Page 12 - aruba-today-20190426

A12 WORLD NEWS
Friday 26 april 2019

Brazil’s congress receives indigenous leaders amid protests

By RENATO DOMINGUES ra told The Associated Press from the Justice Ministry to
DIANE JEANTET on Wednesday night. a new ministry for family,
Associated Press “Where indigenous lands women and human rights
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — are demarcated, regis- that is being led by an ul-
Over 150 indigenous lead- tered and controlled by traconservative evangeli-
ers met with lawmakers to the peoples, these terri- cal pastor.
discuss land rights and the tories are preserved and During an earlier meeting
role of their communities in cared for,” said Cleber with Chamber of Deputies
the protection of the en- Cesar Buzatto, secretary Speaker Rodrigo Maia on
vironment Thursday amid general of the Indigenous Wednesday, Ivan Valente,
protests against the poli- Missionary Council, a rights a lawmaker who is part of
cies of Brazil’s new far-right group linked to the Roman an indigenous lobbying
president. Catholic Church. “In some group, said the president’s
The discussions in the Cham- regions, in some states like changes were “leaving the
ber of Deputies came on Rondonia, Mato Grosso, fox taking over the chicken
the second day of the Free Kayapo leader Raoni Metuktire, from left, Joenia Wapichana, Maranhao, these lands are coop.”
Land Encampment, an an- the first indigenous congresswoman to be elected to Brazil’s like true oases in the middle Maia responded by say-
lower house, and indigenous leader Sonia Guajajara, attend a
nual three-day protest by meeting with lawmakers to discuss land rights and the Chamber of farming commodities ing that he would push to
indigenous groups held in of Deputies’ role in the protection of the environment in Brasilia, fields, and of a lot of envi- undo the changes when
Brazil’s capital. Brazil, Thursday, April 25, 2019. ronmental destruction.” the proposals come up for
Indigenous leaders from Associated Press Soon after being sworn debate.
several regions attended people set up tents on the Guajajara, an indigenous in Jan. 1, Bolsonaro trans- Putting FUNAI back under
the congressional hear- lawn of the congressio- leader and former vice ferred the authority for des- the Justice Ministry “seems
ing, many of them with nal building Wednesday presidential candidate. ignating indigenous land to me the most reasonable,
traditional feathered head- and began demonstrating Bolsonaro “wants to give and granting environmen- the most rational (decision)
dresses and faces painted against President Jair Bolso- the indigenous territories tal licenses for businesses that guarantees more se-
red or black. Marina Silva, a naro’s vow to encourage to the United States, to on indigenous reserves curity for each one of you,”
former environmental min- the expansion of mining foreigners, to explore our from the government’s in- Maia said.
ister and presidential can- and industrial farming in natural resources. We fight digenous affairs agency Guajajara told a cheer-
didate, also attended the protected indigenous ar- not only for our rights, our to the Agriculture Ministry. ing crowd that indigenous
meeting. eas. “What is being disput- constitutional rights, but for He also shifted the indige- leaders will continue to op-
More than 1,000 indigenous ed is the land,” said Sonia our right to exist,” Guajaja- nous affairs agency, FUNAI, pose Bolsonaro’s plans.q

Puerto Rico gov slams Trump, seeks swifter storm recovery

By DANICA COTO Gov. Ricardo Rossello also by Congress,” Rossello said
Associated Press said he plans to hold a yes- briefly in English before re-
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) or-no referendum on state- suming his address in Span-
— Puerto Rico’s governor hood. He also criticized ish.
pledged on Wednesday to President Donald Trump’s The governor said his ad-
lift the U.S. territory from a response to Maria, a Cat- ministration has faced sev-
deep recession by creating egory 4 storm that hit Sep- eral obstacles amid hur-
more jobs, reversing a mi- tember 2017 and caused ricane recovery efforts, in-
gration exodus and imple- more than an estimated cluding what he called un-
menting a range of incen- $100 billion in damage. fair conditions imposed to
tives as the island struggles “As Americans, Puerto Ri- obtain federal funds and a
to recover from Hurricane cans deserve a swift recov- hostile attitude from some
Maria. ery from Hurricane Maria. federal officials.
During a nearly two-hour It’s been over a year after “I reiterate to President
state of the common- Puerto Rico’s Gov. Ricardo Rossello delivers his commonwealth the catastrophic event. We Trump that he is discrimi-
wealth address that fol- address at the seaside Capitol in San Juan, Puerto Rico, are still waiting for the dis- nating against 3 million U.S.
lowed a brief power out- Wednesday, April 24, 2019. bursement of most of the citizens in Puerto Rico,” the
age at the seaside Capitol, funds already allocated governor said. q