The lack of political willingness on the part of the government,
which has been postponing the decision to expand the Guarani-Kaiowa
areas in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul for decades, is one of the
main factors that has led to an alarming increase in the number of
suicides among this people. At a public audience held on October 3 by
the Commissions for Minorities and Human Rights of the Chamber of
Deputies to discuss the topic ``Situation and Prospects for the
Guarani-Kaiowa Indians,'' anthropologists from Funai and from the
Office of the Attorney General mentioned the situation of extreme
poverty in their villages and territorial confinement as the main
causes of the despair they are experiencing. The 39 suicides
registered this year represent the highest rate in ten years.
Researcher Antonio Brand, former secretary of Cimi, and Kaiowa Indian
Amilton Lopes said that the Indians themselves can solve the problem
provided that their areas are expanded, lost territories recovered,
and their communities assisted.
The deputies who make up the Commissions took on the commitment to
send a document to the president of the Republic, Funai, and the
Ministry of Justice requesting the demarcation of the Guarani-Kaiowa
land on an urgent basis, as well as health care measures and the
physical, cultural, and religious preservation of this people. They
are also expected to set up a work group composed of experts,
Indianists, and Indian leaders to study the problems of the Indians in
detail and ensure that their claims are duly referred to the Brazilian
government. Antonio Brand clearly stated that the implementation of
these proposals basically depends on the national and international
political pressure. ``If the pressure continues, I believe solutions
will be devised, but without any pressure the concern will once again
subside,'' he said.
PRESS CRITICIZES AMENDMENTS TO DECREE 22/91
``If the decree is amended, Indian lands will not be demarcated in
Brazil any longer,'' said the ex-president of Funai and present head
of the Department of Isolated Indians of the Foundation, Sidney
Possuelo. The statement was published this week in the ISTOE' magazine
and, given its large circulation, it represented a strong criticism
against the attempts to amend Decree 22/91. The two-page article said
that the text of the decree or the provisional measure which the
president is expected to propose soon ``may turn many Indian lands in
the country into no mans lands.'' If non-Indians are ensured the
right to contest the demarcation of Indian lands, these lands ``may
shrink'' and become a huge threat to isolated Indians.
According to the magazine, the appointment of a NGO representative
to the presidency of Funai was a political trap aimed at resisting the
pressures from NGOs. According to the ISTOE' magazine, it worked. Now
a member of the federal administration, Marcio Santilli supports the
plans to amend the decree, and describes the change as a ``legal
necessity.''
Brasilia, October 5, 1995
Indianist Missionary Council