First change: 04/12/2022 – 09:36 p.m. Last change: 04/12/2022 – 09:34 p.m
Brasilia (AFP) – Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Tuesday that when he returns to power in 2023 he will create a ministry for indigenous affairs, addressing an emblematic concentration of indigenous peoples in Brasilia.
Lula is considered the favorite for the October elections, in which polls say he will face far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in the second round.
Although the election campaign doesn’t officially start until August, the left-wing ex-president (2003-2010) is increasingly adopting an election campaign tone in his public appearances.
“If we create the Ministry of Racial Equality, Human Rights and Fisheries, why can’t we create a ministry to discuss tribal issues?” he said at Camp Tierra Libre, an annual event calling for tribal rights.
“This ministry must be one of you, not a white man like me,” he added to applause, wearing a multicolored beaded necklace bearing the image of a macaw.
Before his speech, Lula received gifts, was blessed in rituals with sacred chants, smoked a pipe and listened to the Brazilian anthem, which was interpreted into the language of the Tikuna Indians from the state of Amazonas (North).
In Brazil, policies aimed at indigenous peoples are the responsibility of the National Indian Foundation (Funai), a government agency established in 1967.
But the indigenous organizations denounce that they are actually acting against their interests under the Bolsonaro government.
If he returns to power, Lula said he will promote “repeal” day to reverse the current government’s decrees on indigenous affairs “immediately.”
“No one will do anything without your decision and approval,” he promised.
“I am ready to return to rule this country 12 years after I left the presidency.” “I will return smarter, calmer and with more experience,” said the 76-year-old ex-president.
Bolsonaro, in power since 2019, defends the economic exploitation of indigenous reservations, which he portrays as an obstacle to development.
Backed by its agribusiness allies in Congress, the administration is trying to speed up several projects seen as harmful to indigenous people and the environment, including one to legalize the mining of their reserves.
Lula also referred to a Hutukara Yanomami Association (HAY) report released the previous day, which reported a 46 percent increase over the past year in illegal gold mining and blatant abuses by miners in the Yanomami territory, the largest indigenous reserve in Brazil.
“It is not possible for us to hear complaints about Yanomami men, women and children being mistreated, about women being raped,” he condemned.
© 2022 AFP