– Indigenous movement meet officials of the President of the Republic. National Commission for the Indigenous Policy is back on the agenda

 

– Mobilization of the Guarani in São Paulo sensitizes judges and enables them to dialogue with residents of the city

 

 

Indigenous movement meet officials of the President of the. National Commission for the Indigenous Policy is back on the agenda

 

About 30 representatives of the national coordination of the indigenous movement are gathered in Brasília this week discussing issues related to social control over public policies designed for indigenous peoples and the participation of indigenous leaders in the formulation of policies and public councils – which exist already and have multiplied in recent years. In this discussion, a topic that for almost two years is part of the political agenda of the indigenous movement was inevitably brought up: the creation of the National Commission for the Indigenous Policy. The Commission was one of the topics addressed at a meeting between indigenous leaders, the minister of the Secretariat General of the Office of the President of the Republic, Luiz Dulci, and the special advisor to the Office of the President of the Republic, César Alvarez.

 

Alvarez agreed with the indigenous people that policies designed for indigenous peoples, which today are developed by different federal departments and secretariats without a central coordination, planning and definition of priorities, should be linked among them. The advisor to the Presidency stressed the need to build a joint agenda involving the indigenous movement and the government.

 

The indigenous leaders reaffirmed that the objectives of the National Commission were precisely these ones and that its purposes could not be furthered because of the intervention of the National Foundation for Indigenous People. 

 

The Commission was created in March 2006 through a decree issued by the President of the Republic. The selection of the representatives of indigenous peoples and of the government and the inauguration of the group were scheduled for May of this year. The indigenous organizations met the deadlines and fulfilled the requirements set out in the presidential decree. But there were disagreements over the suggested names as a result of a Conference held by Funai, where representatives were also suggested to make up the Commission. Six months after the deadline, the Commission has not been set up yet. In the penultimate week of November, Funai finally submitted the list of names to the ministry of Justice, but two of the suggested names are being questioned by the Apoinme and Coiab indigenous organizations.

 

Alvarez said that he would analyze the situation of the Commission and provide an answer to the group in 10 days on the possibility of setting up the Commission by the beginning of next year.

 

Participation in the formulation of policies

 

“We had 500 years without public policies for indigenous people, black people, poor people, and not even for white people who are poor. We want to participate in the formulation of these policies. Our people have been suffering violence because it is taking too long for our lands to be demarcated. Today, we don’t have to deal with gunmen only, but also with private security companies which are being hired to kill us legally,” said the Kaiowá Anastácio Peralta during the meeting. “We know that it is difficult to break away from old ways of doing things and that there are pressures coming from congresspersons linked to farmers, businesspersons, bankers. We want to build policies that are not merely assistance-oriented, but which are based on a medium and long-term vision,” he said.

 

The willingness of the indigenous leaders to participate in building policies for indigenous peoples was seen as positive by minister Luiz Dulci. He said that, despite all the problems, “partial advances” were registered during the first term of president Lula – such as the demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol area – which should be deepened over the next four years. “We need to do more during Lula’s second term than during the first one.”

 

A few days after the statements of the president on the need to “unleash” Brazil’s development, which, according to him, has been hindered by environmental laws and indigenous populations, the issue of mining activities in indigenous lands and of building power plants which affect indigenous lands were also discussed. The indigenous people said they want to contribute and issue their opinions on a bill on mining activities that the federal administration intends to submit to the National Congress. Indigenous entities and indigenous organizations also rejected the statements of president Lula.

 

Public policies

 

The meeting of indigenous people will continue this Thursday, when their participation in the definition of public policies related to indigenous peoples will be evaluated. The core topic is the participation of indigenous peoples in the formulation of these policies, and not only in their implementation. “Often, indigenous people only take part in councils to legitimize policies, because the topics discussed there are not proposed by us and neither considered with us,” questioned Ilton Tuxá, representative of the indigenous peoples of the northeast region in behalf of Apoinme. The indigenous leaders are discussing ways to strengthen the relations between indigenous councilors and communities and constituencies. They also want to formulate mechanisms for public authorities to appoint members to the councils who have a true social representativeness.

 

 

Mobilization of the Guarani in São Paulo sensitizes judges and enables them to dialogue with residents of the city

 

Worried with the almost complete stalling of procedures for demarcating their lands and with the two hundred legal proceedings which hinder demarcation processes, 50 members of the Guarani people of Mato Grosso do Sul traveled for over 12 hours to come to São Paulo. In the city, they were supported by 50 other members of their people who live there, and also by students and professors from the Catholic University of São Paulo, and by representatives of social movements such as the landless movement, the black movement, and the human rights movements. Together, they staged a demonstration in front of the Art Museum of São Paulo, MASP, at the Paulista Avenue, one of the busiest commercial areas of the country. Over 500 people attended the demonstration in the afternoon of this Wednesday, November 29.

 

The indigenous people were also granted an audience with the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in São Paulo and with federal judge Diva Malerbi, who is the chief justice of the Federal Court of Appeals of the 3rd Region (TRF-3). This contact with the Judiciary Branch is important because each and every land of the Guarani people in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul is affected by judicial proceedings which stall its demarcation and many of these cases are being analyzed by the TRF-3.

 

Commitments

On Tuesday, the 29th, the Guarani told the federal judge that even lands being claimed by them but for which no identification procedure has been initiated have been legally contested. As a result of this stalling, we have no lands to plant in and, therefore, we have nothing to eat. It also enhances violence of many different types, besides increasing the number of murders – in relation to which impunity still prevails and no investigations are being carried out – and suicide rates.

 

The judge made three commitments with the group: she promised to speed up processes related to indigenous people being analyzed by the TRF; to investigate, together with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, reports of neglect and inaction on the part of Funai; and to put pressure for all reports of crimes committed by gunmen against indigenous leaders to be investigated. In addition, she also pledged to speak to judges in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul to try and make them understand the reality and rights of indigenous rights in this region. “Believe me, justice also depends on you, and it will be done,” said Diva Malerbi at the end of the meeting.

 

 

President of Funai widraws his criticism of Cimi

 

After a judicial agreement, the president of the National Foundation for Indigenous People, Mércio Pereira Gomes, withdrew his criticism of the Indianist Missionary Council in the Jornal do Commércio newspaper of Recife. The measure was a consequence of the statements of the president of the official indigenous agency challenging the truth of data on murders of indigenous people in the country published by Cimi in January 2006.

 

  

Brasília, November 30, 2006

Cimi – Indianist Missionary Council

www.cimi.org.br