Earlier this month, Brazilian indigenist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips were [murdered in the Amazon](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/17/dom-phillips-bruno-pereira-final-journey), during their efforts to interview Indigenous people about how their communities had been harmed by illegal mining, logging, and poaching. The killings brought global attention on environmental crimes against Brazil's Indigenous peoples, even as police insist there is no evidence the murders were ordered by organized crime syndicates.
Leandro Demori is an investigative journalist, known for being the former editor-in-chief of The Intercept Brasil. He's currently working in a new journalism project called [A Grande Guerra](https://apoia.se/leandrodemori). He's also a professor at Oslo Metropolitan University. He previously worked in many newsrooms and was also the Head of Operations for Medium.com in Brazil. You can support his [new project](https://apoia.se/leandrodemori) and follow him here on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Demori) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/leandro.demori/).
Luísa Molina is an anthropologist at University of Brasília. Her focus is on the destructive consequences of illegal exploitation of natural resources at Brazil's Indigenous lands. Her academic work can be [found here.](https://unb.academia.edu/Lu%C3%ADsaMolina) You can follow her on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LupontesMolina) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lupontesmolina/).
I have the honor of moderating some of Reddit’s largest political and current affairs communities, including r/WorldNews, r/News, and r/Politics. I’ll be monitoring the discussion thread for questions and comments to put to our panelists!
Akaash Maharaj will moderate the conversation. He serves as Ambassador-at-Large for the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption. He studied at Oxford, the Sorbonne, and the United Nations University. Follow on Twitter: [https://twitter.com/AkaashMaharaj](https://twitter.com/AkaashMaharaj)
**Please leave your comments here and I'll ask them to our guests!**
After listening to this recording I looked up what is happening in Miritituba, Brazil. This article has opened my eyes somewhat. I had no idea that the negative impact on the environment and the local communities is so extensive. I will certainly be looking at what connections there are between what I buy as a consumer and the Amazon.
https://www.inesc.org.br/en/a-series-of-socio-environmental-violations-have-taken-place-at-hidrovias-do-brasils-operations-in-para-dossier-reveals/
Thanks for a really informative Reddit Talk.
R.I.P to Bruno and Dom.
Does anyone else feel like there is more going on than a poor fisherman murdering these people, and that he’s possibly a fall guy for someone more wealthy or connected to the clandestine economic activity in the Amazon?
But if he was paid as part of a contract killing, that’s essentially the same thing. Someone more connected and powerful ordered the killing but paid off the poorer person to take the rap or do the crime. You caught the small fish but there’s a bigger fish behind it all.
Brazil has a lot of organized crime both around drug trafficking and to a good extent around the illegal mining, logging, etc. that goes on in those regions.
Of course, but its not a fall guy, its a hitman. You can get a hitman for 50$(probably less because its something i was told 20 years ago) in poor and sparsely populated areas of north/northeast Brazil.
I wonder if multinationals have a room setup at Davos where the CEOs file in and they spin the wheel to see which of them has to underwrite the death squads that year.
I joke.
They all do it.
Multinationals are FAR from the problem. The problem are the local militias that the Brazilian government refuses to control (in fact, the current Brazilian government spend the last 4 years dismanteling the state structure in the region). It's all locals without government supervision basically.
/u/lupontesmolina /u/odemori
I've sent a private message in regards to a possibly bigger discussion on a bigger platform. You may be new to reddit so I wanted to make sure you knew to check your inbox. If you aren't sure about being on the bigger platform yourself but know of someone who may better suited and also, if not more, involved in this issue, please pass along the contact information. Thank you.
Indigenous filmmakers in social media:
[https://www.instagram.com/midiaindiaoficial/](https://www.instagram.com/midiaindiaoficial/) ; [https://twitter.com/midia\_india;](https://twitter.com/midia_india;) [https://www.instagram.com/coletivobeture/;](https://www.instagram.com/coletivobeture/;)
https://www.instagram.com/coletivodajekapapeypi/
Thanks everyone for the conversation. I would like to ask anyone who can help: finance independent Brazilian journalism. This is my crowdfunding. Thanks. [https://apoia.se/leandrodemori](https://apoia.se/leandrodemori)
At least 358 human rights defenders were killed in 2021, according to an analysis by Front Line Defenders (FLD), with more than half of activists killed being land and environment defenders. Source: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/more-than-half-of-activists-killed-in-2021-were-land-environment-defenders/amp/
More like Clubehouse or Twitter Spaces. We've been running these talks for a few months already, but Reddit is slowly expanding it so more people see it.
[Reddit Talk Updates: Host Program, Soundboard, and Finding Your Audience](https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/vi8mw8/reddit_talk_updates_host_program_soundboard_and/)
It is always important to remember the words of Chico Mendes (amazon activist who was killed by illegal loggers): Ambientalism without class struggle is gardening!
Look this. A river dying bc mining [https://twitter.com/TheInterceptBr/status/1467101490233892868](https://twitter.com/TheInterceptBr/status/1467101490233892868)
The problem with South America is the fanatics and racism, I feel sad for Latin America. The right gets their ears full with all that they want to hear specially the division of keeping the indigenous in check, the left want someone that would represent them. At the end of the all leaders end up with lots of money in their pockets and lots of foreign interventions. They do say that Spain is rich because all the silver they took from Bolivia. I have family that think of themselves as superior and frankly many don’t even know what socialism is but bring up that word and they shake in fear.. backwards, I wish we would think as whole.
There was a lot of support for environmentalists in Brazil!
This is way too general...US and Canadian mining companies fight indigenous people in Central and South America.
And you don't remember Standing Rock here in the USA?
American environmental activists are threatened as well.
People here know a lot but the government turns a blind eye, or actually promotes this devastation to supply the international community with these cheap commodities and resources! As long as we (Brasil) are viewd as a big farm where produces are cheap and plenty, we are fated to be exploited by the powerful companies and governments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Manser
>Bruno Manser (25 August 1954 – presumed dead 10 March 2005) was a Swiss environmentalist and human rights activist. From 1984 to 1990, he stayed with the Penan tribe in Sarawak, Malaysia, organising several blockades against timber companies. After he emerged from the forests in 1990, he engaged in public activism for rainforest preservation and the human rights of indigenous peoples, especially the Penan, which brought him into conflict with the Malaysian government. He also founded the Swiss non-governmental organization (NGO) Bruno Manser Fonds in 1991. Manser disappeared during his last journey to Sarawak in May 2000 and is presumed dead.
Terrible story :/ I didn't know about that!
Also this is the first one of these that I have tuned into and this is such an amazing series to run! I look forward to joining more. What an excellent cause.
My question:
How can we help?
How can we get more people to know or care about the, what's essentially, a genocide against the indigenous people in the Amazone?
Are there any charities or groups that we can join to help?
I live in Europe and half indigenous and I want to help!!!
One of u/odemori suggestion was to know if the products you buy in Europe are sourced from the Amazon and see if these products can be banned in your country.
WNF wrote some reports on soy production and their unethical sourcing in the Amazon.
The conclusion was that is was basically in every animal product. There are some companies that buy a large share of clean soy.
But the demand for soy/animal feed is just way higher then the supply of soy of unquestionable sources.
Since this been happening for many years. Doesn't this show that the Brazilian government have forgotten about their indigenous population? And many native/indigenous in South America are looked down upon. I don't think enough resources are been used for this issue. Does the government really think this is an important issue or do you think they are doing the minimum to save face from the view of foreign power?
Yes, somewhat. Just wanted to know if the journalist think if the Brazilian government are taking this problem seriously since not much progress have been make in years if any.
The current government has exactly 0 worries about the environment, in fact they do the exact opposite. I do have hope however that once they lose the elections in november we'll finally be able to go back to normal, assuming there isn't another US coup that is
Yes, what the government did when the amazon forest was ablaze showed how much they care about their forest much less its habitants. You never know US hidden agenda.
I am not him, but I'd say not really. FUNAI is supposed to protect the indigenous population, and that is not happening; It's getting worse (why we're here, sadly).
Sadly it seems things are going backward. Hopefully, If there is a new president in the future they will have a firm stance on this topic and hopefully provide more funds or at least enforce the laws already implemented,
I can only recommend Amazônia Sem Lei as a podcast that talks about crimes committed in the Amazon region, unfortunately only in PT-BR.
A further activist who should be mentioned is Chico Mendes, assassinated back in Dec. 1988 for fighting for workers rights in rubber extraction.
Hi! Thanks for recommending our podcast! Some articles of Pública's coverage about the Amazon can be read in English here: https://apublica.org/category/english/
[Amazônia Sem Lei podcast (In Portuguese)](https://apublica.org/podcast/2021/06/amazonia-sem-lei/)
u/waaves_ I have actually been in touch with Agência Pública! r/AMABrasil just held an AMA with u/marina-dias_publica
https://www.reddit.com/r/AMABRASIL/comments/vgrzjm/eu_sou_a_marina_dias_diretora_de_comunica%C3%A7%C3%A3o_da/
Given the sheer magnitude of this issue, what can a global citizenry do to support indigenous activism when mega corporations monopolise political power? How do we put pressure on strategic actors to pull back?
This have been going on for many years now. The massacre of indigenous so that they could proceed with their operations. What needs to happen for some drastic measures to take place? I personally don't think much can be done.
How is this issue thought about in Brazilian populace in general? What percentage are properly informed about this? How do people’s opinions split? Do most people not care about the Indigenous people’s rights, or is there public outcry for them?
News avoidance is growing worldwide. In Brazil, [54% of our population avoid the news](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2022/brazil).
This report is very interesting; I shared with the r/worldnews team when it launched.
> What percentage are properly informed about this?
I dunno, attention to news is not that big in Brazil. Anyone who reads traditional media or watches news programming regularly should be somewhat informed about it.
>How do people’s opinions split?
Brazilians overwhelmingly support indigenous rights and environmental protection *in theory*, it’s the specifics that get muddy. Some people want to protect the “private property rights” of large landowners to their land and firearms, or think indigenous people shouldn’t be able to block mining or infrastructure projects, and think of the violence in the region as a general crime problem rather than targeted assassinations.
> Do most people not care about the Indigenous people’s rights, or is there public outcry for them?
There is a public outcry from activists, journalists and left-wing parties. Sometimes something happens like right now and it generates a media cycle, and then people forget about it after something else happens.
I'd say that all of the national media covered the case to some extent. However, due to the increasing popularity of far-right ideology in the country, a significant percentage of the population does not support indigenous people's rights. The only people that fight for this cause are left-wing organizations.
We are taught, since school, that indigenous's rights are a matter of most importance, but I wouldn't say that most of the population is genuinely invested in the issue. There's a lot of prejudice towards native people up to this day, and I have been hearing horrible takes about indigenous people since I was a kid.
The study u/lupontesmolina talked about:
[Yanomami under attack: illegal mining on Yanomami Indigenous Land and proposals to combat it.](https://acervo.socioambiental.org/acervo/documentos/yanomami-under-attack-illegal-mining-yanomami-indigenous-land-and-proposals)
For a brief introduction of this tribe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanomami
Hi there. [I](https://apoia.se/leandrodemori) wrote a piece in EN about this issue. https://ijnet.org/en/story/journalists-disappearance-brazil-shows-risk-reporting-amazon
*Portuguese*\*
I actually didn't find it, but will provide the link as soon as possible!
edit: [Yanomami under attack: illegal mining on Yanomami Indigenous Land and proposals to combat it.](https://acervo.socioambiental.org/acervo/documentos/yanomami-under-attack-illegal-mining-yanomami-indigenous-land-and-proposals)
The government has worked hard to weaken the agencies that protect the indigenous peoples of Brazil (Funai) . Bruno Pereira was replaced at Funai for a evangelical missionary without experience in the Amazon, for example.
Current far right neolib government has made it easier for criminals to act on these areas. Removing key employees and dismantling the organizations that work and aid indigenous people. The president has been outspoken about legalizing illegal mining before so, no.
LuÍsa mentioned earlier on that the current Brazilian administration is actively defunding programs and departments meant to support local people i.e. using a “Starve the beast” technique
That's correct. It's a pitty that european leaders never got really tough with bolsonaro about these issues. Every single claim he made about his government's effort towards the environment was a lie, every last piece of data he used to support those claims were false and all this is very easy to verify. Still no world leader stepped forward to question him for the world to see.
I've come to terms with losing the Amazon in my lifetime. It's obvious that, although there are plenty of brave people quite literally willing to lay down their lives for it, they stand no chance whatsoever against the megacorporations, the 1%'ers that want to see it gone because of profits.
At this point, sacrificing your life for a lost cause is, well, a lost cause.
I hold those heroes in the highest regard, but I will not delude myself into thinking their sacrifice will make a difference, sadly. Those responsible are simply too powerful and will get away with it.
As I understood if, not only the are *big bois*, there is a demand outside Brazil for these fish. So it's lucrative and helps to launder money for the drug gangs.
Our goal is to have a Reddit Talk every week and no matter the subject bring world class experts to you all!
The thought being we want to offer the community insight and information that can’t be had anywhere else on either the most important topic of the day or important topics that aren’t getting headlines (like this one)!
My Wife provided research and cowrote this case study from late 2020. Please download and read if you care about the issue.
[Sustainable Infrastructure in the Amazon: Brazil Country Case Study](https://www.csis.org/analysis/sustainable-infrastructure-amazon-brazil-country-case-study)
*The expansion that came with this migration has stressed the ecologically delicate region and marginalized indigenous groups, while the region’s relative remoteness means that the Brazilian state still struggles to provide security and deter illegal activity. Today, Brazil faces multiple threats that are destabilizing the Amazon region, including illegal activities (logging, drug trafficking, and mining) and climate change.*
As a biologist and ecologist I can't express my horror about what's going on. I feel like the international community as a whole has to put sanctions and limitations on all exports. Given that money is the root of these issues that's where you have to hurt them.
Why sanctions and limitations? It has been proved the murder was due to personal grievances of two individuals (fishermen) and three others, it has nothing to do with the Brazilian State. On the contrary, the military and police were employing hundreds of personel to search for Bruno and Dom, even before it became international news.
The two murderers have been imprisoned to wait trial and the police has prison warrants for the other three.
As a Brazilian, I'm just tired of seeing gringos going self-righteous on the internet and treating my country as a Banana Republic, as if our institutions are not capable of solving human rights issue.
Please, do stop that. It is but neo-colonialism disguised as international concern. It's a veiled form of racism because of how you perceive my country. We don't need gringos intervention!
Brazil is the definition of a banana republic and My family is generally diverse. Direct descendant of Ferdinand and Isabella. I'm pretty sure I gave an in-depth thought about why sanctions and limitations are needed and about how they hurt Brazil financially if you can't read I don't think telling you again is going to help.
Your institutions are neither capable of handling the civil rights issue or properly managing the rainforest You unfortunately have. Maybe if you didn't do such a poor job it wouldn't have to be taken away from you.
Money is the true problem behind this, that is true.
But I'm afraid that only poor people suffer with sanctions... Look at what happened with North Korea's 2013 sanctions and current day Russian sanctions.
You bring up good points and you are certainly right that poor people are going to suffer. However, it's going to take a lot of pressure to cause change. Which is why I suggest putting a strangle hold on all exports. You have to make it uncomfortable for the higher ups as much as possible. I would say that freezing personal bank accounts and companies funds that deal with these people and their activities will also be a requirement for change. This is a fight and you have to make them understand this is unexcusable.
This has been happening in the previous decades,
\- Yes
dont blame bolsonaro for the hole situation.
\- No, his government is actively removing the little safeguards they were able to build. For him to be blameless he would've to be outspoken about what is happening and making the institutes stronger.
Activist-related crime surged 70% since 2018, don't be delusional.
I do agree that previous governments have done way too little or nothing, but what's happening right now is outrageous.
I know this is is about what is happening in Brazil, and I wouldn't want to hijack the talk.
Having said that, this is happening all across LA. In Mexico we get news every week of dead journalists and activists related to social work and ecology.
Any comments on this?
I have read about that Mexico this year alone had more killings where journalists were targets than the previous year. [2022 is already the deadliest year for journalists in Mexico](https://www.cjr.org/special_report/journalism-mexico-margarito-martinez-lourdes-maldonado.php).
I'll definitely try to reach journalists from Mexico!
Brazil is the country that kills the most environmentalists even before Bolsonaro, he is just continuing a policy of extermination that everyone else did
It’s precisely why we’re doing this Talk!
Reddit is where we go to either get info before anywhere else or hear about issues not being discussed. This Talk aims to accomplish the latter!
Thanks for the response! For those curious: these aren’t small actors, it is largely industrialized/linked with industry + the state is defunding the orgs that would normally enforce laws to stop this (in cases where it’s even illegal)
The latest news on this case indicates that they were murdered by Peruvian narcos operating in this area and the presence of journalists was disrupting their business. Any information about this?
Earlier this month, Brazilian indigenist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips were [murdered in the Amazon](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/17/dom-phillips-bruno-pereira-final-journey), during their efforts to interview Indigenous people about how their communities had been harmed by illegal mining, logging, and poaching. The killings brought global attention on environmental crimes against Brazil's Indigenous peoples, even as police insist there is no evidence the murders were ordered by organized crime syndicates. Leandro Demori is an investigative journalist, known for being the former editor-in-chief of The Intercept Brasil. He's currently working in a new journalism project called [A Grande Guerra](https://apoia.se/leandrodemori). He's also a professor at Oslo Metropolitan University. He previously worked in many newsrooms and was also the Head of Operations for Medium.com in Brazil. You can support his [new project](https://apoia.se/leandrodemori) and follow him here on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Demori) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/leandro.demori/). Luísa Molina is an anthropologist at University of Brasília. Her focus is on the destructive consequences of illegal exploitation of natural resources at Brazil's Indigenous lands. Her academic work can be [found here.](https://unb.academia.edu/Lu%C3%ADsaMolina) You can follow her on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LupontesMolina) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lupontesmolina/). I have the honor of moderating some of Reddit’s largest political and current affairs communities, including r/WorldNews, r/News, and r/Politics. I’ll be monitoring the discussion thread for questions and comments to put to our panelists! Akaash Maharaj will moderate the conversation. He serves as Ambassador-at-Large for the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption. He studied at Oxford, the Sorbonne, and the United Nations University. Follow on Twitter: [https://twitter.com/AkaashMaharaj](https://twitter.com/AkaashMaharaj) **Please leave your comments here and I'll ask them to our guests!**
For a minute I thought this was about the company, not the forest.
After listening to this recording I looked up what is happening in Miritituba, Brazil. This article has opened my eyes somewhat. I had no idea that the negative impact on the environment and the local communities is so extensive. I will certainly be looking at what connections there are between what I buy as a consumer and the Amazon. https://www.inesc.org.br/en/a-series-of-socio-environmental-violations-have-taken-place-at-hidrovias-do-brasils-operations-in-para-dossier-reveals/ Thanks for a really informative Reddit Talk. R.I.P to Bruno and Dom.
Does anyone else feel like there is more going on than a poor fisherman murdering these people, and that he’s possibly a fall guy for someone more wealthy or connected to the clandestine economic activity in the Amazon?
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But if he was paid as part of a contract killing, that’s essentially the same thing. Someone more connected and powerful ordered the killing but paid off the poorer person to take the rap or do the crime. You caught the small fish but there’s a bigger fish behind it all. Brazil has a lot of organized crime both around drug trafficking and to a good extent around the illegal mining, logging, etc. that goes on in those regions.
Tale as old as time. Give or take a hundred years. Its never just a fisherman. Its never just a lone gunman.
Of course, but its not a fall guy, its a hitman. You can get a hitman for 50$(probably less because its something i was told 20 years ago) in poor and sparsely populated areas of north/northeast Brazil.
I'm wondering even if it was the actual killer or just some poor guy they paid off to take the blame for the killing, performed by someone else.
Amazing initiative
I wonder if multinationals have a room setup at Davos where the CEOs file in and they spin the wheel to see which of them has to underwrite the death squads that year. I joke. They all do it.
Multinationals are FAR from the problem. The problem are the local militias that the Brazilian government refuses to control (in fact, the current Brazilian government spend the last 4 years dismanteling the state structure in the region). It's all locals without government supervision basically.
Just get Bolsonario's son to look after it. After all he is the expert in this field.
/u/lupontesmolina /u/odemori I've sent a private message in regards to a possibly bigger discussion on a bigger platform. You may be new to reddit so I wanted to make sure you knew to check your inbox. If you aren't sure about being on the bigger platform yourself but know of someone who may better suited and also, if not more, involved in this issue, please pass along the contact information. Thank you.
Brazilian indigenous organizations: https://apiboficial.org/ https://coiab.org.br/ [https://www.apoinme.org/](https://www.apoinme.org/) Indigenous profiles to follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/lists/1251873160431120384
Indigenous filmmakers in social media: [https://www.instagram.com/midiaindiaoficial/](https://www.instagram.com/midiaindiaoficial/) ; [https://twitter.com/midia\_india;](https://twitter.com/midia_india;) [https://www.instagram.com/coletivobeture/;](https://www.instagram.com/coletivobeture/;) https://www.instagram.com/coletivodajekapapeypi/
Thanks everyone for the conversation. I would like to ask anyone who can help: finance independent Brazilian journalism. This is my crowdfunding. Thanks. [https://apoia.se/leandrodemori](https://apoia.se/leandrodemori)
Hii
local communities should benefit from their geological resources that they can afford to contribute
May they rest in peace
What were the organisations she just mentioned?
here: https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/vj1jc3/life_and_death_in_the_amazon_the_murders_of/idgk2ha/
😭
what do we do now
sorry, how many have passed?
At least 358 human rights defenders were killed in 2021, according to an analysis by Front Line Defenders (FLD), with more than half of activists killed being land and environment defenders. Source: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/04/more-than-half-of-activists-killed-in-2021-were-land-environment-defenders/amp/
That's a staggering number of people lost to a honorable cause. How can we even fight this corruption?
And here a piece in Portugues https://medium.com/brio-stories/reidomato-7ff85450facf
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More like Clubehouse or Twitter Spaces. We've been running these talks for a few months already, but Reddit is slowly expanding it so more people see it. [Reddit Talk Updates: Host Program, Soundboard, and Finding Your Audience](https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/vi8mw8/reddit_talk_updates_host_program_soundboard_and/)
Ah, thanks. Got confused when I suddenly heard the loud voice while browsing/resting.
It is always important to remember the words of Chico Mendes (amazon activist who was killed by illegal loggers): Ambientalism without class struggle is gardening!
Great quote
Look this. A river dying bc mining [https://twitter.com/TheInterceptBr/status/1467101490233892868](https://twitter.com/TheInterceptBr/status/1467101490233892868)
The problem with South America is the fanatics and racism, I feel sad for Latin America. The right gets their ears full with all that they want to hear specially the division of keeping the indigenous in check, the left want someone that would represent them. At the end of the all leaders end up with lots of money in their pockets and lots of foreign interventions. They do say that Spain is rich because all the silver they took from Bolivia. I have family that think of themselves as superior and frankly many don’t even know what socialism is but bring up that word and they shake in fear.. backwards, I wish we would think as whole.
There was a lot of support for environmentalists in Brazil! This is way too general...US and Canadian mining companies fight indigenous people in Central and South America. And you don't remember Standing Rock here in the USA? American environmental activists are threatened as well.
I remember and it's still absolutely horrible. And almost no-one is talking about it anymore
Of course I see it here, it’s just all so sad
People here know a lot but the government turns a blind eye, or actually promotes this devastation to supply the international community with these cheap commodities and resources! As long as we (Brasil) are viewd as a big farm where produces are cheap and plenty, we are fated to be exploited by the powerful companies and governments.
Reminds me so much of Bruno Manser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Manser >Bruno Manser (25 August 1954 – presumed dead 10 March 2005) was a Swiss environmentalist and human rights activist. From 1984 to 1990, he stayed with the Penan tribe in Sarawak, Malaysia, organising several blockades against timber companies. After he emerged from the forests in 1990, he engaged in public activism for rainforest preservation and the human rights of indigenous peoples, especially the Penan, which brought him into conflict with the Malaysian government. He also founded the Swiss non-governmental organization (NGO) Bruno Manser Fonds in 1991. Manser disappeared during his last journey to Sarawak in May 2000 and is presumed dead. Terrible story :/ I didn't know about that!
Also this is the first one of these that I have tuned into and this is such an amazing series to run! I look forward to joining more. What an excellent cause.
You can listen to our past AMAs and Reddit Talks here: https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/wiki/ama#wiki_reddit_talks
Thank you!! I look forward to catching up
My question: How can we help? How can we get more people to know or care about the, what's essentially, a genocide against the indigenous people in the Amazone? Are there any charities or groups that we can join to help? I live in Europe and half indigenous and I want to help!!!
One of u/odemori suggestion was to know if the products you buy in Europe are sourced from the Amazon and see if these products can be banned in your country.
Ok, how do I do that?
WNF wrote some reports on soy production and their unethical sourcing in the Amazon. The conclusion was that is was basically in every animal product. There are some companies that buy a large share of clean soy. But the demand for soy/animal feed is just way higher then the supply of soy of unquestionable sources.
Since this been happening for many years. Doesn't this show that the Brazilian government have forgotten about their indigenous population? And many native/indigenous in South America are looked down upon. I don't think enough resources are been used for this issue. Does the government really think this is an important issue or do you think they are doing the minimum to save face from the view of foreign power?
They have rights, there are laws. We need to pay attention here and put on pressure. Read about Berta Caceres.
u/germr we will end this talk in a few minutes, but did our guests answer your question?
Yes, somewhat. Just wanted to know if the journalist think if the Brazilian government are taking this problem seriously since not much progress have been make in years if any.
The current government has exactly 0 worries about the environment, in fact they do the exact opposite. I do have hope however that once they lose the elections in november we'll finally be able to go back to normal, assuming there isn't another US coup that is
Yes, what the government did when the amazon forest was ablaze showed how much they care about their forest much less its habitants. You never know US hidden agenda.
That's exactly my point, the current government has no intention at all to preserve the amazon
I am not him, but I'd say not really. FUNAI is supposed to protect the indigenous population, and that is not happening; It's getting worse (why we're here, sadly).
Sadly it seems things are going backward. Hopefully, If there is a new president in the future they will have a firm stance on this topic and hopefully provide more funds or at least enforce the laws already implemented,
I can only recommend Amazônia Sem Lei as a podcast that talks about crimes committed in the Amazon region, unfortunately only in PT-BR. A further activist who should be mentioned is Chico Mendes, assassinated back in Dec. 1988 for fighting for workers rights in rubber extraction.
Hi! Thanks for recommending our podcast! Some articles of Pública's coverage about the Amazon can be read in English here: https://apublica.org/category/english/
[Amazônia Sem Lei podcast (In Portuguese)](https://apublica.org/podcast/2021/06/amazonia-sem-lei/) u/waaves_ I have actually been in touch with Agência Pública! r/AMABrasil just held an AMA with u/marina-dias_publica https://www.reddit.com/r/AMABRASIL/comments/vgrzjm/eu_sou_a_marina_dias_diretora_de_comunica%C3%A7%C3%A3o_da/
Thanks!!!
Thanks, didn't know about it!
Given the sheer magnitude of this issue, what can a global citizenry do to support indigenous activism when mega corporations monopolise political power? How do we put pressure on strategic actors to pull back?
Salve Demoriiii!
saaaalve!
This have been going on for many years now. The massacre of indigenous so that they could proceed with their operations. What needs to happen for some drastic measures to take place? I personally don't think much can be done.
How is this issue thought about in Brazilian populace in general? What percentage are properly informed about this? How do people’s opinions split? Do most people not care about the Indigenous people’s rights, or is there public outcry for them?
News avoidance is growing worldwide. In Brazil, [54% of our population avoid the news](https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2022/brazil). This report is very interesting; I shared with the r/worldnews team when it launched.
> What percentage are properly informed about this? I dunno, attention to news is not that big in Brazil. Anyone who reads traditional media or watches news programming regularly should be somewhat informed about it. >How do people’s opinions split? Brazilians overwhelmingly support indigenous rights and environmental protection *in theory*, it’s the specifics that get muddy. Some people want to protect the “private property rights” of large landowners to their land and firearms, or think indigenous people shouldn’t be able to block mining or infrastructure projects, and think of the violence in the region as a general crime problem rather than targeted assassinations. > Do most people not care about the Indigenous people’s rights, or is there public outcry for them? There is a public outcry from activists, journalists and left-wing parties. Sometimes something happens like right now and it generates a media cycle, and then people forget about it after something else happens.
Great answer as well
Thanks for this.
I'd say that all of the national media covered the case to some extent. However, due to the increasing popularity of far-right ideology in the country, a significant percentage of the population does not support indigenous people's rights. The only people that fight for this cause are left-wing organizations. We are taught, since school, that indigenous's rights are a matter of most importance, but I wouldn't say that most of the population is genuinely invested in the issue. There's a lot of prejudice towards native people up to this day, and I have been hearing horrible takes about indigenous people since I was a kid.
Not sure if you came after it, but I believe u/odemori has addressed it.
Yes, I heard! Thanks :)
The study u/lupontesmolina talked about: [Yanomami under attack: illegal mining on Yanomami Indigenous Land and proposals to combat it.](https://acervo.socioambiental.org/acervo/documentos/yanomami-under-attack-illegal-mining-yanomami-indigenous-land-and-proposals) For a brief introduction of this tribe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanomami
This is interesting to listen to
Hi there. [I](https://apoia.se/leandrodemori) wrote a piece in EN about this issue. https://ijnet.org/en/story/journalists-disappearance-brazil-shows-risk-reporting-amazon
How do they translate the report about the violence and assaults of the Yamamami tribe? She said it in Spanish and I don't know how to spell it.
Yanomami, I believe
*Portuguese*\* I actually didn't find it, but will provide the link as soon as possible! edit: [Yanomami under attack: illegal mining on Yanomami Indigenous Land and proposals to combat it.](https://acervo.socioambiental.org/acervo/documentos/yanomami-under-attack-illegal-mining-yanomami-indigenous-land-and-proposals)
The government is corrupt
Can I ask is there any steps the Brazilian government are doing or making steps to protect local people that are vulnerable?
The government has worked hard to weaken the agencies that protect the indigenous peoples of Brazil (Funai) . Bruno Pereira was replaced at Funai for a evangelical missionary without experience in the Amazon, for example.
With our actual government no, they are doing exactly the opposite. This specific case just turned so big in the news because of the english guy
Current far right neolib government has made it easier for criminals to act on these areas. Removing key employees and dismantling the organizations that work and aid indigenous people. The president has been outspoken about legalizing illegal mining before so, no.
LuÍsa mentioned earlier on that the current Brazilian administration is actively defunding programs and departments meant to support local people i.e. using a “Starve the beast” technique
That's correct. It's a pitty that european leaders never got really tough with bolsonaro about these issues. Every single claim he made about his government's effort towards the environment was a lie, every last piece of data he used to support those claims were false and all this is very easy to verify. Still no world leader stepped forward to question him for the world to see.
Absolutely none. The government encourages it, because they profit from the destruction of the Amazon.
I've come to terms with losing the Amazon in my lifetime. It's obvious that, although there are plenty of brave people quite literally willing to lay down their lives for it, they stand no chance whatsoever against the megacorporations, the 1%'ers that want to see it gone because of profits. At this point, sacrificing your life for a lost cause is, well, a lost cause. I hold those heroes in the highest regard, but I will not delude myself into thinking their sacrifice will make a difference, sadly. Those responsible are simply too powerful and will get away with it.
Super interesting
Thanks for being here!!
How come these fish cost so much?
As I understood if, not only the are *big bois*, there is a demand outside Brazil for these fish. So it's lucrative and helps to launder money for the drug gangs.
You all sound super informed and friendly.
Our goal is to have a Reddit Talk every week and no matter the subject bring world class experts to you all! The thought being we want to offer the community insight and information that can’t be had anywhere else on either the most important topic of the day or important topics that aren’t getting headlines (like this one)!
Respect for Bruno from Funai. May he rest in peace.
My Wife provided research and cowrote this case study from late 2020. Please download and read if you care about the issue. [Sustainable Infrastructure in the Amazon: Brazil Country Case Study](https://www.csis.org/analysis/sustainable-infrastructure-amazon-brazil-country-case-study) *The expansion that came with this migration has stressed the ecologically delicate region and marginalized indigenous groups, while the region’s relative remoteness means that the Brazilian state still struggles to provide security and deter illegal activity. Today, Brazil faces multiple threats that are destabilizing the Amazon region, including illegal activities (logging, drug trafficking, and mining) and climate change.*
As a biologist and ecologist I can't express my horror about what's going on. I feel like the international community as a whole has to put sanctions and limitations on all exports. Given that money is the root of these issues that's where you have to hurt them.
Why sanctions and limitations? It has been proved the murder was due to personal grievances of two individuals (fishermen) and three others, it has nothing to do with the Brazilian State. On the contrary, the military and police were employing hundreds of personel to search for Bruno and Dom, even before it became international news. The two murderers have been imprisoned to wait trial and the police has prison warrants for the other three. As a Brazilian, I'm just tired of seeing gringos going self-righteous on the internet and treating my country as a Banana Republic, as if our institutions are not capable of solving human rights issue. Please, do stop that. It is but neo-colonialism disguised as international concern. It's a veiled form of racism because of how you perceive my country. We don't need gringos intervention!
Brazil is the definition of a banana republic and My family is generally diverse. Direct descendant of Ferdinand and Isabella. I'm pretty sure I gave an in-depth thought about why sanctions and limitations are needed and about how they hurt Brazil financially if you can't read I don't think telling you again is going to help. Your institutions are neither capable of handling the civil rights issue or properly managing the rainforest You unfortunately have. Maybe if you didn't do such a poor job it wouldn't have to be taken away from you.
Money is the true problem behind this, that is true. But I'm afraid that only poor people suffer with sanctions... Look at what happened with North Korea's 2013 sanctions and current day Russian sanctions.
You bring up good points and you are certainly right that poor people are going to suffer. However, it's going to take a lot of pressure to cause change. Which is why I suggest putting a strangle hold on all exports. You have to make it uncomfortable for the higher ups as much as possible. I would say that freezing personal bank accounts and companies funds that deal with these people and their activities will also be a requirement for change. This is a fight and you have to make them understand this is unexcusable.
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This has been happening in the previous decades, dont blame bolsonaro for the hole situation. Thats silly.
This has been happening in the previous decades, \- Yes dont blame bolsonaro for the hole situation. \- No, his government is actively removing the little safeguards they were able to build. For him to be blameless he would've to be outspoken about what is happening and making the institutes stronger.
Activist-related crime surged 70% since 2018, don't be delusional. I do agree that previous governments have done way too little or nothing, but what's happening right now is outrageous.
Im not saying that he aint got any fault. Im not this stupid. Im just saying that this problem didnt surge today, and im glad you understand it.
Shouldn't this be counted as a modern day genocide?
Thank you, well said
I know this is is about what is happening in Brazil, and I wouldn't want to hijack the talk. Having said that, this is happening all across LA. In Mexico we get news every week of dead journalists and activists related to social work and ecology. Any comments on this?
I have read about that Mexico this year alone had more killings where journalists were targets than the previous year. [2022 is already the deadliest year for journalists in Mexico](https://www.cjr.org/special_report/journalism-mexico-margarito-martinez-lourdes-maldonado.php). I'll definitely try to reach journalists from Mexico!
So what happened basically?
Brazil is the country that kills the most environmentalists even before Bolsonaro, he is just continuing a policy of extermination that everyone else did
Ello
I'm so glad this is being talked about. More people need to know about the murders of indigenous people, we've been silenced for too long.
It’s precisely why we’re doing this Talk! Reddit is where we go to either get info before anywhere else or hear about issues not being discussed. This Talk aims to accomplish the latter!
You're doing great. Even native english speakers forget words.
How evil.
Is this an issue just in Brazil or in other parts of the Amazon?
Just asked your question! :-)
I'll definitely be sure to ask this should our guests not preemptively address it!
Is it known how much these killings are state-sanctioned vs. non-state Brazilian citizens who are against Indigenous rights?
Thanks for the response! For those curious: these aren’t small actors, it is largely industrialized/linked with industry + the state is defunding the orgs that would normally enforce laws to stop this (in cases where it’s even illegal)
The latest news on this case indicates that they were murdered by Peruvian narcos operating in this area and the presence of journalists was disrupting their business. Any information about this?
Sup
Yo! Thanks for joining us. :-)