This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 001000 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI ECON BR TIP
SUBJECT: BRAZIL'S INDIANS - PART III: LAND DISPUTES AND 
VIOLENCE 
 
REF: A. BRASILIA 0941 
 
     ¶B. BRASILIA 0946 
     ¶C. BRASILIA 0985 
 
¶1. (U) This is Part III of a three-part series about Indians 
in Brazil.  This cable discusses current land disputes.  Part 
I (ref B) provided an overview and Part II (ref C) discussed 
concerns of indigenous leaders. 
 
¶2. (U) Summary.  The government of Brazil is facing 
unhappiness among indigenous communities who are demanding 
that the land demarcation process be sped up.  The Indians' 
land claims are often in conflict with farmers' interests 
and, in some cases, the GOB would have to expropriate land to 
which farmers have title.  In the northern state of Roraima, 
the governor has opposed the creation of large reservation 
that would displace rice farmers.  The governor, who briefly 
joined President Lula's Workers' Party (PT) last year, has 
urged Lula to reject the Indian affairs agency (FUNAI) 
proposal and called instead for the creation of an 
"archipelago" of reservations that would permit farmers to 
have continued access to land they currently cultivate. 
Indian leaders and activist argue that the "archipelago" 
reservation would condemn the Indians to poverty and leave 
them vulnerable to invasions by prospectors, hunters, and 
farmers.  In Mato Grosso do Sul state several indigenous 
communities have adopted the Landless Movement's (MST) 
occupation tactics in an effort to force the GOB to cede land 
to them.  End summary. 
 
Governor Fights Contiguous Indian Reservation 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶3. (U) One of the most controversial indigenous land disputes 
in Brazil is in the northern state of Roraima, where state 
political leaders, 67 non-Indian farmers, a handful of 
Indians, and some military officers have opposed the 
demarcation of a 1,750,000 hectare (eight percent of the 
state's total land area) reservation for 14,000 Indians along 
the border with Venezuela and Guyana.  Rice planters, whose 
production accounts for 10 percent of the state's economy, 
oppose the creation of the "Raposa Serra do Sol" reservation 
in a contiguous configuration, because that would require 
them to vacate much of the farmland they currently have under 
cultivation. 
 
¶4. (U) The farmers, Roraima Governor Flamarion Portela, and 
the state's federal Senators are instead proposing to break 
the reservation up into "islands" to allow for expanded 
state-directed economic development.  Portela has complained 
bitterly about governing a "virtual state," because the GoB 
--either through FUNAI or the environmental protection agency 
IBAMA-- controls more than half of the state's land.  In 
March 2003, Portela switched to Lula's Workers' Party (PT) 
allegedly after getting a GoB commitment to the archipelago 
configuration.  In December, Portela was asked to leave the 
PT to defend himself against charges of massive corruption. 
He is now "without party". 
 
¶5. (U) In 1999, opponents of the contiguous reservation plan 
sued to stop the demarcation process.  In March 2004, a 
federal judge in Roraima ruled in their favor and placed an 
injunction against the creation of the reservation.  The 
ruling does not, however, prevent the immediate registration 
of the reservation as a whole.  The Solicitor General, the 
Ministry of Justice, FUNAI, and a federal prosecutor in 
Roraima have all announced they will appeal the decision. 
 
Defense Minister Questions Reservations Along the Border 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
¶6. (U) Defense Minister Viegas has his own reasons to oppose 
the reservation.  He argues that the federal government needs 
access to the international border, which he believes would 
be threatened by the creation of the Roraima reservation.  In 
congressional testimony on March 4, Viegas warned against an 
"overly broad interpretation of indigenous land, above all in 
the border regions," which "could pave the way for future 
demands for the establishment of 'indigenous nations' with a 
legal structure different" from the rest of Brazil.  He 
concluded, "I adamantly oppose this concept".  Viegas said 
the armed forces need to "revitalize" their presence on the 
northern border, which "is not adequately occupied, 
demographically or productively" because of Indian 
reservations and nature preserves and that this "reduces the 
State's own capacity" to fight transnational and 
environmental crimes.  He also argued that the reservations 
and environmental preserves make it difficult to build 
infrastructure projects that would permit greater 
development. 
 
Justice Minister and FUNAI Chief Defend Reservation 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶7. (U) On March 3, Minister of Justice Marcio Thomaz Bastos 
guaranteed in a Senate hearing that the contiguous 
demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol reservation would be 
finalized.  At the same hearing, responding to critical 
comments from Senators from Roraima, Amazonas, and Mato 
Grosso do Sul states, FUNAI President Mercio Pereira was 
dismissive of arguments that the various Indian groups might 
fight among themselves if placed on one large reservation, 
rather than several smaller ones.  He cited an example where 
twelve different languages are spoken in one reservation, 
saying the reservation in that contiguous form, "only brought 
benefits." 
 
NGOs call National Security A "False Controversy" 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶8. (SBU) According to Andre Lima, head of the Brazilian NGO 
"Instituto Socio-Ambiental", which advocates for 
environmental and Indian rights, "It is a false controversy." 
 He notes that the rice farmers arrived after the land had 
already been demarcated by FUNAI.  (In 1970 only 41,000 
non-Indians lived in the state.  Today, largely as a result 
of government incentives, the population has grown to 
360,000.)  Therefore, the farmers cannot be considered to 
have entered the land in "good faith" and have no 
constitutional rights to it.  Indian interlocutors accuse the 
state government of establishing a small town and several 
small villages in the middle of the reservation and providing 
government jobs to some Indians to prevent the federal 
government from registering the territory. 
 
¶9. (SBU) With respect to DefMin Viegas' national security 
argument, Lima noted that the Constitution guarantees the 
federal government access to Indian lands.  Indeed, former 
President Cardoso issued an executive decree in 2002 spelling 
out the right of the military and police to access Indian 
lands.  In fact, a number of army units are based on Indian 
reservations today.  Moreover, there already exist large 
demarcated indigenous territories along the border with Peru, 
where the "military access" argument has never been a 
concern.  According to Antonio da Silva Apurina, Director of 
Assistance Programs for FUNAI, the real obstacles to 
demarcating the Roraima reservation are "economic and 
political interests." 
 
Mato Grosso do Sul Land Occupations 
------------------------------------ 
¶10. (U) In late 2003 and early 2004, approximately 4,000 
Caiovas-Guarani Indians occupied several farms in the 
southern state of Mato Grosso do Sul for months, arguing that 
the land historically belongs to them.  They ultimately 
complied with a judicial order to vacate the land.  During 
the tense stand-off, a farmer, his wife, and their 
daughter-in-law were briefly taken hostage by the Indians, 
and one Indian was wounded by gunfire. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The Indian land occupations in Mato Grosso do Sul 
are more complicated than the Roraima situation, according to 
Lima.  The farmers have been on the land for several 
generations and have land titles issued by the state (in many 
cases improperly) and so many could be considered to have 
occupied the land "in good faith", meaning they are entitled 
to compensation for improvements made to the land.  The 
government does not have the resources to compensate them and 
is therefore unable to evict them. 
 
¶12. (SBU) The Mato Grosso do Sul occupations were the result 
of Indian impatience with the official process and an attempt 
to borrow the tactics of the Landless Movement (MST). 
Guarani tribal leaders say they are facing a suicide epidemic 
because they have been forced to live on small reservations 
that prevent them from following traditional customs or 
economic development.  FUNAI President Pereira told Poloff 
that he is sympathetic to the Indians, but acknowledged that 
it will be impossible to turn back the clock and give them a 
significant portion of their lands back.  The region's 
booming soy economy makes such an outcome all but impossible, 
he said. 
 
Indians and Farmers Use Violence in Land Disputes 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶13. (U) While the Roraima and Mato Grosso do Sul cases are on 
the front pages, they are not the only cases of Indian 
disputes in Brazil: 
 
- On January 12, thirty Pankararu Indians invaded the FUNAI 
headquarters in Recife in the northeast to protest the 
dismissal of an agency director.  Three Indians were arrested. 
 
- In January, more than 100 Guajajara Indians blocked a 
highway in Maranhao in the northeast to protest what they see 
as encroachment on their land.  State military police were 
called in to break up the demonstration. 
 
- On February 16, a farmer was shot and killed and six others 
taken hostage by a group of 200 Caingangues Indians in the 
southern state of Santa Catarina, as a result of tension over 
land distribution.  The Indians are demanding that their 
reservation be expanded.  FUNAI supports their demand, but 
the Indians are impatient with delays. 
 
- On February 24, prospectors in Roraima shot and killed an 
Indian who worked for FUNAI and was investigating illegal 
invasions of Yanomami Indian land in the northeast part of 
the state.  An investigation is ongoing. 
 
-- On April 7, twenty-nine illegal diamond prospectors were 
massacred on an Indian reservation in Rondonia state (ref A). 
 
Comment 
------- 
¶14. (SBU) President Lula faces a growing Indian affairs 
policy dilemma.  Despite several cabinet meetings addressing 
the Roraima reservation issue, he has put off a decision at 
least until late April.  As in other policy spheres, he faces 
severely conflicting pressures.  While agribusiness and 
political allies want to reduce the size of some reservations 
proposed by FUNAI, Indian leaders and activists want faster 
action to finish the demarcation process.  The Rondonia 
massacre and Roraima demarcation may now force him to show 
his hand and take a firm stand.  End Comment. 
HRINAK