Amazonia: Indigenous and Environmental Setbacks in Brazil

Abstract

This chapter critically examines the situation of the indigenous popula- tions vis-à-vis their lands and ethnic rights. It addresses the environmental federal public policies in the Brazilian Amazon in the last few decades. The concerns focus on indifference of government and politicians in the Lower and Upper Houses of the Congress regarding indigenous demands, realities and rights. Amazon-indigenous rights and the creation of protected areas are guaranteed by the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 with specific sections on indigenous issues. Despite this con- stitutional protection, ecological and indigenous rights setbacks have been observed regularly in the Brazilian political arena. The Amazon rainforest has become, under a capitalist and neoliberal economic model, a worldwide source for minerals, and a place for power struggles, resulting in substantial forest devastation. Indigenous populations and biodiversity, in turn, have become “obstacles” to Brazilian develop- ment projects in the region. In the face of institutional and political contradictions, this chapter uses a dialectic method for analysis based on secondary data with a lit- erature review, official reports and relevant reports published by non-governmental organizations. The insights reveal the need to strengthen Amazon-indigenous rights, policies for promoting a sustained ethnodevelopment.