Around 7 thousand people and 300 indigenous peoples participated in the Acampamento Terra Livre (ATL), the largest indigenous mobilization in Brazil. The demonstration continues until Saturday, with assemblies, forums and political actions, reinforcing pressure on the Brazilian Government to protect indigenous peoples and their territories.
Under sun and rain, more than 300 indigenous peoples participated in a march of around five kilometers to the Esplanada dos Ministérios, as part of the Acampamento Terra Livre (ATL), the largest indigenous mobilization in Brazil.
Among the participants were indigenous university students, many from the Amazon, in the North region, who study in the country’s large centers, thousands of kilometers from their communities.
“It’s not enough to just place indigenous people in universities, it’s also important to help them stay,” sociology student Genival Laranhaga, 26, from the Ticuna people, told Lusa, alongside 50 other colleagues from the same college in the interior of São Paulo.
“We have to be in these spaces”
Also a student, Emerson Chaves de Oliveira, from the Baré people, a postgraduate student in indigenous language at a public university in Rio de Janeiro, defended the importance of permanence policies in higher education and the occupation of these spaces by indigenous peoples.
In his opinion, indigenous rights are the result of the struggle of their ancestors and need to be preserved.
“We have to be in these spaces, because, otherwise, we lose our protagonism and the possibility of ‘territorializing’ the university through our voice and our presence”, highlighted the educator.
In addition to posters denouncing violence against indigenous people, the mobilization included speeches from leaders along the route, with calls for the demarcation of territories and the reinforcement of indigenous presence in Brazilian politics.
Federal deputy Célia Xakriabá, from Minas Gerais, in conversation with Lusa, warned about the lack of re-election of indigenous people in Congress and defended these candidacies as a form of climate action.
“Voting for the indigenous candidacy is voting for a real climate candidacy in Brazil”, declared Xakriabá.
They delivered a letter of claims to the Presidency
During the march, protesters delivered a seven-page letter of demands to the Brazilian Presidency and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, denouncing threats to indigenous rights and demanding the end of policies that allow the exploitation of natural resources in indigenous territories without prior consultation.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a document was also presented with a global proposal for the elimination of fossil fuels, aligned with the ATL 2026 debates and focused on the protection of indigenous territories and climate justice.
In a statement, the executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), Dinamam Tuxá, stated that there is no fair energy transition without guaranteeing indigenous territories.
“These are concrete measures to combat the climate crisis. When the world ignores this, it chooses to maintain a model that destroys life”, he highlighted.
“Our future is not for sale”
This year’s edition of ATL takes place under the motto “Our future is not for sale: the answer is us”, focusing on the 2026 elections and the advancement of mining in indigenous lands.
During the protest, there were also references to the Brazilian President, Lula da Silva, with praise for measures such as the creation of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, but criticism of the defense of the exploration of fossil fuels, particularly oil, in the Amazon.
Singer Chico César, present at the march, highlighted in statements to Lusa the importance of the indigenous cause for environmental preservation and appealed for the support of Brazilian society.
“I am also a descendant of indigenous people and I am also a relative. I think that marching for the indigenous people is marching with life. The entire life of the planet is threatened and the main defender of the environment and nature is the indigenous people”, declared the artist from the State of Paraíba.
The mobilization, which began on Sunday, continues until Saturday, with assemblies, forums and political actions, reinforcing pressure on the Brazilian Government to protect indigenous peoples and their territories.
