Runoff elections in Brazil (October 30)

A second term for the incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro would be a catastrophe for the indigenous peoples of Brazil. This assessment was made by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) prior to the runoff between Bolsonaro and his left-wing challenger Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (scheduled for October 30). “Since Bolsonaro took office, there has been an ongoing increase in violence against indigenous communities. In 2021 alone, a total number of 176 members of indigenous communities were killed. Further, there are threats, injuries from attacks, racism, and sexualized violence,” stated Dr. Eliane Fernandes, STP expert on indigenous peoples. “Gold diggers, loggers, and militias that are paid by big landowners feel encouraged by Bolsonaro to commit crimes of violence against the indigenous people and to invade their territories.”

Once, cases like this were investigated and prosecuted by FUNAI, an authority that focuses on issues concerning indigenous peoples. However, this authority has been severely weakened in recent years, and it can no longer do very much for the indigenous peoples of Brazil. Célia Xakriabá – a member of the Xacriabá from Minas Gerais who was recently elected as congresswoman – stated: “Even those who live on territories that are already recognized by the state are suffering from ongoing threats by gold diggers and land grabbers: real criminals who are protected and encouraged by Bolsonaro’s government.”

The Brazilian Catholic Indigenist Missionary Council (CIMI) counted 355 acts of violence against members of indigenous communities in the year 2021. This year, the numbers will most probably be even worse: September 2022 started with an escalation of violence against the indigenous population of Brazil. Over the course of ten days – from September 3 to September 13 – six members of indigenous peoples (Pataxó, Guarani Kaiowá, and Guajajara) were murdered in the states of Bahia, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Maranhão, and a 15-year-old Guarani Kaiowá committed suicide.

In the run-up to the first ballot, many expected a victory for the left-wing candidate Lula. In the end, the two front-runners were very close: 42 percent of the votes for Bolsonaro and 48 percent for Lula. The right-wing extremist president is mobilizing his voters with racist and homophobic statements and with anti-environmental and anti-indigenous policies. Lula however is still struggling with corruption scandals from his previous presidency. The outcome of the runoff on October 30 is still completely open.