SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s new president is making it all but impossible for lands of indigenous tribes to be identified and demarcated.
President Jair Bolsonaro issued an inauguration day executive order to transfer those responsibilities to Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry.
The Justice Ministry demarcated the lands of indigenous tribes previously, but far-right leader Bolsonaro made it a campaign promise to change that.
His agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina, is part of the agribusiness caucus in Brazil’s lower house and an adversary of requests from native tribes.
Indigenous leader Sonia Guajajara says the presidential order aims to dismantle protections for Brazilian tribes.
Bolsonaro said during the campaign he wanted to annul demarcation decisions made by previous administrations.
His order also affects the lands of quilombolas, as descendants of former slaves are known.
