Brazil’s Pataxí³ Indians Take Over Land Being Used by Paper Firm

According to information from Cimi (Indianist Missionary Council), after repossessing the indigenous lands that were being used for eucalyptus plantations to supply Veracel Celulose, in the far south of Bahia, the Pataxó have managed to meet the president of Funai (National Foundation for the Indian), Mércio Pereira Gomes.

According to the indigenous people, Funai has set a deadline of 15 days for a report identifying the land to be published, and have scheduled a further meeting to discuss land issues in the presence of Ibama and Incra representatives.

"The president said that he had seen the preliminary report and that it was good and he asked us to trust him because the group was coming to the area on October 21 and that in less than a month the land identification report would be ready," said Manoel Pataxó.

According to A Tarde newspaper, from Salvador, capital of the northeastern state of Bahia, Gomes confirmed that the repossessed land was indigenous. "The area in question is included in the study to expand the indigenous territory," the newspaper reported. For five years, the Pataxó have been waiting for the studies concerning their land to be concluded.

The lands were repossessed in the early morning of September 27, the day before the inauguration of the Veracel Celulose factory in the region, which was attended by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, symbolizing the support of the Brazilian state to the production of paper for export and the expansion of the eucalyptus monoculture.

The Pataxó have petitioned for the end of eucalyptus planting in those areas where studies to identify their traditional lands are being carried out. They report that the pesticides used in the tree planting operations have affected their water supply. According to one indigenous person, Robson Pataxó, the Brazilian environmental agency, Ibama, has pledged to carry out studies on the quality of the water in the region.

The 40 indigenous families, led by the Pataxó Resistance and Struggle Front, have remained on the repossessed land, and 3 to 5 hectares of eucalyptus trees have been removed. The area is located around Mount Pascoal. "We will stay here until we have a positive reply about our land," said Robson.

Cimi – Indianist Missionary Council – www.cimi.org.br

Tags:

You May Also Like

The Elite Failed Brazil: Intellectuals Don’t Think, Politicians Don’t Lead.

In 2002, the Brazilian people demonstrated their daring and clear-sightedness by electing Lula president. ...

Aon Affinity Makes Brazil Its Latin American Base

Aon Corporation, a company headquartered in Chicago and specialized in risk management and human ...

British Police Deny Offering Family of Brazilian Killed by Mistake US$ 1 Million

Scotland Yard chief Sir Ian Blair says that he did not know his officers ...

200 Air Force Men at Boeing Crash Site in Brazilian Jungle

Brazilian authorities restarted at 5;30 am, this Sunday, their search for victims of the ...

A Glimpse on How the Law Works in Brazil

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in his first public appearance since a ...

Brazil Extradites to Argentina Operation Condor Suspect

The Brazilian government has extradited to Argentina a retired Uruguayan army colonel to face ...

The Battisti Affair Hasn’t Sated Italy’s Appetite for Doing Business with Brazil

Cesare Battisti, a member of Italy’s Armed Proletarians for Communism (PAC), lives comfortably in ...

Two Sons of Lebanese Win Brazil’s Top Literary Award

Two Brazilian authors of Arab origin were contemplated in this year’s edition of the ...

Tortured by the Military Former Brazilian Prisoners Want Truth Commission

Former Brazilian radical militants who were tortured during the Brazilian military regime (1964/1985) supported ...

In Brazil 85% of Internet Users Do Social Networking. Google’s Orkut Is King

Marketing research company comScore with headquarters in Reston, Virginia, a leader in measuring the ...

WordPress database error: [Table './brazzil3_live/wp_wfHits' is marked as crashed and last (automatic?) repair failed]
SHOW FULL COLUMNS FROM `wp_wfHits`