Murders of Brazil indigenous and invasion of their lands increase

According to a recent report, made by the CIMI (Missionary Indigenous Council) linked to the Catholic Church, the murder of indigenous people in Brazil has grown from 110 in 2017, to 135 during 2018.

The Missionary Council also confirmed a 44% increase in the invasion of indigenous lands from the beginning of the government of the extreme rightist Jair Bolsonaro.

CIMI has already registered, in the 9 months of this year, 160 cases of land invasions in 19 states of the South American country.

One of CIMI's spokesmen, missionary Roberto Liebgott, said during the presentation of the report: "Bolsonaro's anti-indigenous discourse guarantees the violation of indigenous rights and predatory actions in their territories."

The increase in fires, and their magnitude, during this summer in the Amazon, which were clearly visible in images taken from space, added to the data provided by CIMI, point directly to a strategy of "colonization" of the huge area jungle and forest, which is the largest green lung in the world.

The interests of the large loggers, the agri-food export industry and the gold and other mineral seekers, have found in the current President their representative par excellence. 

Bolsonaro with his declaration about the exclusive “sovereignty” of Brazil over that immense territory encourages and gives impunity to the forced displacement of the original populations, and the invasion and occupation of their lands, with dramatic human and ecological consequences.