Brazilian National Force will act in two indigenous areas of Mato Grosso State

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ministry of Justice and Public Security authorized the deployment of agents of the National Public Security Force (FNSP) to Mato Grosso State to assist the employees of the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) in ensuring the integrity of the Indians living in the territories of exclusive usufruct of the Kawahiva and the Piripkura.

Signed by Minister Anderson Torres, Ordinance No. 21, published in the Official Gazette of the Union today (10), states that the staff employed in the mission will work “in activities and services essential to the preservation of public order and the safety of people and property.

The initial forecast is that the agents of the federal troop will act in the two indigenous lands from today until May 10, but, if necessary, Funai may request the extension of the period of the troops in the areas.

PRESSURE

Due to pressure from loggers and land grabbers and the intensification of conflicts, this is the second time in less than three months that the National Force has been mobilized to act in the Kawahiva Indigenous Land of Rio Pardo, about a thousand kilometers from Cuiabá. On November 12 last, the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety authorized that the troops spend 30 days in the reserve of about 411,844 hectares (each hectare corresponds to approximately the size of an official soccer field), where isolated indigenous people live.

The Piripkura Indigenous Land, in northern Mato Grosso, is the target of interest from miners and other invaders. According to the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), the area where two Piripkura Indians live in isolation has been invaded and degraded by non-Indians since 2008.

In July last year, the Federal Court ordered at least nine people to leave illegally occupied areas and not return, even though the demarcation process of the indigenous reserve had not been concluded.

With information from Agência Brasil