Resurgence of Indigenous Identity in the Crossfire in Brazil upsidedownworld.org/main/news-briefs-archives-68/4338-resurgence-of-indigenous-identity-in-the-crossfire-in-brazil The main objective of the ruralistas is to modify the 1988 constitution, which guarantees indigenous groups the exclusive right to land that they have traditionally lived on, and a large enough area to provide for their “physical and cultural” survival. In 2012, the rural bloc managed to get the country’s forest code overhauled, to their own benefit and at the expense of the environment.Other measures that they are demanding, like the participation of the ministries of agriculture and agrarian development, and agricultural research centres, in the process of demarcation of native lands, are aimed at hindering the recognition of new indigenous reserves.The ruralistas represent “a major step backwards,” said Marcos Terena, an official at the government’s indigenous affairs agency, FUNAI, and a veteran activist for native rights.The ruralistas see it as a dispute over land ownership, said Marcio Santilli, an expert with the non-governmental Socioenvironmental Institute and a former head of FUNAI.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 17:09:41 +0000
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