Bernie Sanders criticizes US role in projects that endanger traditional communities in Brazil

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders criticized President Bolsonaro’s environmental policy for putting indigenous and the African-Brazilian quilombolas populations at risk.

In September, together with other US congress members, Sanders signed a letter stating that “under no circumstances should US taxpayers’ money be used to evict centuries-old indigenous and quilombola communities”. The group calls for an amendment to the annual budget allocated by the United States for Defense to prevent the USA government from pursuing projects in Brazil that put these populations at risk. The Congress approved the proposition in the first instance and is awaiting a resolution from the US Senate.

As a background to the claim, there is the desire by the Trump administration to use part of this budget in research and satellite launches at the Alcântara Launch Center, in Maranhão, the “Alcântara Base”, as it is called in the public debate. Environmentalists, civil society organizations and social movements criticize the project for violating the rights of indigenous and quilombolas, since it will cause the removal of thousands of families from the region and restrict sea access to local inhabitants.