Brazilian government demarcated 20 indigenous lands in two years

In addition to the demarcations, the official report details that 12 investigative processes are under way for the expulsion of invaders from ancestral territories. At the same time, the government confirmed the recomposition of the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), an organization that had been dismantled during the previous administration and is key to the defense of territorial rights.

Kleber Karipuna, executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), stated that never before in the history of the Republic has such a high proportionality of indigenous people occupying strategic positions in the State been achieved. Among these spaces, positions stand out in the Secretariat of Indigenous Health and in various regional coordinators, allowing for direct influence on public policies.

Former minister Sônia Guajajara left the ownership of the MPI to run as federal deputy for São Paulo, in a strategy of the indigenous movement to strengthen its presence in the Legislative Branch. Industry leaders believe that the institutional dispute both in the Executive and in Congress is vital to consolidate territorial demands and challenge the hegemony of agribusiness in parliament.

Despite advances, the indigenous movement warns that land demarcation remains the main unmet demand. Karipuna attributed the slower than expected pace of presidential approvals and the Ministry of Justice's declarations of limits to “political interference” and to the difficulties of the central government in confronting the interests of agribusiness and territorial speculation, sectors that dominate much of the Brazilian Legislature.