Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro promised in a video published Sunday, May 30 to the indigenous Yanomani the end of mining in their territories, where they do not want it.
"If you don't want mines, there will be no mines,"
he said in this video recorded last Thursday during a meeting with representatives of Yanomani communities, the first having taken place in the territory. indigenous.
Read also: Brazil: Bolsonaro tries to bring the army in line
Since 2020, the indigenous Yanomani have alerted the authorities to the situation of extreme tension reigning in their territories, which constitute the largest indigenous reserve in the country with 96,000 km² and some 27,000 inhabitants. Their representatives and organizations for the defense of the environment denounce the illegal exploitation of land, in part favored by the discourse favorable to the economic exploitation of the indigenous territories of the Brazilian president, so far.
During Thursday's meeting, Bolsonaro vowed that the military would step in to enforce their rights, but never made reference to illegal mines. These, the main cause of environmental destruction in the Amazon rainforest, increased by 30% last year, devastating the equivalent of 500 football fields, according to a report by a Yanomani association. For several weeks, the natives of the Yanomani and Mundurucu (northern) territories have suffered attacks from illegal minors, which prompted a judge of the Supreme Court of Brazil to order the government to take
“necessary measures”
to protect them.