Frustrated with Brazil's Lula, Indigenous peoples march to demand land recognition
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Thousands of Indigenous people marched on Thursday in Brazil’s capital, calling on the government to officially recognize lands they have lived on for centuries and to protect territories from criminal activities such as illegal mining.
With posters bearing messages like “The future is Indigenous,” they walked towards Three Powers Square, where Congress, the Supreme Court and the Planalto presidential palace are located in Brasilia.
A group of Indigenous leaders entered the palace to talk to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, while others shouted toward the building: “Our rights are not negotiable.” Last week, he backed down from the creation of four Indigenous territories, citing opposition from state governors.
In addition to calls for more land recognition, some tribes protested a proposed 950-kilometer (590 miles) rail project to transport soybeans from the state of Mato Grosso, in the central part of the country, to ports along the Tapajos River, a large Amazon tributary.