Indigenous peoples boxed in by Brazil's political crisis

Manuela Carneiro Da Cunha, The University of Chicago
Ruben Caixeta, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Jeremy M. Campbell, Roger Williams University
Carlos Fausto, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
José Antonio Kelly, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Claudio Lomnitz, Columbia University
Carlos D.Londoño Sulkin, University of Regina
Caio Pompeia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas
Aparecida Vilaça, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Document Type Article

Abstract

Agribusiness has unprecedented leverage over highly unpopular Brazilian president Michel Temer, who is faced with several corruption charges and is struggling for political survival. In a little over one year, the agribusiness lobby and its allies have managed to erode thirty years of human rights and conservation laws. Indigenous peoples and their territorial rights are among the main targets of such policies, and there is no resolution to the situation in sight. With the insight of several scholars, the following forum assesses the consequences of losing the protection the Citizens' Constitution of 1988 once afforded indigenous peoples in Brazil.