It should be noted that, of course, this shocking rise in volence cannot be attributed to Bolsonaro himself, but rather to deeper structural and economic factors, in particular corproate privatization. As CPT coordinator Ruben Siqueira explained to Brasil de Fato:
We see this as a new land rush, in which land is a means of production, a store of value, like wood, water, ore, agribusiness, expansion of land-based businesses. This has to do with the financial crisis that started in 2008 with the speculative bubble. Since then, the hegemonic capitalist sector, which is financial capital, is looking for backing, something that can support this international speculative game.
Indeed, it seems the escalation of violence against indigenous and peasant activists is directly connected to the growing need for consolidation of land and natural resources resulting from the econmoic downturn of the last ten years. However, it is perhaps even more precise to pinpoint the drop in commodity prices, most conspicuously the collapse of oil prices in 2014-2015, as one of the primary drivers of this renewed push for capital accumulation.
And though this process was jump=started during the tenure of Dilma Rousseff and the Workers' Party (PT), it has picked up momentum under the right wing Temer government. And it's about to go into overdrive with Bolsonaro taking power. For it is Bolsonaro himself who has promised to open up as much protected land as possible to big business.
Indeed, within days of Bolsonaro's victory, reports began to circulate that indigenous lands were being invaded and/or seized, with all the attendant violence one would expect. As Beto Marubo, a native leader from the Javari Valley Indigenous Land in Brazil's far west, explained to National Geographic, "Many brothers tell us there are invasions, people entering the territories with no regard for the rules and no fear of the authorities." This final point is critical because while impunity has long been the norm in Brazil, the utter disregard for any semblance of governmental or law enforcement oversight will likely increase underr Bolsoanro who has all but given his blessing to displacement and violence against these groups.
Ultimately, the struggle is about land rights, especially for the indigenous peoples who have fought for official demarcation of lands for decades.
Dinamà £ Tuxa', Coordinator of Brazil's Association of Indigenous Peoples (APIB) summed it up neatly:
This scenario is totally heartbreaking. Bolsonaro has made clear and consistent declarations about ending the titling of indigenous lands, which are completely opposed to our rights. His racist, homophobic, misogynist, fascist discourse shows how Brazilian politics will be in the coming years" His discourse gives those who live around indigenous lands the right to practice violence without any sort of accountability. Those who invade indigenous lands and kill our people will be esteemed. He represents an institutionalization of genocide in Brazil.
Of course it must be remembered that Afro-Brazilian communities will be targeted as well. Marielle Franco's assassination in March 2018 was in many ways a watershed moment for the social movements in the country. However, rather than driving positive political change on the national level, Brazil has instead elected a fascist leader who praises the extrajudicial methods historically employed by the dictatorship and its enablers in the country. It remains to be seen how the left can regroup, respond, and reestablish its political power.
One thing is certain in both Brazil and Colombia: the far right is in power, and that means the war on social movements and activists is only just getting started.
And while it may seem bleak as we read about seemingly daily atrocities visited upon the indigenous and poor of these (and other Latin American) countries, we cannot simply despair. Instead, we must organize and mobilize. For those of us in the Global North, that means doing what we can to be in solidarity with these activists, helping to build power internationally.
Duque, Bolsonaro, and the far right of Latin America may have ascended to power, but they are not omnipotent.
Now is the time for organizing; the time for struggle; the time for resistance.
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