2023-12-26 14:39:55
This is a quick transcript. The copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: We end today’s program with Sônia Guajajara, the first minister of Brazil’s indigenous cabinet, the country’s first minister of Indigenous Peoples, took office a year ago to serve in the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. I spoke to her in Dubai at the UN climate summit and asked her to talk about the problems Brazil faces following the presidency of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022.
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] We are in a moment of transition, returning to democracy in Brazil, rebuilding the rights that were taken from us in recent years and strengthening actions and spaces for the participation of civil society in the federal government. And so, now we need to rebuild and strengthen public policies in health, education, fight racism and environmental racism, and be able to have more specific measures to reduce the emissions that are causing these changes.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about what President Lula is doing now when it comes to the rights of indigenous peoples, when it comes to extractive industries, restoring the Amazon rainforest and ending deforestation in the Amazon by 2030? ?
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] President Lula created the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. For the first time in 55 years, our National Indigenous Peoples Foundation has an Indigenous president. We are also managing health services for indigenous people. The concrete actions this year were the expulsion of invaders from Yanomami territories, which significantly reduced deforestation in that territory. We also managed to remove the illegal ranchers from the Apyterewa territory and the Parakanã people in the state of Pará. With only 11 indigenous towns demarcated in 10 years, eight indigenous lands have now been recognized. So we are in the process of advancing the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and protecting these territories, which is important to reduce deforestation and achieve zero deforestation in the Amazon by 2030.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the importance of the United States as historically the largest emitter of greenhouse gases? What difference does American policy make for the people of Brazil, for the indigenous peoples of Brazil? What would you most like to see the United States do or change?
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] The United States needs to have more ambitious goals here in the climate discussions and also support those countries that need financial support to protect their forests, to protect their indigenous peoples and their traditional communities. It is necessary for the richest countries, which emit the most, to help those that do not have sufficient resources to pay the bill to adopt concrete measures.
AMY GOODMAN: Minister Guajajara, how does having your voice, the voice of indigenous peoples, included for the first time, represented in the Brazilian government change things in Brazil?
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] Here at the climate conference, it is the first time that there is an indigenous minister. It is unprecedented. It is also the first time that an indigenous person heads the Brazilian delegation. That is why I feel very honored to represent Minister Marina Silva here during these five days as head of the Brazilian delegation, speaking directly to the negotiators and participating directly in high-level discussions, playing a proactive role and carrying the voice, which does not It is not only the voice of the indigenous peoples of Brazil, but the voice of indigenous peoples around the world. There are many indigenous peoples here. And it has been recognized that it is very important to have a ministry, to have a female minister, participating in this forum, making decisions. For us this is historic.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you tell us about where you were born and where you grew up?
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] I was born in Araribóia, an indigenous territory in the state of Maranhão in the Brazilian Amazon. It has several different Amazon biomes, including the Cerrado. The Amazon is also coastal. When I was born, there were still many forests. And today you can notice the drastic change. We have lost more than 60% of our native plants in the forest. Therefore, climate change is not just a problem of the future. We are experiencing the consequences right now. And that is why we must advance on this path by occupying these spaces, such as the ministry, and also intensifying commitments and meeting goals.
Sônia Guajajara together with Luiz Inázio ‘Lula’ Da Silva
AMY GOODMAN: And can you also talk about what you’re wearing? I don’t normally ask a woman that question, but your headdress is so magnificent. Talk about the feathers, both on your head and those that fall on your shoulders, and your earrings.
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] We continue to wear our traditional clothing and other items. But we run the risk of not being able to use the accessories that mark our identities due to the climate crisis. We bring our symbols from the people we bond with. And this also reflects how we live in harmony with nature and how we use what we have at our disposal. So, we live with the forest, the animals and the water, and from there we get everything we need, whether it is protected water to drink, food to eat or the clothes we wear.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about violence against indigenous environmental defenders? It is not only a problem in Brazil, but throughout the world, the number of environmentalists – like in Honduras, Berta Cáceres – who are being murdered. How is President Lula facing this? How should this be approached?
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] We have just come out of four years in which there was a great incentive to attack indigenous peoples, to invade their territories. There was an increase in violence that was quite considerable in recent years. But now we are working with President Lula to combat that violence, together with the Ministry of Human Rights, together with the Ministry of Racial Equality and the Ministry of the Environment, because those attacks arose from land conflicts, invasion of territories, illegal logging , illegal prospecting. These are actions that we are now carrying out in a coordinated manner with other ministries, the Ministry of Justice, with the Federal Police, with the Environmental Institute, the Institute of Indigenous Affairs, all working together to end the violence in the territories and on the border. areas.
AMY GOODMAN: What is your message to indigenous people around the world? And what do you want to come out of this UN climate summit?
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] For indigenous peoples, we must prepare for the path we must take to reach COP30, which will take place in Belém, in the Brazilian Amazon. We must also prepare to be able to have a direct impact on the debates taking place here at the COP. And many times we are not even close to it. It is very important that indigenous peoples participate in these forums and there is a group that is directly above this. That is why we are here so that indigenous peoples can have more space in decision-making. And the general message is that we have little time left. Great leaders, government leaders, not only need to make commitments here, but also understand that we are in a state of emergency. To get out of this state of emergency, investment, financing and protection are needed, so that we can all protect the planet.
AMY GOODMAN: President Lula still plans to conduct massive offshore oil drilling. As Prime Minister of Indigenous Peoples, do you condemn this measure? Are you thinking about this? Do you support this?
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] Look, in Brazil we are also in a moment of transition towards clean energy. We are building that together. President Lula is committed to making that transition. And now we are using what we have at our disposal, such as wind and water, so that we can get away from the energy that we use today, based on destruction, and so that we can have renewable energy that protects the people. and that does not destroy the environment.
AMY GOODMAN: Last question: Earlier this year, Ecuador voted to ban oil drilling and protect Amazon lands. Will you push for Brazil to adopt similar measures?
SÔNIA GUAJAJARA: [traducido] We’re in it right now. President Lula is aware that we must continue with this transition. And together with the Ministry of the Environment, we are working to act together and more quickly so that the transition can take place. We urgently need renewable energy. Only with such a change can we overcome the emergency situation in which we find ourselves today.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Sônia Guajajara, the first minister of Brazil’s indigenous cabinet, the first minister of Indigenous Peoples in the country. I spoke to her in Dubai at the UN climate summit. On December 14, Brazilian lawmakers overrode a veto by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in a move that could threaten the land rights of indigenous peoples. The issue will be addressed by the Supreme Court of Brazil.
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