News / protest
Demonstrators show support for Brazil’s Indigenous people
A group of demonstrators gathered on the Cascade Steps to show their support for Brazil’s Indigenous people whose homeland is under threat from a new bill.
Protesters say that the denial of the right to their land is not only illegal “but it is also a threat to their lives, to the future of the planet and to our own existence”.
The bill aims to open Indigenous lands for industrial agriculture, mining, logging and other harmful extractive activities, with protesters fearful that if it passes, “it will make Indigenous territories demarcation impossible and significantly intensify the genocide against Brazilian Indigenous communities”.
is needed now More than ever
Around a dozen protesters stood in front of the Cascade Steps on Tuesday evening displaying a variety of banners and paintings.
‘The Amazon rainforest needs you to care’ one banner read.
Protesters claim that the PL490 bill will deny Indigenous people’s right to their lands unless it can be proven that they were occupying them before October 1988.
The controversial legislation will move to the senate after being overwhelmingly endorsed by Brazil’s lower house.
Members of former president Jair Bolsonaro’s rightwing Liberal party have voiced outrage that nearly 14 per cent of Brazil’s territory is in the hands of Indigenous people who represent only 0.4 per cent of the population.
Main photo & video: Martin Booth
Read more:
- Dozens of protesters form human chain at Yew Tree Farm
- Bristol and Brazil come together for sustainable fashion show
- A celebration of Brazilian rhythms comes to Trinity
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