Fifty elected representatives of the European Parliament sent a letter to the Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro, to urge him to end violence against indigenous peoples and deforestation in the Amazon.
Among the signatories, most are from the Green and Left group. MEPs point out that the theft of land from indigenous peoples has reached records under his presidency.
In recent weeks, thousands of indigenous people have been mobilizing daily in the capital Brasilia to try to defend their rights and challenge the policies of the far-right leader, a movement which MEPs fully support.
The UN has also said it is “gravely concerned” by attacks against indigenous populations and human rights activists in Brazil, a country which, according to a ranking published on Sunday by the NGO Global Witness, is the fourth nation with the most killings of conservationists in the world.
In their letter, MEPs also recall that deforestation in the Amazon has increased by 85% since Jair Bolsonaro came to power.
For its part, the Brazilian government continues to defend the Ferrogrão megaproject, which provides for the construction of a 1,000-kilometer rail link through the Amazon for the transport of corn and soybeans. According to the Brazilian authorities, this project will make it possible to benefit from the growing world demand for foodstuffs due to the increase in the world population.
Reference-feedproxy.google.com