More than 20 US deputies signed a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in which they ask for extra action in relation to the case of the deaths of indigenist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips, as well as more actions by the US government in relation to the protection of the Amazon. The document also criticizes President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).
The letter was proposed by Democrats Raúl Grijalva and Susan Wild and endorsed by 21 other party members, including Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Barbara Lee — the House has a total of 435 members. The document, obtained by Sheet​, is dated this Tuesday (19) and lists five demands.
The first requires that the White House publicly ask that all those involved in the crime be indicted and that a comprehensive investigation be carried out, which also covers possible masterminds of the murders.
Lawmakers also urge U.S. officials to speak with local indigenous leaders and send a high-level delegation to the Javari Valley, where they were killed, to learn more about conditions in the region and formulate a set of policies to help secure residents in the area. .
The document also advocates that the US make a long-term commitment to the security of indigenous people and the region and, to this end, create partnerships with other governments, experts and international organizations, such as the UN and the IACHR (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights). .
Bruno and Dom were murdered in June. The pair traveled in the southwest of the state of Amazonas and visited communities in the vicinity of the Vale do Javari Indigenous Land, which is home to the largest number of uncontacted peoples in the Amazon rainforest. The letter recalls that their deaths were not an isolated case and that at least 317 other environmental activists have been murdered in Brazil since 2012, according to Global Witness, making the country one of the most dangerous in the world for environmental defenders.
“Threats against indigenous people, quilombolas and other ‘forest guardians’ have reached disastrous proportions under the regime of President Jair Bolsonaro,” the letter reads. “Other environmental indicators are getting worse, such as the increasing numbers related to deforestation and fires, not only in the Amazon but also in other key ecosystems, such as the Cerrado and the Pantanal. from the Amazon, this case cannot be forgotten.”
Deputy Grijalva, commenting on the letter, reinforced criticism of the Brazilian government, saying that “the Bolsonaro regime has weakened protections for the environment and indigenous people for corporate profits”. “Biden and Blinken must use the full weight of diplomacy to reflect our commitment to human rights, hold human rights violators accountable and protect the planet’s natural resources.”
Wild, another signatory, advocates that the Biden administration “take advantage of this tragic moment to create a robust agenda of US engagement with Brazil, focused on curbing deforestation and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples.” “This type of agenda is urgently needed, not only for Brazil but for the entire planet, given the indispensable role of the Amazon in combating climate change.”
For Andrew Miller, director of advocacy at Amazon Watch, one of the entities seeking to convince the US government to step up action to protect the Amazon, “the Biden administration must move from rhetoric to concrete action.” In addition to working behind the scenes, the State Department must make public statements to let the world know that protecting local activists is a real priority.”
Last week, Eliesio Marubo, a lawyer for Univaja (Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley), was in Washington and met with US deputies and senators. He told US lawmakers that the Brazilian government needs to do more to protect the Amazon region, prevent new murder cases like Dom and Bruno’s, and find out who masterminded the crime.
Since 2021, there have been at least seven letters and communiqués from U.S. congressmen urging the White House to take action on Brazil. In one of them, in December, eight senators asked Biden for a clear reconfiguration (“clear reset”) of the relationship between the two countries”, due to Bolsonaro’s attacks on democracy, human rights and environmental protection in Brazil.
Despite the pressure, Biden has approached Bolsonaro this year. In June, both presidents had their first face-to-face meeting, during the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.
