Indigenist who exiled himself in Rome says he would have the same fate as Bruno Pereira if he stayed in Brazil

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Responsible for the protest that made the president of Funai abandon an event in Madrid in July, indigenist Ricardo Henrique Rao, who left Brazil in 2019 after denouncing the involvement of police in crimes against indigenous peoples, suffered a heart attack about a week after the attack. clash with the old boss.

Rao, 51, attributes his heart condition to the stress caused by threats against his wife and 4-year-old son. The attacks on social networks began after the repercussion of his intervention at the event in Spain. At the time, he called the president of Funai a militiaman and a murderer, blaming Marcelo Xavier for the deaths of Bruno Pereira and Dom Philips.

“I’m fighting for my wife and son to leave Brazil as soon as possible. The insults and hate speech have already started,” he said.

The indigenist had to undergo emergency surgery for the placement of a stent and is hospitalized in the ICU of a hospital in Rome, the city where he has lived since March. He currently lives in a building occupied by a homeless organization.

“When we have a just cause, this makes the difficulties more bearable. Those who work with Indians learn to need only the essentials. So, with myself, I’m doing very well. I have food, I have a roof”, he says.

Rao was a colleague of Bruno Pereira —murdered in June in Vale do Javari— in the course to train indigenous policy. He states that he would probably have had the same fate as his former partner had he stayed in the country.

“We joined Funai together. He was a good man. From the first moment we could see that he had an interest and a dedication that went far beyond just having a public office.”

Rao left Brazil in a hurry at the end of 2019, after delivering to the Human Rights Commission of the Chamber of Deputies the document entitled “Military activity connected to organized logging crime, drug trafficking and homicides committed against the indigenous peoples of Maranhão — A brief dossier”.

“I delivered a dossier showing how the militiamen had already infiltrated everything there in Maranhão”, he says, who accuses the government of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) of connivance with the crimes. The text points to the alleged involvement of several police officers in activities related to crime in indigenous lands.

“The governors today do not command, they do not exercise effective power over the police, which have Bolsonarist criminal centers”, says the indigenist, who says that the government of Maranhão did not act to investigate the allegations and remove the accused.

In a note, the Sedihpop (Secretariat for Human Rights and Popular Participation) of Maranhão stated that it only became aware of the facts reported by Rao “on July 22, 2022, through an official communication from the Human Rights Commission of the Chamber of Deputies” . The entity emphasizes that, since then, “all appropriate and emergency measures have been taken in relation to the case, forwarding the demand to the SSP (State Secretariat for Public Security) and following up on developments, through the Deputy Secretariat for Indigenous Peoples. and the Superintendence for Combating Institutional Violence”.

Regarding the content of the complaints, Funai stated that it carries out “continuous actions of protection, inspection and territorial surveillance in indigenous areas of the state of Maranhão”. “These actions are fundamental to curb illicit acts and protect indigenous communities,” he added.

A lawyer, Rao says that literature is one of his passions and that he has written an unpublished book about his exile — he has also written several poems and short stories.

The indigenist joined Funai in 2010, at the age of 40, through a contest. According to him, the decision to work with the indigenous people was influenced by his mother, who worked at the entity as a nurse.

The work in the area resulted in some hostilities and a threat lawsuit filed by another Funai employee. Rao acknowledges the offenses, but accuses his colleague of being part of an alleged “rotten band” at the institution.

He ended up exonerated from the foundation in November 2020, in a decision signed by Xavier. The ex-servant contests the legitimacy of the measure and says he believes he can regain his position in the event of ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) victory in the next presidential elections.

Through its advisory, Funai defended the legality of the exoneration, stating that it took place “due to disqualification in the probationary stage”. The institution also stated that “all administrative procedures followed due legal process and were informed by Rao”.

The indigenist also claims that he accelerated the procedures to legally marry his partner and thus guarantee her access to Italian citizenship – with that, she can go live in Europe.

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