Mining and Brazil’s Indigenous peoples

Abstract

Mining companies have 3481 requests pending with Brazil’s National Mining Agency for permission to prospect in the country’s Indigenous lands, even though it is currently illegal (1). The companies submitting the requests will gain priority for approval if mining in these areas is made legal in the future. The Bolsonaro presidential administration has curtailed inspections and greatly weakened protection of Indigenous lands against invasion (2). The frequency and scale of assaults on Indigenous land, especially from mining, have increased greatly (3). Urgent judicial action, or credible threats of judicial action, could stop this trend.

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