The president of Brazil, Lula, assured this Monday that he intended to approve “as soon as possible” new lands reserved for indigenous people, a legalization that was paralyzed under the mandate of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.
“I have asked the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs to show me all the lands ready to be approved. They must be approved as soon as possible, before others appropriate them (…) by establishing false documents,” said Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. during an assembly of indigenous leaders in the state of Roraima (north).
“We must quickly legalize all the lands whose studies (delimitation) are ready or practically ready, so that the indigenous people can occupy their territory,” insisted the leftist president.
“Indigenous people do not occupy anyone’s land”
In the Brazilian Amazon, it is common for individuals to take land to clear it and then officially claim it using false documents.
Lula recalled the essential role of indigenous peoples to stop deforestation and stop global warming.
The approval of new indigenous lands “will help us take care of the climate, otherwise humanity will disappear due to our irresponsibility,” he said.
“The indigenous people do not occupy anyone’s land, they fight to recover what has been taken from them by the invaders since 1500”, the year of the arrival of the first Portuguese colonizers in Brazil, added the head of state.
Deforestation at its highest point in the Amazon
According to the latest census, dating from 2010, some 800,000 indigenous people live in the country, the majority in reservations that occupy 13.75% of the territory.
Shortly before starting his term (2019-2022), Jair Bolsonaro had promised “not to cede another centimeter” to indigenous lands, and the approval process for new reserves has been effectively paralyzed for four years.
Under his presidency, average annual deforestation also increased by 75% compared to the previous decade.
The return to power of Lula, who had already ruled Brazil from 2003 to 2010, had no immediate effect on deforestation, which increased 62% last month compared to February 2022, with 322 km2 destroyed, a record.
But environmental groups believe it’s too soon to draw any conclusions. According to them, we will have to wait for the dry season, starting in July, when deforestation is usually at its highest point, to assess the effects of the environmental policy of the new left-wing government.
Source: BFM TV
