The Cost of Economic Success: The Human Rights of Indigenous Tribes in Brazil

Upon his victory in the 2018 Brazilian election, president-elect Jair Bolsonaro was certain of one thing: he was going to do away with indigenous protections, effective immediately. Bolsonaro was known for his ultra-conservative ideals; the president-elect quickly became known as the “Trump of the Tropics”. A staunch supporter of the military dictatorship that ruled Brazil between 1964 and 1985, Bolsonaro claimed the country should return to that “glorious period” – the same period in which was characterized by torture and imprisonment of thousands. About indigenous rights, he had many ideas: “scythe” FUNAI completely, and ensure that not “one more centimeter” of land would be dedicated to the indigenous people of Brazil. 

Upon his 2019 inauguration, Bolsonaro immediately lifted important protections for the indigenous peoples. When scything FUNAI proved to be difficult, he appointed Marcelo Xavier as its president. Xavier dismissed experienced employees, opened investigations against indigenous leaders and prosecutors who defended indigenous rights, and lifted laws that protected indigenous land. The previous coordinator base of FUNAI, seasoned experts in conservation, were replaced by police officers – including Marcelo Xavier himself. The ramifications of the Bolsonaro presidency were dire and led to thousands of unretractable damages to the Brazilian Amazon and its peoples.  

The Birth of FUNAI Under Dictatorship Rule 

The relationship between the Brazilian government and the indigenous people of Brazil has been a tumultuous one. FUNAI was established in 1967 under the military dictatorship rule of Humberto Castelo Branco. FUNAI, or the National Indian Foundation, serves as the national body for the protections of indigenous peoples.  

FUNAI was infiltrated heavily throughout the military dictatorship era. Professors and anthropologists who showed sympathy towards the indigenous population were removed from their academic positions regularly. Alongside this, FUNAI was used to facilitate government access into indigenous lands. The Brazilian government would prioritize economic interests of local and international allies, at the expense of the indigenous people.  

The Amazon, Infrastructure Development, and the Indigenous People 

In the 1960s, the Brazilian economy was on the verge of collapse. Because of this, the Brazilian military turned to the United States of America and the International Monetary Fund to negotiate loans and financial support. With this support, the Brazilian military mapped out a plan to push economic growth, done through diversifying exports and increasing foreign investment. By the 1970s, Brazil was considered a ‘booming economy’. At this point, the Itaipu Binacional Dam was undergoing construction, soon becoming the second-largest hydroelectric dam in the world.  

Situated in the Brazilian state of Paraná, the world-renowned dam is built in the territory of the Guaraní people and would become a prime example of the Brazilian government sacrificing indigenous people for economic gain. The Brazilian military would declare the Amazon rainforest a national security threat – the “back door” into the country. As a result, there was an increase in infrastructure development in the region, beginning with the allocation of  “unproductive” lands to peasants. The “unproductive” lands were occupied by indigenous tribes; when the lands were redistributed, violence between the settlers and tribes was exacerbated. The newly built highways and infrastructure called Brazilians into the Amazon, which also led to an increase in illegal land invasions and conflicts. The economic boom further widened the great socioeconomic inequality gap in Brazil and left indigenous communities vulnerable. 

The transition to democracy was marked by the adoption of the 1988 Constitution, which was monumental due to its inclusion of clauses that highlighted the rights of the indigenous population to their protected land and culture. The 1988 Constitution turned a new leaf in the history of indigenous rights in Brazil, igniting hope in the indigenous groups who were expelled from their land during the dictatorship. With the election of Bolsonaro, this regressed. 

The Bolsonaro Plan, Thirty Years Post-Constitution 

An ex-military captain, the military dictatorship period inspired Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro worked around long-standing institutions to surpass regulations protecting indigenous inhabitants. He replaced the FUNAI appointee base with retired military police officers – eerily mirroring the state of FUNAI between the 1960s and 1980s. Under Bolsonaro, there were over 280 indigenous lands pending approval for demarcation. Land demarcation was made even more difficult. Indigenous tribes claiming lands were now required to prove presence on the land before October 5, 1988 – the day the new Constitution was enacted. The newly-appointed FUNAI base introduced regulations that allowed individuals to claim land within demarcated territories, which was previously prohibited. Although Courts in 13 states suspended the regulation, there remained thousands of claims over 239,000 hectares of land within demarcated territories. FUNAI also attempted to introduce regulations that barred employees from protecting non-demarcated territories, which was swiftly blocked by the Brazilian Supreme Court. The Human Rights Watch reported that illegal logging, mining, poaching, and land grabbing had increased over 137% under Jair Bolsonaro. 

Reports from the Brazilian organization CIMI stated that indigenous violent deaths were reaching 373.8 per year. This was an increase of over 54% from the previous two presidencies of Michel Temer and Dilma Rousseff. Most of these deaths were due to conflicts with illegal loggers and miners, alongside invaders contaminating indigenous food and water sources with mercury and other harmful poisons. Two FUNAI agents, Maxciel Pereira dos Santos and Bruno Pereira, were killed during the Bolsonaro regime in land conflicts. Although Santos’ murder remains unsolved, prosecutors have connected Pereira’s murder with three men involved in illegal fishing. Alongside Pereira, British journalist Dom Phillips was also killed. Pereira was the director of FUNAI’s office for uncontacted peoples, but was removed by the Bolsonaro regime due to disagreements with new leadership. Prior to removal, he successfully led an operation against illegal mining. 

The Dire Effects of Economic Prosperity 

Between 2019 and 2022, 3,552 indigenous children between 0 and 4 died from “omission of the state”. This cause of death is directly related to poor government healthcare mismanagement and correlated with increased rates of intentional mercury poisoning by illegal miners and fishers. Only 15.6% of Brazilian hospitals are located in the Amazon. Despite “lack of infrastructure” often being used as the excuse this, the Brazilian government has invested far more into economically beneficial infrastructure projects in the Amazon. Following the military dictatorship infrastructure investment model, Bolsonaro invested US$65 Billion into infrastructure in the country, largely through the Amazon. One of these projects included extending the BR-163 highway through the Amazon basin into the Suriname border, which would exponentially increase agribusiness and mining. As much as infrastructure would increase, land protections were decreasing. This opened the door to a landscape of a mining and agriculture free-for-all. The Ministry of Infrastructure began 69 projects, including airports, railways, ports, highways, and oil and gas ventures. As trade tensions with China increased, Bolsonaro prioritized these projects in order to compete in soy production. 

Climate issues are also exacerbated by mismanagement of the Amazons. In 2019, 74,000 fires broke out in the Amazons – and the Brazilian government hesitated to address the growing crisis. The fires killed and displaced indigenous people, with the government not offering aid to rehabilitate the communities. Indigenous people in Brazil are one of the most vulnerable to lack of social services. In the states within Amazonian territory, less than 10% of people have access to sanitation. In terms of access to water, an average of 60% of communities have the infrastructure to allow this, while Amapá remains the lowest – at 37% of residents. Around 19% of those living in indigenous territories, and 22% in conservation areas, have no access to electricity. Under Lula da Silva, the Luz Para Todos project subsidized 80% of costs in providing electricity through renewable sources to rural populations – especially the areas of the Amazon. 

Conclusion

Inspired by the Brazilian military dictatorship, Jair Bolsonaro regressed indigenous protections by infiltrating national indigenous protection agencies. The then-president invested billions of dollars into overrunning indigenous lands with highways, ports, and infrastructure that benefited mega-corporations. Meanwhile, many indigenous groups did not have proper access to running water, electricity, or a local hospital. The Bolsonaro presidency was characterized by a refusal to demarcate indigenous lands, an allowance of violence against indigenous populations, and failure to address indigenous access to basic facilities. Many of these damaging effects, both direct and indirect, were permanent – with the rest taking years for the Amazon to recover from.  

Today, four years after Bolsonaro’s departure, the ex-president serves a 27-year sentence for treason. The Bolsonaro presidency serves as an example for the possibility of rapid regression on indigenous peoples´ rights under certain political  contexts and highlights the serious issue of Brazilian governance and its lack of efficacy in protecting the most vulnerable.

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Eduarda Morais Silva is a senior International Relations student at SLU-Madrid. She is a Brazilian dual-citizen who is also the President and Founder of the Brazilian/Portuguese Cultural Club at SLU-Madrid. Throughout her studies, she has done extensive research on the Brazilian military dictatorship, the Bolsonaro era, and indigenous human rights in Brazil.

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To quote this article, please use the following reference:

Morais Silva, E. (2026, April). The Cost of Economic Success: The Human Rights of Indigenous Tribes in Brazil. Observatory On Contemporary Crises. https://www.crisesobservatory.org/post/the-cost-of-economic-success-the-human-rights-of-indigenous-tribes-in-brazil