The month leading up to the first round of the 2022 elections was not only the stage for political violence in general, but also for an increase in the violence against indigenous peoples. September recorded nine violent deaths of indigenous people: eight murders and one suicide. The cases spread across three regions of the country, in four states (Mato Grosso do Sul, Maranhão, Bahia, and Pará) and reached, respectively, the Guarani-Kaiowá, Guajajara, Pataxó, and Turiwara peoples.
Folha spoke with the leaders of all these peoples and with indigenists. They stated that the escalation of violence is related to the increase in tension during the electoral period and to the policies adopted by the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in recent years, in particular the flexibilization of laws on protection and access to weapons.
Violence has gone up, they say, as has political violence, rural conflicts, and forest destruction. The indigenous people understand that the possibility of a defeat by the current president makes the groups benefited by his government, such as farmers, land grabbers, and miners, react against the indigenous peoples. As a measure of comparison, the nine deaths in September are above the average for the year 2021, a record of 6.4 deaths per month, according to Caci (Cartography of Attacks Against Indigenous Peoples).
The platform consolidates its data annually and, therefore, it is not possible to compare it with the average for 2022. The indigenous people point out that the violence did not start now. It has been intensifying throughout the year until reaching the current level. The report questioned the Federal Government and Funai ( Indigenous People National Foundation) but received no response.
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