At the head of the foundation in the Bolsonaro government, Marcelo Xavier was accused of pressuring employees to approve licensing; defense denies it and says it will appeal
On Wednesday (October 15, 2025) the former president of the (National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples) Marcelo Augusto Xavier da Silva was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime of slanderous reporting. An appeal can be made against the decision.
Former director of the agency in the government of (PL), Marcelo Xavier was accused by the (Federal Public Ministry) of persecuting employees of the agency, members of and representatives of other entities that work in defense of indigenous people.
According to the indictment, Xavier aimed to approve Funai’s part in the environmental licensing process for the energy transmission line between Manaus and Boa Vista.
The decision was handed down by judge Thadeu José Piragibe Afonso, from the 2nd Federal Criminal Court in Manaus (AM). The judge stated that the former president acted to “intimidate and pressure” officials to approve licensing during the Bolsonaro government.
According to the judge, the former president asked the (Federal Police) to open investigations against the agency’s employees.
“The accused’s intention to speed up the Linhão licensing process, ignoring administrative formalities, technical notes and the history of the indigenous population directly involved, is clear and outlines the motivation behind the request to initiate the investigation: to retaliate and pressure his subordinates to move forward with the licensing of the work”, he stated.
The magistrate also added that the accused knew that the accusations were baseless.
“The victims, in addition to being innocent, did not present any criminal motivation or conduct. Their inclusion in the procedures was technically unfounded, subjectively intentional and politically instrumentalized, solely because it went against the political interests to which the former president of Funai was devoted.”
OTHER SIDE
In a note sent to Brazil Agencylawyer Marcos Soares Júnior said that he received the conviction with “perplexity and indignation” and reiterated that the acts carried out by Xavier were based on fulfilling the legal exercise of his role.
The defense also declared that it will appeal: “It can be said with conviction that there is no evidence in the records regarding the allegation of instrumentalization of the Federal Police and the Public Ministry for the purpose of pressuring or persecuting civil servants, indigenous leaders and the like”.
With information from .
