June 5, 2023

09:06

Adrisa De Góes – Amazon Agency

MANAUS (AM) – The Federal Public Ministry (MPF) opened an investigation to investigate allegations of possible racism against indigenous people of the Kanamary and Mayuruna ethnic groups, which occurred at the Bradesco branch in Atalaia do Norte (distant 1,136 kilometers from Manaus), in Amazonas. At least four victims filed an occurrence report against the branch manager, identified as Anderson Queiroz.

On Friday, 2, the public prosecutor in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, Marco Antonio Delfino de Almeida, determined the establishment of a Notícia de Fato (NF) number 1.21.001.000322/2023-68. For a matter of territoriality, the NF was redistributed to the Tabatinga (AM) Prosecutor’s Office, 32 kilometers away from Atalaia do Norte, which responds for the area where the fact occurred.

“Determines the establishment of Notícia de Fato in terms of Resolution No. 174/2017-CNMP that disciplines, within the Public Ministry, the establishment and processing of Notícia de Fato and Administrative Procedure”, says an excerpt of the document signed by Almeida, to which AMAZON AGENCY had access.

Kanamary Denunciation

AMAZON AGENCY obtained the records of the complaint made at the 50th Interim Police Station (DIP) of the municipality. In them, the indigenous people reported similar situations, but which occurred on different dates, including the delay of at least five hours before they were attended to and the refusal to provide banking information.

In the most recent case, which occurred on the 1st, Alexandre Magalhães Tavares Kanamary, 21, and Maria Lopes Magalhães Kanamary, 36, arrived at the branch around 9am and were only attended to at 2pm. However, despite the wait, the manager refused to receive a written request for access to their account information.

On the same day, the lawyer Adriana Pinheiro Leite, whose indigenous name is Inory Kanamary, tells that she went to the agency to ratify the request previously made by Alexandre and Maria. At the location, only then after waiting 40 minutes to be attended to, she was informed that the manager would not receive her because he was leaving for a home visit.

At the police station, the lawyer, who is president of the Commission for the Protection and Defense of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Brazilian Bar Association, Amazonas Section (OAB-AM), said that the unit’s delegate tried to convince her not to make the complaint, after he talked to the manager, who was also on site.

“I felt that he [the delegate] was blaming me, in an attempt to convince me, claiming that if we [the municipality] run out of manager it’s my fault. I said I would go ahead with the report, because there was nothing more to talk about with the manager. People need to learn to treat everyone equally, it’s about respect. We will solve it through a lawsuit”, she told the reporter.

Mayuruna complaint

On May 22, the town councilman, César Nakua Mayuruna, 41, from the Mayuruna ethnic group, went to the Bradesco branch at around 8:20am, accompanied by his mother, a 70 year old woman, to help her in her search for assistance. After about five hours of waiting, they were attended to by the manager, who also refused to receive a written request that asked for access to bank data.

“Unfortunately, indigenous people are still treated as the last category of beings. It is a very big prejudice that still exists. Most of the indigenous people here [in Atalaia do Norte] cannot understand Portuguese and, when they can, they are still discriminated against. They are the last to be attended to. The service is very much based on appearance. If the person is not indigenous, they will certainly be seen”, says the lawyer Kanamary, who is also assisting the victim.

In both reports, the indigenous people say that Anderson Queiroz “treats indigenous people with disrespect” and that he treats them “in a rude way”. Furthermore, the victims state that the manager receives them in a “discriminatory” way.

Demanded measures

The president of the Human Rights Commission of the OAB-AM, Caupolican Padilha Junior, who is also leading the case, told AMAZON AGENCY that the Order will officiate the regional direction of Bradesco in the State, in order to charge action on cases that have become recurrent. For him, it is clear the discriminatory posture of the bank branch manager with indigenous customers.

“We are going to contact the regional management of Bradesco to find out what measures Bradesco will take against these racist acts by the bank’s local manager, since this has been occurring with certain frequency”, said the lawyer.

Caupolican also emphasizes his concern with the way the local police station received the case. “We are very concerned with the tendency of the police force in favor of the manager. We are following the case with some concern”, he concluded.

We contacted Bradesco through the e-mail address available to the press on the bank’s official website. As of the closing of this article, the company had not replied.

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