Indigenous people protest in New York during Bolsonaro’s speech at the UN

While President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) was speaking at the UN General Assembly, this Tuesday morning (20), a group of seven indigenous leaders from Apib (Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil) led a march to the Brazilian Consulate. in New York, a few blocks from the UN headquarters.

The protest was accompanied by indigenous people from other countries, gathered by the Global Alliance of Traditional Communities, as well as non-indigenous members of NGOs and international movements, with just over 30 people.

“Bolsonaro, how much do you earn to let our forests burn?”, said the choir, led in English, during the march.

Brazilians took turns on the loudspeaker in criticizing the dismantling at Funai and environmental agencies, the murders and conflicts in indigenous territories and the explosion of deforestation and fires in the country.

In front of the consulate, the protest found a group of seven supporters of the president, dressed in green and yellow, but avoided interaction. Two Brazilian indigenous people reported to the Sheet having heard accusations coming from the Bolsonarista group —such as being fake indigenous people for using cell phones—, but they preferred not to react to the statements.

“Bolsonaro came to lie at the UN, to say that Brazil is taking care of its forests, so we went to the consulate to deny it and denounce the genocide and environmental destruction we are experiencing,” said Samela Sateré-Mawé, who makes up APIB communication.

Alongside Samela, the Txai Suruí leaders, a columnist for the SheetCristiane Pankararu and Toya Manchineri.

In his opening speech at the UN, the president briefly mentioned indigenous peoples. He said that it is essential to take care of the environment, but that it is also necessary “not to forget about the people”.

“The Amazon region is home to more than 20 million inhabitants, including indigenous and riverine people, whose livelihoods depend on some economic use of the forest,” he said.

Indigenous movements brought together by the Global Alliance of Traditional Communities are expected to make other protests throughout the New York Climate Week, which began on Monday (19) and runs until Sunday (25).

The main request of the articulation to the international community is the creation of a mechanism of direct financing for indigenous peoples, without the intermediation of national governments, to support the conservation of biodiversity in their territories.

The expectation is that the pressure made in New York will give strength to practical measures that can be decided at two UN conferences scheduled for the end of this year: COP27 on Climate and COP15 on Biodiversity.