April 9, 2022

15:04

Yusseff Abrahim – from Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – Women empowerment and participation, from community life to institutional politics, dominated the debates of the fifth day of the Acampamento Terra Livre (ATL), this Friday, 8, in Brasília. With the theme “Our Ancestral Voices Taking Back Brazil: Demarcating Territories and Settling Politics”, the slogan was the occupation of decision spaces.

“We want to occupy the institutional politics because we want to participate in the decisions of this country. We will never accept a Brazil without us”, said the indigenous leader and national coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), Sonia Guajajara, at the opening of the table that brought together parliamentarians and indigenous pre-candidates.

Before the beginning of the debate, the 17 pre-candidates received the blessings of chiefs and representatives of the Guarany people.

“This here is the ‘bench of cocar’ to substitute the ‘rural bench’, the ‘gun bench’. We want the National Congress to have the face of Brazil. And to have the face of Brazil, it has to have more indigenous women”, said Guajajara, launching her pre-candidacy for federal deputy for PSOL/SP.

Pre-candidate for federal representative for Minas Gerais, the indigenous leader Célia Xakriaba explained how the group interprets the intention of entering politics. “We are not just going for power, but to be able to do; not exactly for the cause, but for the cause; it’s not to corrupt, but it’s to break, because we want to be remembered not only as a politician in history, but we want to make history through politics”.

The event was marked by the proposal of a pact between the women of the ‘bench of the cocar’ and the participants, so that Indigenous people vote for Indigenous people. “It is not enough to say you like Indians if you keep electing people who want to kill us. Relatives vote for relatives”, warned Célia.

From Amazonas, indigenous leader Vanda Witoto criticized the lack of commitment with which non-indigenous candidates and organizations act on some issues of interest to native peoples. “Today, my people, like other peoples of the Amazon, are suffering from mining in the municipality of São Paulo de Olivença. These are communities that have suffered from excavation and, as the Rio Solimões has a very strong current, it has accumulated land in front of where my Witoto people live”, he explains.

Living in the area of the municipality of Amaturá, the indigenous leader says that the 178 members of the ethnic group, which has been resisting the impacts of mining for three years, have to resort to a dam to find water to drink. The lack of supply is also affecting the Kambeba and Kokama peoples, according to Witoto.

“That’s why we need representatives in decision-making spaces: to build public policies for our peoples.

Empowerment in the villages

Besides being bigger and younger, the face of the Acampamento Terra Livre 2022 is also more feminine. The impression comes from the representative of the Gavião people, Maria Helena Gavião, from the state of Maranhão. Participant in the last five editions of the ATL, for her, the construction of indigenous female leaders is a process that is underway from the initiative of women from various indigenous peoples throughout Brazil.

“There in the Gavião people we have a project that leads the discussion about public policies for women. We do a powerful articulation. Women have to insert themselves in these spaces to discuss politics in the village and outside it”, explains Helena, vice-coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Women of the State of Maranhão (Amiema).

In Mato Grosso, the Kayapó people have a movement that started last year, according to indigenous activist Irepoiti Metuktire, through the Raoni Institute.

“In our region, we women did not participate much in the movement. We were always excluded, but now we are getting a space and we are together with the men for this: to have our rights, but also to fight for the defense of our territory, for our children, for our grandchildren”, said the activist.

Denunciation in the European Parliament

The day of ATL 2022 was also marked by another international denunciation against the Brazilian government and the National Congress, at the UN and in the European Parliament, for violations of the human rights of indigenous peoples.

The action took place through an online hearing, where leaders of various ethnic groups warned that the attacks have been systematic.

The Terra Livre camp continues until the 14th. See the schedule for the next days:

09.04 Saturday

9am | #EmergênciaIndígena – National Mobilization of the movements

10.04 Sunday

ATL 18 years

• Regional alignment meetings for the second week of the ATL
  11.04 Monday

9am | Plenary: #Indigenous Youth – The future is now. Indigenous Youth Plenary

2 pm | Plenary: #IndigenousLGBTQIA+ – Indigenous Diversity and our ancestral strength