The Federal Government has signed another term of commitment with
the Waimiri-Atroari Indians, in the Amazon, promising to pave the
BR-174 stretch which cuts through the Indian reservation area. This is
at least the fourth agreement signed for finishing a road which has
been slowly decimating the Waimiri-Atroari people and which is geared
towards private interests rather than those of the Indians. Since the
construction of the road started, three decades ago, 80% of the
Waimiri-Atroari population has disappeared and its territory has been
reduced by four-fifths. To obtain the permission from the Indians, the
Brazilian Government has resorted to violent means, such as threats to
destroy the village, transfers and the arrest of leaders. The Waimiri-
Atroari area has been invaded by the multinational mining company
Paranapanema and the Balbina hydroelectric plant. The Balbina plant,
built in the 80's and responsible for 1% of the Brazilian foreign
debt, does not generate enough energy not even to supply the needs of
the capital of the state of Amazonas. It flooded over 250,000 hectares
of forest land, and caused irreversible damage to the Indians.
Highway BR-174 is part of an ambitious Federal government's plan,
Paranapanema being directly interested in it. It is considered a
strategic road, due to its connections to the Caribbean, Central
America, the Pacific Ocean, and Asia. In this last agreement, due to
demands made by the Waimiri-Atroari, the Government's mission,
coordinated by the President of FUNAI, Marcio Santilli, has promised
to start the works only after investing 3.7 million reais
(approximately 3.5 million dollars) on a certain plan for
environmental protection and monitoring of the Waimiri-Atroari area.
The agreement, however, does not describe such a plan.
The terms of commitment signed with the Waimiri-Atroari have
always been ambiguous and do not include open discussions with the
organized civil society, which could help reduce the demage caused by
the works in the indian area. The idea of a plan for the protection of
the Indian area is not new. In 1987, in the previous agreement with
the Federal Government, the Waimiri-Atroari Program was proposed.
That program would diminish the impacts caused by the Balbina
hydroelectric plant on the Indians. The official who signed the
agreement, FUNAI's former President and presently Senator, Romero
Juca, gave a passionate speech in the Senate, protesting against the
amount paid to the Indians and considering the possibility of direct
payment to the Indian community an act of ``disparagement'' of the
Government and a ``dangerous precedent'' for the autonomy of Indian
areas in Brazil.
Brasilia, November 06, 1995
Missionary Indian Council - Cimi