Indigenous leaders call for protection against retaliation from illegal miners.

Brazil Agency - Currently, 18 Munduruku leaders are under death threats, according to a survey conducted by the indigenous people themselves. Located in the upper reaches of the Tapajós River in Pará, the Munduruku Indigenous Territory (TI) covers 2.382 hectares and is one of the three indigenous territories that concentrate 95% of illegal mining in the country, along with the Yanomami and Kayapó territories. The area is equivalent to 2 football fields. In the region, the activity intensified from 2016 onwards.

The recent demobilization of mining of precious stones In Yanomami lands in Roraima, the Munduruku people are increasingly afraid that the problem will worsen. Indigenous leaders emphasize that retaliations typically occur after the removal of illegal miners.

Last week, Yanomami leaders in the Amazon denounced the entry of illegal miners into the region. fog peak, originating from Roraima.

Among the threatened leaders who had to leave their homes due to pressure from criminals is Maria Leusa Munduruku, coordinator of the Wakoborũn Munduruku Women's Association. She says she made the decision to go into hiding for her safety, for the first time, during Jair Bolsonaro's government.

Since 2018, she has been receiving threats and has already had two periods in which she had to leave everything behind. The first time, she left with her husband and children. The last time, she left the territory with about 35 members of her family.

In May 2021, Maria Leusa, who became a leader while still in high school, saw her house, in the municipality of Jacareacanga, in southwestern Pará, set on fire by invaders of the Indigenous Territory.

Combating illegal mining

The Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA) says that, in May 2021, Munduruku leaders contacted partner organizations to report the fire at the small indigenous village of Fazenda Tapajós. The perpetrators of the crime were illegal miners, who reacted shortly after Operation Mundurukânia, which was fighting against illegal mining. illegal mining in the region.

The operation involved agents from the Federal Police (PF), the National Force, the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), and the National Indian Foundation (Funai).

"In March 2021, the headquarters of the associations were vandalized within the municipality of Jacareacanga, and in May 2021, the village of Maria Leusa was burned and attacked. A more effective coordination is needed in this regard so that we can safeguard our leaders and their territory. Self-demarcation and monitoring are the two most important actions of the movement, for example, on this year's agenda," reports anthropologist Rosamaria Loures, who also works as an advisor to the Munduruku people.

With regard to illegal mining, at the end of November 2022, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) requested information from the Federal Police and IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) regarding measures to combat the activity in the Munduruku Indigenous Territory area, located in southwestern Pará.

The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) considered the damage "a nightmarish scenario." A month earlier, the MPF had already reiterated its request to the Federal Court for the Union, Ibama (Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), and Funai (National Indian Foundation) to coordinate emergency action to combat illegal mining.

According to a MapBiomas surveyIn the Munduruku Indigenous Territory alone, there are 21 airstrips, raising concerns about the presence of illegal miners in the area. The majority of these airstrips (80%) are located within 5 kilometers or less of a mining site. 

Operations

Indigenous leaders say that following the crackdown on crimes committed on indigenous lands, there is retaliation from the criminals, an aspect that worries experts.

According to anthropologist Rosamaria, the actions of government security forces should be continuous, and not just in isolated operations.

"Ultimately, these operations taking place in Mundurukânia [Tapajós Valley] bring many problems for the leaders later on," he says.

According to Maria Leusa, former President Jair Bolsonaro's attacks on Indigenous people made it more difficult for the Munduruku to resist. "The first threat came from the government itself [Bolsonaro], when he said he wasn't going to demarcate a single centimeter of land," says the leader, who, in 2018, was the Secretary of Indigenous Affairs for the municipality of Jacareacanga.

"And then, the invaders take advantage of this discourse of evil to try to intimidate us. They go there, they come in with everything, with bulldozers, they use relatives for corruption, our relatives who fall into greed. This was a very sad reality. Many relatives succumbed to greed," he laments.

Territory

According to ISA, in addition to harassment from the illegal mining supply chain, there is pressures From the electricity sector, for the operation of hydroelectric plants, and from the transport and infrastructure sectors, due to the construction of waterways, railways, and ports. This reality, marked by violence, leads leaders to equate their conditions with those of refugees. This is because, upon leaving their lands, they break contact with relatives, have reduced access to foods that are part of their diet, and cut off interaction with their environment.

The Indigenous Territory (TI) is inhabited by Munduruku, Apiaká, and voluntarily isolated Indigenous communities. Together with the Sai Cinza and Kayabi Indigenous Territories, it comprises approximately 145 Munduruku villages. The Munduruku are also found in the Middle Tapajós region, in the Sawre Muybu and Sawre Ba'pin Indigenous Territories, as well as the Praia do Índio and Praia do Mangue Indigenous Reserves. This people is present in Pará, Amazonas, and Mato Grosso, and generally lives along the banks of navigable rivers.

The name Mundurukânia refers to the Tapajós Valley, a territory under Munduruku rule since the end of the 18th century. According to the ISA (Instituto Socioambiental), the Munduruku population currently numbers around 14 people.

The Munduruku received this name from the Parintintin, a rival people. The name is said to mean "red ants," an allusion to the profile of the Munduruku warriors, who attacked the territories of their adversaries en masse.

Government

The Brazil Agency He contacted the Ministry of Justice and Public Security to inquire about the security operations model on indigenous lands and is awaiting a response.

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