In the previous four years, he strongly resisted the policy of “genocide” of the natives of the outgoing president Jáich Bolsonaro.
The militant and charismatic leader of Brazil’s indigenous people, Sonia Guazazara, will once again take over, from January 1, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples in the government of President Lula, after for the past four years she strongly resisted the policy of “genocide” of the indigenous people of the outgoing President Jáich Bolsonaro .
Guazazara, a former coordinator of the Brazilian Federation of Indigenous Peoples (APIB), is also fighting, from the front lines, to prevent the destruction of the Amazon forest. Last May, Time magazine included her in the list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Sonia Guazazara was born in an indigenous camp in the Amazon, in the state of Maranhão, and aims to make leftist President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva keep his promises on the environment and indigenous peoples. At 48, she has been an important ally during his election campaign and has appeared several times at his side, proudly wearing a traditional feathered headdress. He also managed to secure a seat in parliament, which he will however relinquish to join the government.
The presence of this respected activist in Lula’s government suggests that the new president will make a 180-degree U-turn on the environmental policies of his far-right predecessor, during whose tenure deforestation of the rainforest intensified.
Sonia Guazazara, called a “warrior” by those close to her, was not always warm to Lula, whom she criticized for his environmental policies during his two previous terms as president (2003-10). He traveled to many countries to denounce the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon – a project promoted first by the military dictatorship (1964-1985) and then by the left in the 2000s.
Adopting an activist stance full of symbolism and irony, in her posts on social networking sites, she did not hesitate to give the “Golden Chainsaw” award to congresswoman Catia Abreu who supported Brazil’s agricultural industry.
Sonia Bone de Souza Silva Santos, as her full name is, was born in 1974 in the Arariboya camp but later adopted the surname of her ethnic group, the Guazazar, as most indigenous people in Brazil do. Her parents were illiterate and she was forced to leave the family home at the age of 10 to attend school in Amarante, the nearest town.
When little Sonia wasn’t in class, she worked as a nanny or cleaner. At 15, she received a scholarship from the government’s indigenous service (Funai) to study at a high school in Minas Gerais. She then entered university and received two degrees, nursing and education.
“She defied all the statistics,” said leftist activist Guillermo Boulos, who ran for Brazil’s presidency in 2018 with Sonia as his running mate. “From the tenderest age, she fought the forces that sought to exterminate her people and her roots for 500 years,” he added.
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
