Indigenous deputy accuses Lula government of trading away indigenous rights in Congress

On Wednesday, a mixed committee of Congress approved a report that would strip Brazil's newly created Indigenous Ministry of one of its most fundamental powers: the authority to demarcate indigenous lands. The change would hand that responsibility back to the Justice Ministry, a shift that indigenous leaders say amounts to a betrayal of campaign promises and a capitulation to agribusiness pressure.

Célia Xakriabá, a federal deputy from Minas Gerais and coordinator of the Parliamentary Front for Indigenous Rights, made the accusation bluntly. She is herself indigenous, from the Xakriabá people, and was among those elected to Congress in the last election. In an interview, she said the Lula government simply did not fight hard enough to prevent the report's approval. "We have not stopped being a priority," she said. "The difference now is that we are a priority as currency to be traded, our rights bartered away and auctioned off."

The report came from deputy Isnaldo Bulhões of the MDB party in Alagoas. It represents a significant reordering of the ministerial structure that Lula established in January when he took office. Beyond stripping the Indigenous Ministry of demarcation authority, the report also weakens the Environment Ministry by transferring management of the Rural Environmental Registry and the National Water Agency to other departments. The agribusiness caucus—one of Congress's most powerful blocs—has long opposed giving the Indigenous Ministry control over land demarcation, viewing it as a threat to their interests. Farmers and ranchers have consistently fought indigenous land claims in court, arguing they are the legitimate owners of disputed territory.

Xakriabá said she met with Bulhões before the vote and told him directly that removing demarcation authority would be like "ripping out the heart of the Indigenous Ministry." She also noted that senior members of Lula's government participated in negotiations over the report. Ministers Alexandre Padilha and Rui Costa had dinner with Bulhões on the Monday before the Wednesday vote to discuss the text. Yet despite these high-level conversations, the government did not deploy sufficient pressure to block it. "There was a lack of effort, a lack of priority from the government," Xakriabá said, "because at that moment they had every condition to negotiate this from the Executive branch."

The stakes are substantial. According to Brazil's National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples, roughly 200 land demarcation processes are currently underway. These territories represent about one-tenth of all already-demarcated indigenous lands and cover approximately 1.2 percent of Brazil's total territory. Many of these cases are stalled in the courts, contested by landowners. Under previous administrations—Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer—demarcations slowed. Under Jair Bolsonaro, they stopped entirely. Bolsonaro, popular with farmers, has long argued that Brazil already has too many indigenous territories and that further demarcations harm economic development.

Lula ran for office promising to prioritize indigenous issues and restart the demarcation process. In late April, he signed decrees homologating six indigenous lands and declared he would complete all pending processes during his term. Xakriabá acknowledged that the government showed genuine commitment to indigenous causes through April, and she praised Lula's efforts to expel illegal miners from Yanomami territory in Roraima and to address the humanitarian crisis there. But the Bulhões report signals a shift. "There is true commitment from President Lula," she said, "but at this moment there is also an opposing balance of forces, and the government needs to act so that indigenous peoples remain a priority."

The report must pass both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate by June 1 to take effect. If it fails, Lula's original ministerial structure stands. On Friday, Minister Rui Costa signaled the government would work to reverse Bulhões's changes before next week's plenary votes. Xakriabá expressed hope that government negotiators could undo the damage. But she also made clear that indigenous movements will not accept retreat on territorial rights, regardless of which party holds power. "Negotiating our territorial agenda is negotiating our lives," she said, "and our lives are not up for negotiation."