Brazil Forms Indian Reserve in Disputed Amazon
Date: 18-Apr-05
Country: BRAZIL
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva approved the creation of the Raposa Serra do Sol (Mountain of the Sun Fox) reserve in Roraima state in northern Brazil, according to the Justice Ministry.
Violence has plagued the area, where 20 Indians were killed and scores wrongly imprisoned and threatened through the 1980s, according to the Indigenous Council of Roraima.
Over the past few years, local farmers and politicians mounted protests and roadblocks against the demarcation plan.
A source in the presidential administration told Reuters that Lula wants the reserve to be set up as soon as possible in order not to give local farmers and landowners time to organize resistance.
Due to delays with the demarcation, five Indian groups living in the 6,370 square-mile (1.7 million-hectare) territory had previously demonstrated disenchantment with Lula, now in his third year in power, who championed minority rights in his election campaign.
The creation of Indian reserves is enshrined in Brazil's 1988 constitution and aims to undo the centuries of discrimination suffered by Brazil's aboriginal people, who now number 400,000, compared with an estimated six million in 1500.
Because of the large numbers of settlers who have moved into Roraima state in recent decades, the usually lengthy process of securing an Indian reserve has taken even longer, with non-indigenous farmers using their money and clout in the state government to forestall the proposal.
The state has one of the highest proportions of indigenous peoples in Brazil - about 40,000 out of a total population of 330,000.