agency. There has also been a total lack of information on the restructuring of the health care system. This complaint addresses the lack of explanation about what will change, with the transfer of health care from the National Health Foundation (FUNASA) to the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (SESA).
Major infrastructure projects
The Federal Program for Acceleration of Growth (PAC) also has a powerful impact on the indigenous peoples in the south. The main projects are duplications of roads, which impact about ten indigenous areas, and the construction of small hydroelectric plants (PCHs), which affect the Estrela Velha and Salto do Jacuí lands.
In the opinion of the vice president of CIMI, Roberto Liebgott, who participated in the meetings, he perceived greater participation in the debates. "I noticed a great interest of the Indigenous in the discussions, and in the referral actions. I believe there is a growing empowerment of the indigenous Guarani movement in the south, primarily around the Council of Association of the Guarani people, "he said.
Below is the final document:
Final Document: Meeting of the Guarani Leadership and the Council of Association of the Guarani People in Rio Grande do Sul
The leaders of 23 villages Guarani villages in Rio Grande do Sul met with the Council of Association of the Guarani People – CAPG / RS, (Conselho de Articulação do Povo Guarani) on days 4 to 7 of February, 2011, in the municipality of São Gabriel. On this date we remember the massacre of thousands of our relatives and the death Sepé Tiaraju committed by Spanish and Portuguese soldiers in the year 1756. There our Karai and Kunhã Karaí (religious leaders) prayed to Ñhanderu for relatives who died fighting for our land.
In the meeting we discussed various issues of concern to our communities, as the demarcation of our lands, the changes in the management of indigenous health care, the restructuring of FUNAI, the impacts of large projects on our lands and communities, such as the duplication of federal highways BR-116 and 290, a differentiated education system in our villages, and policies to support our agriculture and the sustainability of our families.
On all these issues, after evaluating the situation in our villages, we feel that there is still much lacking to ensure our rights as defined by the Federal Constitution, by international treaties and laws directed at indigenous peoples. The main delay is still the demarcation of our lands. Our experience has been of processes already completed on paper, but the villages continue to experience trouble because Funai does not remove the occupiers from our lands. There are even situations that families are in very precarious situations, forced to live in shacks of tarpaulins, camped on the edge of roads. In addition to this, we are always threatened with eviction by non-indigenous economic development enterprises. This is all because the government does not demarcate our lands.
And all this happens to our people who previously had a large territory, but which was transformed into cities and states of southern, southeastern and central west of Brazil, and countries of Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay. They divided the territory and drove us out. Today we are tightly encircled by towns and farms in all of the places. This situation causes us much sadness.
We are tired of living on the roadside. We are tired of seeing our children, our wives, our elders risking their lives to fetch water for washing, to sell handicrafts on the roadside of the highways. We are tired of living without our land. We demand respect. We told this to the representatives of the FUNAI, the FUNASA and of the Secretariat of Special Attention to Health.
In short, we need and require greater speed in the recognition and demarcation of our lands and in the execution of differentiated policies on health and education. We also demand that policy proposals referring to our people, are, first of all, discussed with our communities and leaders. No longer will we accept and wait in silence, because it is our right to participate in decisions that concern us.
In spite of all this, we hope that non-indigenous people recognize the gravity of our problems and that the public powers fulfill their responsibilities. Our Karai and our Kunhã Karaí alert us and guide us so that we are increasingly articulate and demand of the authorities that the law, that the whites have created, be respected and enforced.
São Gabriel, 7 February of 2011
