Bolsonaro government and indigenous people
Bolsonaro government will not hold debates on indigenous people and quilombolas at the COP. Official government space will have discussions focused on decarbonization and on success stories from industry and agribusiness.
Text: Pedro Borges | Editing: Elias Santana Malê, Alma Preta | Image: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil
Translation: Daniele Savietto
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The federal government’s agenda at the 27th Climate Conference (COP27) does not even have an activity on quilombola communities and indigenous peoples. During the entire program, there is also no participation of representatives of quilombola and indigenous groups.
The quilombolas will participate in discussions in the civil society space, called the Brazil Climate Hub. The environment was first created in 2019, in the first year of Bolsonaro’s government, when there were no invitations for civil society to follow that year’s COP, chaired by Chile and headquartered in Madrid, Spain.
On Tuesday, at 9:30 am Brasília time, there will be the debate “Transformation action for climate justice: the quilombola social struggle”. The National Coordination for the Articulation of Quilombos (CONAQ), the social movement responsible for the discussion, organized a delegation of 11 quilombolas, the largest in history, for COP27, in Egypt.
The expectation of the quilombolas is to strengthen the image that communities are also protective of the environment. According to CONAQ, there are more than 6,000 quilombos in the country, spread across all biomes of the national territory.
The government’s official program will have the participation of the Minister of the Environment, Joaquim Leite, in person. He will be the only representative of the first echelon of the Bolsonaro government to participate in the meeting. There is no forecast for the Minister’s arrival on the government’s official agenda. He, however, is expected for the second week, when he will participate in the closing activity of the Brazilian space.
The Brazilian space will be more prominent to present industry and agribusiness initiatives with a positive impact on the environment. There is also a forecast of discussions on the decarbonization of sectors and the expectation of attracting international investments for the sector in the country.
The space of the federal government since last year has a partnership with the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Confederation of Agriculture and Agriculture of Brazil (CNA). In a report produced by Alma Preta, the Ministry of the Environment and Foreign Affairs did not present information about the investment made by the two organizations for the country’s stand.
Brazil will have three spaces at the COP, one for the federal government, one for civil society, and a consortium of governors of the Amazon.
Also read: What to expect from the transition between governments?
