The attack by landowners and paramilitaries led to the death of an indigenous Pataxo in Bahia

^{On the cover: At the wake of leader María Fátima Muñiz de Andrade, those present condemned the attack launched by the Riffians against the indigenous people of southern Bahia. Photo: Leo Otero.}

This Sunday (21), an attack by landowners and rural people – the promoters of agribusiness in Brazil – led to the death of María Fátima Muñiz de Andrade, an indigenous woman, who worked in agriculture. Maggie (female shaman) in the Pataxo Hahahahai community.

The crime occurred in the municipality of Buteragua, in the indigenous territory of Caramoro-Catarina Paraguaçu, which is claimed by the Bataxo people. At the scene, two landowners were reportedly arrested for illegal possession of a weapon; It is suspected that both were shot and killed by Muniz de Andrade.

Leader Nailton Muniz Patas was also injured in the armed attack, sustaining a gunshot wound to the kidney and subsequently undergoing surgery. An indigenous woman suffered a broken arm and other people were taken to hospital.

According to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI), about 200 ranchers and landowners in the area have organized through a messaging app to reclaim ownership of the Inhuma Ranch, which was reclaimed by Pataxo indigenous people last Saturday (20).

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According to the Bahia State Public Security Secretariat (SSP-BA), the attack was organized by a group called the “Zero Invasion Movement.” For its part, the Indigenous Expression of Brazil (APIB) organization issued a statement condemning the armed aggression. It highlights the importance of ensuring the demarcation of indigenous lands as a means of resolving the growing land conflicts in Brazil.

The operation to reclaim the Ameriko farm in Karamuru region began in the early hours of last Saturday (20). The region faces the intransigence of invading landowners, who declare themselves the traditional owners of the lands and accuse the residents of being “fake Indians.” “Agreeing to the interim framework increases the intransigence of the invaders, who feel entitled to commit all kinds of violence against the people,” says the indigenous association.

The Aviv data indicate that the National Congress, on December 14, 2023, annulled the majority of President Lula's objections to Bill No. 2903/2023, thus restoring the so-called “temporary framework”, a bill that abolishes the protection of the territorial rights of the people. the original people.

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“This proposal, now in force as Law No. 14701/2023, has given farmers, businessmen and politicians opposed to the indigenous cause more momentum to attack indigenous communities in an attempt to evict families from their traditional lands. “To achieve this, they are using cruelty and violence.” , confirms the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI).

State complicity

Testimonies published by political organizations, regions, peoples and social movements in the independent struggle for land and territory, Tía dos Bofos, confirm that the military police, pretending to mediate, paved the way for the landowners to attack Pataxo ha-ha. People – hey.

According to the stories, the rural people shot the indigenous people despite the presence of security forces, and even more so, with the approval and subsequent participation of the Bahia Military Police in the attack. In addition to the detained landowners, an indigenous man in Pataxo who was carrying a handmade weapon was also arrested.

“In addition to the beatings and torture, (the Pataxo indigenous people) suffered many material losses that were very important for their independence. The landowners set fire to their cars, smashed their cell phones, and spoiled their food.”

It should be noted that this crime is only the latest in a wave of increasing violence against indigenous people in Brazil.

According to CIMI, in just over 30 days (the period from 14 December to 21 January), there were at least eight attacks against indigenous people in the south and extreme south of Bahia, only four of them in the first days of 21 January. The organization stresses that “the situation demonstrates the need to quickly and effectively analyze and ensure the territorial rights claimed by indigenous peoples.”

On December 21, the leader of the Pataxo Hahahay people, Lucas Santos Oliveira, 31, was killed in an ambush when he was returning from the city of Pau Brasil with his son to his village of Karamuro – Catarina Paraguaçu.

According to CIMI, the killers were on a motorcycle, and so far there is not much information about motives or suspects. Then, on December 29, 2023, a group of Pataxo families from the Itasepera community, in the municipality of Trancoso, were attacked by armed men who destroyed part of the community, burning motorcycles and indigenous-owned appliances. This measure came in an attempt to expel families from the area they occupy.

On the same day, a businessman entered the village of Tepa and threatened women and children, after the indigenous people prevented the extraction of sand for marketing in the village of Comoroxatepa and the surrounding area, because it affects the sources of two rivers that feed the water. Indigenous lands.

Only on January 5 did a landowner from the area, accompanied by a group of people not identified by the indigenous population, attempt to break the lock providing access to a recovered area in the Monte Pascual area, near the village of Getai. The area controlled by the Pataxo families was not conquered due to the quick movement of the Pataxo leaders.

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On January 8, the Pataxo indigenous people of Quiro Ver village were surprised by the presence of military police from the task force inside the forest area of ​​the community, without the consent of the chief and his commanders. The case was reported to the military police command of the region and to the Bahia state judge.

The next day, January 9, near the village of Trevo do Parque, the body of indigenous Ademir Machado Reyes was found. Last Tuesday (16), Roberto Braz Ferreira was found dead inside his house in the village of Barra Velha, with marks of blows from an ax on different parts of his body. Indigenous leaders say they do not know the motive or whether there are suspects.

However, for CIMI, it is clear who is behind the attacks.

“It is not necessary to do much research to find out who are the thought leaders of that 'parallel force', that armed militia installed in Bahia, and their connections to the anti-democratic actions that have spread throughout the country and which, openly and openly, and without any modesty or fear From punishment, they demand illegal measures against indigenous people, landless workers and others, because they are convinced that they will not be punished. “Can anyone explain this feeling of impunity?” says the organization that stands in solidarity with the demand Indigenous people of their ancestral lands.