'This land belongs to us' telegram Join our Telegram channel! telegram but he has been waiting for the area to be approved for more than 15 years which causes constant insecurity for him and his family Waiting for the demarcation of their lands there are countless communities that live in sub-human conditions They also suffer from the most diverse forms of prejudice and exploitation – in addition to frequent attacks and threats against those who decide to return to their lands of traditional occupation.  Next Monday (19/08), the federal government promises to inaugurate a new chapter in attempts to resolve this serious situation. Responding to a demand from Aty Guasu, representative organization of the Guarani Kaiowá and Guarani Ñandeva President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a task force to accelerate the processes of demarcation of the Indigenous Lands (TIs) of these peoples in Mato Grosso do Sul.  the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI) stated that together with the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) it is qualifying the data requested by Lula and that it will begin work next week with the discussion of methodology and details of action.  The government measures come in response to an escalation of violence that began about a month ago against villages reoccupied by indigenous people in TI Panambi-Lagoa Rica measuring 12.196 hectares (one hectare corresponds more or less to a football field) Days before the president's promise, a federal government delegation visited the area Present were the Minister of Indigenous Peoples executive secretary of MPI; Marco Antonio Delfino de Almeida coordinator of the 6th Chamber of the Federal Public Ministry (MPF).  more than offering solidarity to the victims “There is an urgent need among the population for a short-term solution We are here as a representation of this government that is committed to moving forward with this demarcation process because it is an area that will not be affected by the Temporal Framework Law,” she stated.  Even though it was not applicable to the case, in 2015 the demarcation process was annulled by the Federal Court based on the ruralist thesis of the “time frame” (remember) a Federal Court injunction had already suspended the progress of the demarcation in favor of the Itaporã Rural Union to unlock this process that has been stopped due to a judicial impasse,” said Sonia.  the presence of the National Force and government representatives was unable to intimidate the camp of ruralists that gathered dozens of pickup trucks just 150 meters from the Yvyajere village “Do we need to die to have the right to what is ours?” The day before the delegation arrived, a Possession repossession action filed by one of the non-indigenous occupants of the TI was suspended by the TRF-3 but the situation remains tense and the indigenous people fear a new offensive ruralists carried out a “struggle” against the demarcations in Douradina since we were very young we ran away from firearms it's amazing how we still have to keep doing this Nona Mereciiana told the delegation that pots were offered in exchange for their land when the colonizers arrived [...] When we refused to leave the attacks began and continue to this day” The first attack on indigenous people in the Panambi-Lagoa Rica TI occurred in the early hours of July 13 and 14 as a reaction to an attempt to occupy one of the portions of the demarcated territory – the old village of Jaguay'guague According to reports from the Guarani Kaiowá the reoccupation was promptly repelled by rural producers who surrounded the indigenous people with cars and made them flee on foot threatening to return and destroy older villages “The farmer came here close to his neighbor and started shooting” three other villages were reoccupied by the indigenous people – Yvyajere Pikyxiyn and Kurupa'yty – and that the siege of the ruralists expanded Tekoha designates an area of ​​traditional occupation and means “ "place where the way of being takes place" in Guarani.  general coordinator at the Department of Mediation and Conciliation of Indigenous Land Conflicts at MPI said that the body was only able to act quickly because it had already installed a Crisis Office to monitor the situation of the Guarani Kaiowá in the state The body has been working to guarantee the safety of indigenous people in the attacked areas One of the actions was to pressure the Ministry of Justice for the National Force to be relocated to the area again as the operational ordinance had expired on July 10 Listening to indigenous people and on-site monitoring allowed the department to identify the modus operandi of the attacks and some of their main actors according to a preliminary analysis by the National Force and the PM it is an ammunition that It is not for use by the security forces of the Brazilian State What makes us aware is also about the formation of these militias in the countryside” Even with the presence of the National Force and monitoring of the situation by the authorities there was an even more violent attack on the indigenous people leaving at least ten people seriously injured both by rubber bullets and with lethal ammunition A young man was shot in the head and was hospitalized who is Funai's regional coordinator in Dourados the agency has visited the attacked communities daily and monitored the situation of the victims “The atmosphere from the beginning is quite tense,” she says the National Force's personnel increased from two to 20 vehicles The basic food baskets distributed by Funai and the state government are insufficient and indigenous people have faced racism and hostility when trying to buy food in nearby municipalities and are depending on donations Souza recalls that the area has already been recognized as a TI for more than ten years and that the community fears an even longer wait to have effective possession of the land: “They can't wait any longer”.  land is not just a physical space; it is a fundamental part of their ñandereko recalling his fight for recognition of the Guyraroká TI one of the greatest symbols of the attack on indigenous territorial rights in Brazil the report is in the hands of [STF minister] Gilmar Mendes but it looks like Gilmar Mendes threw it in the trash” because it will take a while for the demarcation of Guyraroká I'm 106 years old and I've been living here” The southern cone of Mato Grosso do Sul concentrates one of the largest indigenous populations in Brazil – around 65 thousand people from the Guarani Kaiowá and Guarani Ñandeva peoples in 26 ILs with demarcation processes that have begun but which have not advanced to the next stages there are 15 areas whose identification studies have not even been published It was in 2016 the last time that Funai recognized lands belonging to the Guarani Kaiowá and Guarani Ñandeva: the TIs Dourados Amambaipegua I, in Caarapó, and Ypo'i/Triunfo, in Paranhos. The last area approved by the Presidency of the Republic was the TI Arroio Korá But even in areas that have reached this last stage of the demarcation process indigenous people are often not in possession of their lands The efforts of various actors and institutions to advance the demarcations are not new: after intense mobilization of indigenous people in 2007 a Conduct Adjustment Commitment (CAC) was signed between the MPF and Funai to oblige the indigenous body to carry out the identification and delimitation studies of 12 areas until 2010 many indigenous people return small portions of their traditional territories who is fighting for the demarcation of the Laranjeira Ñanderu TI “This 'time frame' that came to me is a greater genocide We lived a peaceful life for more than 500 years then they come and make a law to destroy the people the only person who can control time is the deity Xiru Pa'i Kuara and that the impacts it will produce are not restricted to indigenous people “This 'time frame' harmed the entire country demarcation processes are already being affected by the “Temporal Framework Law” “This 'time frame' thesis generated much more insecurity This has greatly hampered the progress of the processes This started to affect the [Working Groups] GTs which have much more difficulty carrying out their studies,” she stated.  the thesis is now used to perpetuate the vulnerable situation experienced by the Guarani Kaiowá There are so many things that people need to live with dignity and no one sees them This is disrespectful to the rights of indigenous peoples There was never the necessary demarcation,” she criticizes her According to attorney Marco Antonio Delfino de Almeida the application of Law 14.701/2023 to demarcations is not appropriate once the processes were initiated and their reports were approved the new law should not be a reason to paralyze them “It’s a legal issue: the Constitution says that the law will not harm the acquired right the perfect legal act and the res judicata” There are 263 demarcation processes underway at Funai today (Learn more) The impact of these devices used to block demarcations is also one of the warnings raised in the note “Retroacting a new Law to demarcation processes that have already taken 10 20 and even 30 years to be finalized will constitute an unacceptable default by the Brazilian State with indigenous peoples who are under threat and in serious physical and social vulnerability” The lawyer of ISA Juliana de Paula Batista recalls that the application of the 'time frame' without further analysis may even disregard the history of violence and forced expulsions of original peoples expulsions were carried out by the State's own security forces in arbitrary collusion with non-indigenous occupants These forms of violence were prohibited by the Brazilian Constitution which prohibits the forced transfer of indigenous people from their lands and classifies territorial rights as original and imprescriptible" The region where the escalation of violence occurred is known by the Guarani Kaiowá as Ka'aguyrusu which in their language means “big forest” Today deforested and dominated by sugarcane the area is what the indigenous people call tekoha guasu and holds countless stories of expulsions and attempts at confinement on tiny portions of land Stories that are alive not only in the memory of the elderly but also in the memory of young people.  “Our grandparents were expelled from their territory and now the Kaiowá want it to be demarcated explains Ava Poty Ju about the recovery actions “It's been 20 years since they demarcated our territory The children who were there in 2005 have grown up today We ourselves are going to do the self-demarcation mentioning and translating a kotyhu song of his people which refers to the return of the Guarani Kaiowá to their tekoha: Ko yvy pray mba'e [This land is ours]Ko yvy nhande mba'e [This land belongs to us]Tupã xeru ome'e va'ekue  [This land was left by Tupã]Ko tekoha re xe avy'a  [In this territory I rejoice]Ambohyapu x mbaraka [Here I sing and make my rattle sound] when the government of Getúlio Vargas promoted a policy of encouraging the colonization of the Center-West the Ka'aguyrusu region was impacted by the creation of the National Agricultural Colony of Dourados (Cand) – which would pave the way for the founding of municipalities Douradina The areas traditionally occupied by the Guarani Kaiowá and Nhandeva were transformed into colony lots and ceded to non-indigenous people There was a group that went to the Panambizinho region a group that stayed here and a group that was always moving around and the moment came when it was no longer possible to move around” recalls indigenous researcher Kaiowá Puku* who is also originally from Ka'aguyrusu and has studied the region's history.  many indigenous people were still in their localities in various regions – including the region of Ivinhema Fátima do Sul and lived from hunting and fishing And there were already farmers at that time Many families were taken to the Dourados Indigenous Reserve Even though he is not originally from Ka'aguyrusu centenarian Tito Vilhalva also has memories of this process and the traditional occupation of the Guarani Kaiowá in the region: “I was born in 1920 the only way to drive was by horse and cart.”  remove and confine indigenous people from the vast areas they traditionally occupied in small reserves created by the state were sold and alienated as private properties to farmers and settlers whose possession was legitimized by property titles issued by the State itself.  leaders of the Panambi villages sought out the SPI to mediate conflict situations that occurred following the occupation of their lands by settlers the administration of the Agricultural Colony promised an area of ​​2.037 hectares to the Guarani Kaiowá communities in the region The transaction was never made official at a notary's office Among the documents that prove this history is a report sent by anthropologist Joana Fernandes to Funai in the 1980s although they had been reserved for indigenous people and physically demarcated by Funai in 1971 the 2.037 hectares were not in the possession of indigenous people and they were then confined to a small area of ​​the Agricultural Colony Um 1984 document from the 9th Regional Police Station of Funai proves that the agency was aware of the situation Funai and Incra officials report that the indigenous people were living on just 400 hectares and that the area then claimed coincided with 46 lots in the Colony “completely deforested and being mechanically cultivated every year” officials were already calling for the area to be regularized as a matter of urgency.  in the case of the Guarani Kaiowá in Panambi-Lagoa Rica even with the expulsions and the confinement process the community never moved away from their territory there is extensive documentation about this The demarcation process that took place in 1971 buried any claim that there was a possibility of a 'time frame' there They never left the constitutionally foreseen Indigenous Land” State agents were mainly responsible for the removal of indigenous people and the titling of their lands to private individuals which he classifies as a “historical error” within the concept of Transitional Justice the leadership of the Jety Jagua Guasu area recalled that the violations they suffered were not only documented at the time but personally witnessed by the indigenous people the way a human being should never be treated If I was going to show you our houses burning our fields being burned by farmers and that we only witnessed with the naked eye Today they are killing our brothers in the retakes The ceremony in which the Brazilian State once again apologized to the Guarani Kaiowá in Sucuriy for evictions and psychological violence between 1984 and 1987 took place on the same day that the Federal Court decided in favor of an action for the reintegration of possession against one of the retakes in the Panambi-Lagoa Rica TI this land is also part of the broad traditional territory of Ka'aguyrusu.  attorney Marco Antônio also connected the situations of the two lands remembering that the indigenous people never left that place and that their right to stay was systematically denied by the State itself “We have systematically gone to Douradina and listened to people who are there houses were burned because they were exactly in the places where the lots would be delimited so that this reparation can be made not only to this community but also to other communities that have suffered and are suffering this same violence”.  who is making a film about the history of Aty Guasu it is an injustice that indigenous people who fight to return to their territories are treated as invaders when their lands were invaded and expropriated in the past.  when the government sold it to the farmers the indigenous people didn't know Portuguese they were afraid of guns and they left for their territory It's not that we took it back from the people The return of Genito and his relatives to the retaking of Guaiviry took place in 2011 under the leadership of his father Nísio Gomes who was shot to death in an expulsion attempt that year The investigations led to the preventive arrest of people involved in the attack and the indictment of 19 of them for the death of the chief studies for the delimitation of the territory by Funai have not yet advanced – and the body of the prayer Nísio Gomes killed in the fight for the demarcation of his land Solidarity campaign for the Guarani and Kaiowá families of the Panambi-Lagoa Rica TI  Follow the organizations of the Guarani Kaiowá people on social media Aty Guasu Kuñangue Aty Guasu  Aty Young Resumption  The most relevant news for you to form your opinion on the socio-environmental agenda LAST ISSUE Reintegração de posse pede saída dos indígenas em cinco dias; Funai recorreu da decisão - Ascom/Cimi The overturned eviction order was signed by federal judge Rubens Petrucci Junior the judge had set Tuesday (6) as the deadline for voluntary departure before forced removal The Guaaroka land retaking is one of seven occupations the Guarani Kaiowá people is heading within the Panambi-Lagoa Rica Indigenous Land The 12,100-hectare area was identified and delimited by Brazil’s Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai but the demarcation process has stalled ever since.    Tired of waiting and living in precarious conditions in the confines of the reserves in Mato Grosso do Sul, the Indigenous people are taking back areas of their ancestral territory. This July, there have been three occupations, and the big landowners'reaction included armed attacks the profiling of pick-up trucks and encampments set up meters away from the Indigenous people which escalated the conflicts in the region.  The Panambi-Lagoa Rica Indigenous Land is overlapped by large farms Among them is the 147.7-hectare Sítio José Dias Lima was filed by Laísa and Lana Ferreira Lins Lima admitted by the plaintiff herself in the repossession action that there is an administrative procedure aimed at demarcating Indigenous land involving the property that has been taken," reads Judge Gasparini in her decision "I feel that the best position is to treat the issue as a demarcation conflict involving Indigenous people and not merely the taking of property.” the federal judge ordered that the eviction be suspended that a portion of the land be reserved for the Guarani Kaiowá community until a new decision is made and that the Indigenous community allow the big landowners access to explore the remaining part of the property.  All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced provided it is not altered and proper credit is given All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced We are a global communion of churches in the Lutheran tradition country programs and partner organizations to promote justice reconciliation and dignity for individuals and communities LWF membership represents over 78 million Christians in the Lutheran tradition in 99 countries across the globe as well as ten recognized churches and congregations We strive to put our faith into action within and beyond the communion and seek God’s Word and Spirit to guide us Your partnership truly makes a difference.Together a better world is possible.With Passion for the Church and for the World LWF member churches in Latin America have advocated for “Free Rivers,” criticizing the environmental and social impacts caused as well as the amount of land that large dams and industrial plants use along the Uruguay River Posters calling for a just energy transition respecting the rights of people and creation (LWI) - “Water for Peace” is the theme for the 2024 UN World Water Day observed on 22 March “We must act upon the realization that water is not only a resource to be used and competed over – it is a human right intrinsic to every aspect of life,” states the UN Water The Lutheran Federation (LWF) member churches and ecumenical partners in the countries along the Río Uruguay have advocated for “Free Rivers” – Ríos Libres – since the 1980s land-use and social impacts that large dams and industrial plants cause along the river “Even though we are now witnessing the pain caused by the changes in natural cycles, bringing death and destruction on all sides and for all people, especially the most socioeconomically fragile, our hope is in the empty cross, in the resurrection, in full and abundant life,” said Rev. Fábio Rucks from the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB) He preached on 9 March during the 7th Binational Ecumenical Celebration for Free Rivers The event took place in the border region between Brazil and Argentina where the Uruguay River joins the two countries at Porto Lucena Participants came from the IECLB, Evangelical Church of the River Plate (Argentina/Uruguay), United Evangelical Lutheran Church (Argentina/Uruguay) and the Diocese of Santo Ângelo of the Catholic Church (Brazil) The Río Uruguay is about 1,800 kilometers long and forms parts of the borders of Brazil Its primary economic use is the generation of hydroelectricity that river is dammed in its lower portion by the Salto Grande Dam covering a surface area of 783 square kilometers completed in 2000 and covering a surface area of 141 square kilometers The electricity these plants generate significantly contributes to these nations’ energy supply There are plans to build two more mega-dams in the Uruguay River between Argentina and Brazil “The Garabí-Panambi Hydroelectric Complex has caused controversy over the environmental impact on the fast-flowing river,” explains Rucks the environmental licensing process for the Panambi plant was suspended with a court ruling “That was a great success for our advocacy efforts.” Fábio Rucks from the IECLB preaching during the 7th Binational Ecumenical Celebration for Free Rivers “ribeirinhos” (communities that live along the riverbanks) He said that churches have advocated for “Free Rivers” together with civil society organizations such as the “Movement of those Affected by Dams” (Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens) that fights to guarantee the rights of these populations UN Water calls for a human rights-based approach to water management national and transboundary levels must “ensure the effective participation of rights holders” particularly of the communities living adjacent to water bodies “to prevent internal and cross-border conflicts” Rucks is convinced that a lot remains to be done: “Let us not lose heart,” he said in his “Free Rivers” sermon “Let us sit in the shade of the trees along the river the benefits of uniting around water could be “delivering safe drinking water and sanitation sustaining healthy livelihoods and ecosystems helping to address resilience to climate change [...] and fostering regional integration and peace.” Chemin du Pavillon 2,1218 Le Grand Saconnex [email protected]+41 (0)22 791 60 00 whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine AlbertoInitially famous for evoking the landscape and culture of his Argentinian homeland Ginastera’s music went on to embrace much besides Alberto Ginastera has been called all of these and more in an attempt – born of unwitting Eurocentricity and make it comprehensible to an audience raised on old-world classical masterpieces where Ginastera was born in April 1916 to a Catalan father and Italian mother which the young Ginastera entered for his basic training aged 12 Just two years later, he heard Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring for the first time ‘The Rite was like a shock – something new and unexpected,’ he wrote later its dynamic impulse and the novelty of its language impressed me as the work of a genius.’ Stravinsky’s potent influence found its way into the ballet score Panambí which Ginastera began writing while still at the Conservatory While movements such as the poundingly brutal ‘Danza de los guerreros’ and ‘Inquietud del tribu’ crib unashamedly from The Rite Panambí as a whole is an assured and powerful debut Its choice of subject matter – a legend of the native Argentinian Guaraní Indians – also signals the preoccupation with indigenous traditions which runs through much of Ginastera’s subsequent music This didn’t happen by accident: Ginastera heard a performance of Bartók’s Allegro barbaro in Buenos Aires by the pianist Arthur Rubinstein and it snapped into arresting focus his hitherto vague notions of how Argentinian identity might be expressed within the classical tradition The Magyar folk inflections of the Bartók hit him and ‘filled in all the gaps I felt in my conception of forging a national music’ It was commissioned by the impresario Lincoln Kirstein who had been alerted to the young Ginastera’s prodigious talent by the belated Buenos Aires premiere of Panambí in 1940 nomadic life of the cattle-herding gauchos was a result of his direct experience of that harsh but beautiful environment ‘Whenever I have crossed the pampa or have lived in it for a time,’ he wrote ‘my spirit has felt itself inundated by changing impressions some full of euphoria and others replete with a profound tranquility produced by its limitless immensity and by the transformation that the countryside undergoes in the course of a day.’ This grounding of Estancia’s action in the soil of Ginastera’s native country was further underpinned by his inclusion of excerpts from Martin Fierro an epic poem by José Hernández embodying the turbulent lifestyle of the 19th-century gaucho and embedding it deeply as an image of heroic individualism and machismo in the Argentinian psyche The baritone solos setting Hernández’s verses are among the most evocative moments in the ballet At a stroke it establishes an arresting template for the development of a distinctive national music in Argentina and is a remarkable achievement for a composer in his mid-20s The period of Estancia was significant for another reason: while writing it, Ginastera had his first, momentous meeting with US composer Aaron Copland Copland came to Buenos Aires in 1941 as a cultural envoy of the Committee for Inter-American Artistic and Intellectual Relations His mission was to scout new talent – individuals who might benefit from training opportunities in the US Ginastera struck him as the perfect candidate ‘He is looked upon with favour by all groups here some day be an outstanding figure in Argentine music,’ Copland told his diary Although Copland’s Billy the Kid had undoubtedly influenced Estancia the relationship was by no means one-sided Copland’s new ballet Rodeo premiered to great acclaim folksy orchestrations and ‘Hoe-Down’ finale suggesting obvious areas of cross-pollination with Ginastera’s gaucho story Ginastera applied for a Guggenheim Fellowship to study in the US the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had drawn the US into World War II He was also becoming embroiled in the turbulent politics of his own country: in 1945 he lost a teaching post for protesting against the new Argentine military regime’s sacking of academics who criticised its scorched-earth political tactics the path was finally cleared for travel to the US His 15-month stay there was a seminal period – he attended Copland’s composition classes at Tanglewood had several of his works premiered and absorbed the music of progressive composers such as Schoenberg more modernistic edge to his own compositions Ginastera described the shift as being from what he termed the ‘objective nationalism’ of his early period – where he deploys folkloric elements in a broadly tonal context – to the ‘subjective nationalism’ of the post-US years where vernacular influences are less obvious and tonality more ambiguous Typical of this second period is the String Quartet No where the driving rhythms of the gaucho’s ‘malambo’ dance propel the opening movement and the open-string chord of his guitar sounds at the beginning of the ‘Calmo e poetico’ third urgently expressive structure and a newly rebarbative language A similar aesthetic informs the Piano Sonata No another strongly propulsive piece brimming with nervous energy Ginastera himself identified one final period in his creative life to the period before Columbus’s arrival brought European habits of thought and behaviour to the American continent the influence of 12-tone serialism became more pronounced than ever The consequence was both the most distinctive and the most original music of Ginastera’s career as a composer Pre-Columbian primitivism pervades Cantata para América Mágica (1960) a key work of this final period and one deploying 15 percussionists playing over 50 different instruments The effect stunned audiences at the Cantata’s premiere in Washington One critic hailed the music as ‘stylistically unique’ creating ‘an almost frightening feeling that one was being transported to a new and enchanting world of fantastic sound’ The quest to portray the primal origins of South American existence continued to the end of Ginastera’s life he represented Mayan myths of mankind’s creation and development harbouring some of the most savage sounds in classical music since Stravinsky Gaucho life and the ‘limitless immensity’ of the pampas are vividly evoked in the ballet Estancia Intensity and rhythmic sinew mark these increasingly edgy Plácido Domingo; Ana-Maria Martínez; Virginia Tola this is an ideal introduction to Ginastera’s vocal output mining the deep past of the pre-Columbian continent Illustration by Risko Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Rezadoras cantam (à esq.) e a comunidade da retomada Yvy Ajherê se reúne (à dir.); ao fundo o acampamento de fazendeiros - Gabriela Moncau the small town of Douradina in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul has become the epicenter of a new chapter in land conflicts in Brazil rockets were once again fired at night from the camp set up by men linked to the agribusiness sector in the Yvy Ajherê Guarani Kaiowá community The Indigenous group see the attack as retaliation for the construction of a prayer house in the area.  the Kaiowá advanced towards the camp the men abandoned the post for the first time in 57 days They fled closer: to the headquarters of Cleto Spessatto's farm The farmers' encampment was then dismantled. It had been set up since July 14, supported by far-right federal deputies such as Marcos Pollon (Liberal Party) and Rodolfo Nogueira (Liberal Party) “I had never seen the formation of an encampment of rural producers who stay in front of Indigenous retomadas daily,” says Daniele Osório from the Federal Public Defender's Office in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul With pick-up trucks and banners saying “taking land means invasion” the tents were set up hours after the Guarani Kaiowá retook the three areas in the Panambi Lagoa-Rica Indigenous Land: Yvy Ajherê there are now a total of seven areas occupied by Indigenous people in the Indigenous land (the first was in 2010) “All this used to be an Indigenous community [known in Portuguese as “aldeia”] the Kaiowá woman recalls that her grandparents – Pedro Henrique and Celestina – are from the generation who lived on that land and who were forcibly removed by the Getúlio Vargas government in the 1930s and 1940s The failure to demarcate the land has dragged out the conflict to this day.  “Now these men want it back again and we're not going to give it to them anymore We may even die – let them plant us here too We're going to fight and we're going to die for the land,” says Gerusa “We're claiming land that was ours We're at war now,” said Isaías* He said it while observing the waters of the river which the waters have been poisoned on purpose to make it difficult for them to remain in the areas It is yet another element in a kind of 'hot-cold' war that has been in place in the Panambi Lagoa-Rica Indigenous Land “Cold” because it is marked by permanent tension that can explode at any moment. In an encampment recently used for corn and soy monoculture the Indigenous people of the Yvy Ajherê retomada the National Force encampment and the representatives of the agribusiness sector who also claim ownership of the area (and who were once also camped and are now sheltered at the headquarters of the Spessatto Brothers) live together The Guarani Kaiowá watched from a distance the men who admitted to the attack searchlights or truck headlights point to the retomada In shops in the urban areas of Douradina and the nearby town of Bocajá The tension is also “hot” because it often explodes as evidenced by the large number of Indigenous people with scars on their bodies like the fire that reduced a thatched house to dust in the Pikyxyn retomada in the early hours of September 5 or the one that set fire to areas surrounding Yvy Ajherê on August 4.  The bloodiest of the armed attacks took place on August 3 when men on pick-up trucks fired live and rubber ammunition at the Kurupay'ty retomada “The boy inside the car was setting off fireworks Then he stopped setting off any more fireworks My leg was shaking like this,” Erielton gestures with his hand as he tells Brasil de Fato when he was rescued by another Indigenous man on a motorcycle.  The bullet is still in the young Kaiowá's head “It’s dangerous to take it off,” he says walk and do services that don’t demand too much physical effort He can't be exposed to the sun or carry any weight “Even the doctor was surprised that I hadn't died,” he says “'How are you still alive?' he said to me I think I'm trusting God," he says Poty Rendy is 63 years old and has been a nhandesy (“prayer” her grandmother passed on the teachings to her in that very land so that something ugly wouldn't happen here,” she explains.  “This is called yvyrai,” she points to an altar before her That's why we can't take advantage of this the karai [white people] didn't kill us,” says Poty “They [the Indigenous men] were shot there but they [the shooters] didn't come here,” Poty Rendy shows how far the pick-up trucks got on the day of the attack that wounded Erielton and nine other people “I went there to pray after they brought my nephew on a motorcycle for me “Great Tupã blessed us so that worse things wouldn't happen in our lives,” he says is eating very little and sleeping less after the attack “Young people are supposed to have a future If they die… it was by God.”  It used to be abundant in the rivers that cross Indigenous territory but its consumption seems to be as dangerous as drinking water from nearby rivers a three-year-old child was hospitalized after drinking water from the river that crosses the territory and spent eleven days in the hospital Another 10-year-old and an adult man also fell ill The day after the boy's mother rushed him to the University Hospital in Dourados the Guarani Kaiowá were planting banana trees when they saw that the water in the reservoir that surrounds the Yvy Ajherê settlement was dark a dead snake made up the grim scene.  We used to drink it back when it was clean water I'm sure the agribusiness men have poured poison into the water,” says Apukay one of the leaders of the retomada.   the report followed a conversation between the National Force and four men from the farmers' encampment The security agents asked them to “avoid setting off fireworkers” against the Indigenous people.  one of the men pointed to the reservoir when he complained about the Indigenous people to the National Force commander “They go and throw things in there and then film everything We don't leave here,” he defended himself the Indigenous community is demanding that an expert reveal which substances caused the animals to die and the children to fall ill Water samples were collected and sent to the Central Laboratory (Lacen in Portuguese) and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz The results will probably be released in September the Ministry of Health said that the Mato Grosso do Sul Special Indigenous Health District (DSEI-MS in Portuguese) “is working with local authorities to avoid water shortages in the community” we’re bringing water from another Indigenous community They say they're going to fix a water tank for us bring us water in a barrel,” says Isaías “We're digging wells in the middle of the bush but the water isn't coming out either,” he laments But I think the farmers threw something into the water People who have drank it have had stomachaches and diarrhea It's too bad to drink water here,” he sums up.   It wouldn't be the first time that toxic products have been used as a chemical weapon against Indigenous peoples in Mato Grosso do Sul Published this year in the journal Ciência e Saúde Coletiva a Fiocruz study found 22 types of active pesticide ingredients in the waters of the Guyraroká retomada 41% of the community residents have serious health impacts and 68% are banned in the European Union.   But one doesn't have to leave the Panambi Lagoa-Rica Indigenous Land in search of examples the young Indigenous warrior who denounced the water situation to a delegation of jurists and human rights defenders who visited Yvy Ajherê on August 30 bears the marks of pesticides sprayed by farmer Cleto Spessatto on his body “Many people ask me 'why do you wear glasses?” she said holding the collected water in one hand and the mbaraká (Indigenous sacred instrument) bow and arrow in the other: “Because of the poison When I was a child and planes flew over us Because of the episode that damaged Genivaldo's vision the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF in Portuguese) filed a lawsuit against Spessatto the airplane pilot Laurentino Zamberlan and the company Dimensão Aviação Agrícola Ltda asking for compensation of BRL286,000 (over US$ 52,00) for the Guyra Kambi'y settlement The fine was due to the aerial spraying of poison over the community on January 6, 2015. In 2019, however, the 1st Federal Court of Dourados decided that a payment was not necessary the use of pesticides was compared to the fight against dengue fever “There are activities that cannot be suppressed without seriously harming the community,” the ruling said “How are we going to invade what is ours?”: land “We have to beat these farmers because it's our right,” says Gerusa “How many years have we been fighting Several people who were waiting for the land to be demarcated have already died the people are fighting,” she says.  “The farmer took this land and he's profiting from it And the Indigenous peoples are being sacrificed They're rich at the expense of Indigenous peoples,” says Mrs Kaiowá “We don't want an agreement anymore regarding the case of the Panambi Lagoa-Rica Indigenous Land as evidenced by the back and forth over the cut-off point in Brasília (Federal District) has only been possible with Indigenous peoples taking back their territories on their own The ruralist thesis of the Time Frame Law argument according to which Indigenous peoples can only have demarcated the lands they were occupying in October 1988 the date of the promulgation of the Brazilian Constitution was already ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in September 2023.  the failure to resolve the issue paralyzes all judicial and land demarcation processes that would be affected by the cut-off point The Panambi Lagoa-Rica Indigenous Land is one of them.  this lack of response will lead to a worsening of violence in the countryside,” says public defender Daniele Osório the Indigenous people have been waiting for at least 60 years How many generations have lived and died amid this struggle and have not had a definitive answer?” she concludes “All this is happening here because rural producers want to own everything,” says Joselino* but we've been living up here since our ancestors my grandparents were all born in this area,” he says.  “We know this land because it's ours,” says Joselino “We didn't come from anywhere else The farmers say we're invading their property How are we going to invade what is ours?” he asks Francisco* hesitated when he was asked to take part in the retomadas on July 13He says he lives “in a little corner” of the Indigenous community that houses around a thousand Indigenous people on 362 hectares. The space is small and full of stones, he describes.  “I wasn't going to come. But then I said to my wife, we have nothing here. Why are you staying? And what are we going to eat? Then I said to her, 'If you give me the strength, I'll go',” says Francisco. “As there are my children, right? Then they have children too, right? And they start having children. And where are they going to live? You have to have something in life, right?” he argues. “The people gave me courage,” he says. “We want justice as fast as possible. They have to demarcate this land because we've waited for many years,” he argues. “We're not here for nothing. We want what is ours. Our grandmothers, our great-grandmothers were expelled from here,” he says. ”And now we've decided: we want our land [back]. We have to demarcate it before it's too late.” *The names were changed to protect the interviewees. All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced, provided it is not altered and proper credit is given. All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced, provided it is not altered and proper credit is given. 2016Photo: Courtesy of Adriana Lima / @adrianalimaSave this storySaveSave this storySaveAll products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links and Caroline Ribeiro for their best tips on getting the voluminous waves of your dreams “Being in Brazil brings out a different vibe in me,” says Lima the model runs a curling iron through her hair “A light spritz of hairspray and then we’re out the door,” she adds Rezadoras Guarani Kaiowá fazem ritual em frente a vigília de fazendeiros que ameaçam retomada - Aty Guasu Indigenous Guarani Kaiowá lived through yet another terror scene in the town of Douradina Dozens of pick-up trucks with around 100 farmers turned on their headlights towards an ancestral area of the Panambi-Lagoa Rica Indigenous Land that was retaken by the Guarani Kaiowá people The big farmers threatened to attack the Indigenous people who occupied an ancestral land overlapped by Cleto Spessatto's farm The Indigenous territory has already been recognized and delimited but the demarcation process has been stalled since 2011 Since occupying this part of the territory, the Guarani Kaiowá are under attack and one Indigenous man was shot in the leg with a farmers' camp just a few meters from the land retaken.  We are Guarani Kaiowá and for hundreds of years we have been waiting for our land to be demarcated,” says one of the leaders of the retaking action This [land] is our source [of life],” he says massacred and spilt the blood of the Guarani Kaiowá people They're armed there,” warned the Kaiowá leader we're occupying [the area] and no one is leaving because this is our area We're not here to play games,” he said is “asking for help” and claims that Indigenous peoples are “under attack” it denounces that “farmers are destroying tents in the Panambi Indigenous Land recently retaken” We want justice,” says Aty Guasu.  According to the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi, in Portuguese), groups from the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples “and its attempts to negotiate with landowners and local politicians to stop hostilities” have not been enough “There was no presence of a more effective state apparatus to achieve real solutions – and even the visit to the regions of public authorities with political relevance The actions of the National Force have been criticized,” Cimi points out A video being shared on social media shows part of what happened on Monday night (22) The footage was taken by a man standing next to the pick-up trucks lined up “Bamboo is going to bend,” says the man who recorded the video expressing the farmers' intentions to beat the Guarani Kaiowá Everyone is organizing for the big conflict There are the índios [a pejorative term used to refer to Indigenous peoples]."  let's get here,” the man calls out He is referring to federal deputy Marcos Pollon (Liberal Party) the congressman posted videos of the farmers' vigil confirming that the farm overlapping the Indigenous land belongs to farmer Cleto Spessatto and that the “supposed Indigenous people” are “causing terror.”  Brasil de Fato contacted Pollon asking for a statement on the situation and the attacks on Indigenous people in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul There was no reply by the time this article was finished but we remain open should the founder of the pro-gun movement wish to comment.  The land retaking in the town of Douradina is one of 12 others attacked by farmers in July alone conflicts are currently taking place against the Kaingang and Guarani Mbya Indigenous peoples in the state of Rio Grande do Sul the Avá-Guarani in the state of Paraná the Parakanã in the state of Pará and the Anacé in the state of Ceará.  Stalled land demarcation contributed to the rise in violence against Indigenous people   New data from the report on violence against Indigenous peoples released by the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI) on Monday (22) reveals that government actions to protect and assist communities were insufficient the previous year more than 1,200 cases of property violations committed in Brazil against this population were recorded in 2023.      Conflicts in Indigenous territories are attributed to legal insecurity more than 200 murders and 35 attempted murders were recorded In a note sent to the news outlet InfoAmazonia at the beginning of July the Ministry of Justice reported that the demarcation of new Indigenous lands is at a standstill due to the lack of definition of the “Marco Temporal” Bill or the so-called timeframe thesis.  The landmark thesis establishes that Indigenous peoples can only claim land where they were when the Constitution was promulgated in 1988 the Federal Supreme Court (STF) has already declared the timeframe thesis unconstitutional provided it is not altered and proper credit is given.