Brazil: Violent land disputes between tribes and ranchers on the rise [1]

MercoPress
July 31, 2012

Violent disputes over indigenous land are on the rise in Brazil, sparking heightened militancy by natives angered by broken promises of compensation and slower government registrations.

Indigenous peoples complain of government broken promises (Photo: T. Turner)

A report by the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), cited by the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper on Sunday, said the number of territorial conflicts jumped from 82 in 2006 to 99 last year.

Indigenous peoples are fighting to protect their resource-rich lands from invasions or encroachment by huge cattle ranchers, industrial-scale farmers, illegal gold miners and loggers.

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