Our CASAS’ member, Mariana Reinach, is working on her PhD in Brazil, in the Caramuru Catarina Paraguaçu Indigenous Land, of the Pataxó Hãhãhãe indigenous people. The community has launched a Manifiesto demanding justice for the murder of their spiritual leader Nega Pataxó.
At the beginning of 2024, a spiritual leader of the Pataxó Hãhãhãe people, Nega Pataxó, was cowardly murdered by a member of the “Zero Invasion Movement” while participating in a protest to reclaim her traditional territory1. The murderer, who is the son of local farmers, was arrested in the act. However, late last month, just seven days after confessing to the crime and forensic evidence confirmed that he had fired the shot, he was released on bail, despite a contrary decision by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office2. The killer, only 19 years old, belongs to a powerful family involved in several illegal activities, including environmental violations, illegal clay extraction, land grabbing, and connections with militias. His family also has close ties to Bolsonaro supporters who carried out the anti-democratic attack and attempted coup d’état in Brazil on January 8, 20233.
The Zero Invasion Movement, with which he is associated, has gained strength in Brazil since the Temporal Framework Law (Law 14.701) was approved late last year by the Chamber of Deputies, contrary to a decision by the Supreme Court that ruled it unconstitutional. This law seeks to reverse the demarcation of indigenous lands throughout the country. It represents a serious setback to territorial rights, and has fueled numerous violent conflicts between large landowners and indigenous peoples across Brazil that are escalating throughout the year.
The Paraguaçu Indigenous Women’s Association and the Ybityra Porang Tupinambá Association launched this manifesto calling for justice. Please, sign it and share it to spread the word and help us building solidarity with the Pataxó Hãhãhãe indigenous people.
- https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/attack-on-pataxo-hahahai-indigenous-leaders-must-be-investigated-commentary/amp/; https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/killing-pataxo-spiritual-leader-and-activist-exposes-violence-law-against-indigenous-peoples ] ↩︎
- https://reporterbrasil.org.br/2024/08/homem-matou-nega-pataxo-invasao-zero-e-solto-na-bahia/ ↩︎
- https://www.brasildefatoba.com.br/2024/02/28/advogada-e-latifundiaria-mae-de-acusado-de-assassinar-pataxo-defendeu-pastora-no-8-de-janeiro ↩︎
CASAS
The Collective of Agrarian Scholar-Activists from the Global South (CASAS) is a community of Scholar-Activists working in critical agrarian studies.