To contain violence on indigenous land, Ministry sends National Force to MS

The Ministry of Justice and Public Security authorized the use of agents from the National Force in state actions to preserve order and integrity in indigenous villages in the Southern Cone of Mato Grosso do Sul and in the border regions of the state.

The authorization is contained in Ordinance No. 726, signed by Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, and published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Wednesday (17).

According to the text, the federal troops will operate for the next 90 days, offering support to the actions of the Federal Police (PF) and in coordination with the state’s public security agencies. The number of agents that will be sent to Mato Grosso do Sul was not disclosed.

The deployment of new contingents of the National Force to Mato Grosso do Sul takes place amid an escalation of land violence in the state. Since the end of June, indigenous groups, tired of waiting for the conclusion of the demarcation processes of areas already recognized as traditionally occupied, have intensified what they classify as the “retaking” of lands originally belonging to their people. In response, some rural producers who claim to be the legal owners of the occupied lands have attacked the indigenous people in order to expel them from the areas.

According to the Aty Guasu Assembly, the main political and social organization of the Guarani and Kaiowá ethnic groups, the indigenous decision to “retake” part of the territories claimed as traditional territories was taken “after long years of waiting for the approval and regularization of our ancestral territory, surviving in canvas shacks, without the minimum living conditions, and suffering threats and persecution by the large landowners that surround us”. The Agriculture and Livestock Federation of Mato Grosso do Sul (Famasul) highlighted that the recent “occurrences highlight the legal insecurity experienced for decades in the state, resulting from the lack of a definitive response from the Government.

Last weekend alone, there were at least two attacks on Guarani and Kaiowá groups in Mato Grosso do Sul. The first incident was recorded on Saturday (13), in Douradina, about 195 kilometers from Campo Grande. The second case occurred in the Dourados-Amambaipegua I Indigenous Land, which covers part of the territories of the cities of Amambai, Caarapó and Laguna Carapã, on Sunday (14).

According to Agência Brasil, at least one indigenous person was shot in the leg during an attempt to remove the Guarani-Kaiowá from the area known as Panambi (GuyraKambi’y) — Lagoa Rica, in Douradina. In addition, the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi), an organization linked to the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), claims that a young woman was also shot in the leg during the attack on the Dourados-Amambaipegua I Indigenous Land.

In recent weeks, similar conflicts have also been reported in Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. The escalation of violence prompted the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, and the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) to request the presence of the National Public Security Force in the area. In addition, the Ministries of Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights and Citizenship have assigned officials to travel to Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná to “mediate the land conflicts” that culminated in the series of attacks against indigenous people. The delegation of federal representatives arrived in Mato Grosso do Sul yesterday.

This Monday (15), the Ministry of Justice and Public Security had already authorized the sending of the National Force to Rio Grande do Sul, where agents of the federative troops will act in four areas of the Union destined for exclusive indigenous use.

Created in 2004 and coordinated by the ministry, the National Force is made up of military and civilian police officers, as well as firefighters and forensic professionals temporarily assigned by state and Federal District governments. As the Ministry of Justice and Public Security itself states on its website, it is not a federal force, since its operations in the states are directed by local public administrators.