In a recent escalation of land disputes in southern Brazil, an indigenous Pataxó Hã Hã Hãe leader has lost her life, with her brother, an indigenous chief, also shot but luckily surviving after surgery. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has pledged federal support to the distressed indigenous community of Bahia following the incident. JURIST reported that the conflict followed a reclamation act after a band of farmers mobilized to a local farm that was retrieved by the indigenous group.
Local police reported that around 200 farmers, part of the group named Invasão Zero, stormed to Itapetinga, Bahia on Sunday. The group, translated as zero invasion, responded to the indigenous group’s re-acquisition of a local farm on Saturday. Confrontations flared, two armed farmers were arrested on suspicion of the resulting death and injuries, and an indigenous member found carrying an “artisanal weapon” was also apprehended at the scene.
After the tragic incident, Sonia Gaujajara, Brazil’s Minster of Indigenous People, denounced the attack against the Pataxó Hã Hã Hãe people by calling it unacceptable, criticizing the farmer group for taking back the land without any judicial order. She noted that the land, which the indigenous people occupied on Saturday, was “re-claimed under traditional occupation.”
This dispute followed other heated exchanges throughout 2023 between farmers/agribusiness lobby and indigenous people concerning a controversial demarcation bill. The bill considered only the indigenous occupational claim rights before October 5, 1988 – the date when Brazil’s current constitution was enacted. However, it was later invalidated by Brazil’s Supreme Court and partly vetoed by the president.
A report from Brazil’s Pastoral Commission of Lands, showed 211 land conflicts in Bahia alone in 2022, ranking it as the third-highest conflict region in the country. Read More
In response to the rising tensions, President da Silva confirmed in a radio interview that the federal government would fully cooperate with the Bahia governor and the indigenous people, aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the matter.