Sônia Guajajara will lead a new Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, with responsibility for overseeing programs ranging from land demarcation to health care, according to an announcement made on Thursday by Brazil’s incoming President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In October, Guajajara won a seat in Congress. She is a member of the Amazon Guajajara tribe and is well-known for being the head of the largest umbrella organization for Brazil’s numerous Indigenous tribes. She was included on Time Magazine’s annual list of the 100 most powerful people in the world this year.
Guajajara stated, “This is more than a personal triumph. It is an accomplishment of the Indigenous peoples as a whole and a significant time for restitution in Brazil. She said in a tweet that the establishment of the ministry is “a sign of Lula’s commitment to us.”
Throughout his presidential campaign, Lula made a commitment to establish the Indigenous cabinet department. He presided over Brazil from 2003 to 2010 and will take office again on January 1.
Guajajara’s selection to this position represents a complete about-face for the Brazilian government. Jair Bolsonaro, the outgoing president who was ousted in October, is a racist with a history of opposing Indigenous rights and land. He remarked in Brazil’s Congress in 1998 while still a marginal congressman, complimenting the US Cavalry for having “decimated its Indians” and lamenting the fact that Brazil had not followed like.
Due to Bolsonaro’s pledges to develop the Amazon and his weakening of environmental law enforcement, there has been an increase in illicit miners, loggers, and land robbers entering Brazilian Native territory. Around 20,000 illegal gold miners are currently working in Yanomami tribal area alone, claim local Indigenous organizations.
The attempts to legalize these practices were vehemently resisted by Guajajara, and their opposition was generally successful. She also saw the killings of five other tribe members who fought against illegal loggers in 2019 and 2020.
Several Indigenous organizations, including the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, welcomed her on social media for the nomination after the official announcement of her appointment and 15 others in the nation’s capital of Brasilia on Thursday.
The future minister and the Indigenous social movement as a whole were thanked for the nomination by a group of authorities who work in Indigenous issues.
One of the most significant carbon sinks in the world is found in the territories inhabited by Indigenous peoples of Brazil. By absorbing significant volumes of carbon dioxide, the Amazon rainforest serves as a barrier against climate change.
The size of Colombia is around 13% of Brazil’s territory, which is designated as Indigenous regions. Tropical rainforests cover the most of it, which is located in the Amazon.
