Thousands of indigenous women from various corners of the world march this Wednesday in Brasilia to preserve the environment, way of life and human rights and against the expropriation and exploitation of their lands, indigenous leaders told Lusa.
“Women are at the forefront of protecting our land, women are at the forefront of the fight against climate change, women are at the forefront of protecting our families, our children, against the violence that always is perpetuated through discrimination against our people, and we are at the forefront of the survival of our culture, our spirituality and our languages,” Cristina Coc, co-spokesperson of the Alliance of Mayan Leaders, the Association of Mayors of Toledo and coordinator, told Lusa of defense of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples International.
The Mayan activist, dedicated to the conservation of the environment and the rights of the indigenous peoples of southern Belize, also highlighted that these indigenous women, “from the seven geographical regions,” are in Brasilia to take a position “collectively and make a call to end violence and criminalization against indigenous women around the world.
Along the same lines, the Guatemalan representative and leader of the Winaq bench in Congress, Sonia Gutiérrez Raguay, told Lusa that this meeting in the Brazilian capital allows for the generation of alliances to face these problems that are felt in the most varied countries.
The march, Gutiérrez Raguay added, has as its banner “the defense of the human rights of indigenous women.”
Since Monday, thousands of indigenous women, mostly from Brazil, but also from Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Finland, Russia, New Zealand and the United States of America, have been have gathered and camped in Brasilia under the motto “Biomass Women in Defense of Biodiversity through ancestral roots”.
These women fight for common values, specifically against illegal mining, for the demarcation of lands and for indigenous representation in spaces of power.
During the first two days of the event in the Brazilian capital, several conferences were held on topics ranging from the climate emergency, biodiversity, mental health, indigenous accessibility and gender violence to the presentation of the Brazilian biomes of the Cerrado, Atlantic Forest. , Amazon, Pantanal, Caatinga and Pampa.
This event, which also meets the objective of solidarity with the indigenous women of Brazil in defense of their self-determination, culminates this Wednesday with the 3rd Indigenous Women’s March.
“We face arrests, false accusations, even deaths, murders and rapes of our women around the world, when they defend their lands, when they defend their biodiversity, when they defend their collective territories,” Cristina Coc recalled. .
On this occasion, the approximately four thousand indigenous women, according to organization data provided to Lusa, will initiate contacts and deliver a letter to those responsible for the executive, legislative and judicial branches of Brazil.
The march coincides with the review by the Federal Supreme Court of the rights of indigenous people to their ancestral lands, a controversial issue that pits these peoples against the powerful agricultural sector.
The judges of the highest instance discuss the constitutionality of the legal thesis known as “temporal framework”, according to which indigenous peoples only have the right to the lands they occupied on October 5, 1988, the date of promulgation of the Brazilian Constitution.
The thesis, highly criticized by indigenous peoples, would prevent the demarcation of lands that traditionally belonged to indigenous peoples, but which in 1988 had already been occupied by farmers, sometimes by force.
So far, of the 11 judges that make up the court, four have voted against the “deadline” and two in favor.
“A very strong threat right now in Brazil,” summarized the Guatemalan congresswoman, adding that this thesis “puts at risk the ancestral property of indigenous peoples.”
“There is a strong battle to fight and we hope that with this meeting there will be a conclusion,” said Sonia Gutiérrez Raguay.
The struggle of the indigenous communities comes from the “economic gains of the countries through the neoliberal system in this region” and from projects with multinational hydroelectric, oil exploration, and mining companies, among other factors, denounced the congresswoman.
“They exploit natural resources” causing pollution, damage and “environmental impact in the areas where indigenous peoples live,” he stated.
On the other hand, the Mayan activist considered that, when these projects want to enter indigenous lands, “when resources are being exploited, it is important that the world begins to understand and normalize that indigenous peoples have the right to give or deny their consent.” “.
Source: TSF
