The report  Pure Dynamite: how Bolsonaro’s Government (2019-2022) Mineral Policy Set Up a Climate and Anti-Indigenous Bomb released on March 27 by the Mining Observatory and Smoke Signal, has been generating debate and resulted in public hearings in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The document, which analyzed the Brazilian mineral policy during the Bolsonaro government, pointed out the existence of illegal favoring to the mining industry, and called into into question the system of self-licensing and mineral exploration in indigenous lands.

The report was featured in more than 350 media outlets, including Agência Brasil, TV Brasil and Miriam Leitão’s column in O Globo, generating reactions from both environmentalists and the mining industry.

On Thursday, April 27, the House of Representatives held a public hearing on the report’s findings, stocking the debate on the Brazilian mineral policies. Participating in the hearing were Daniel Pollack, Superintendent of Revenue at the National Mining Agency (ANM), Maurício Ângelo, Founder and Director of the Mining Observatory, and Rebeca Lerer, founder and coordinator of Smoke Signal.

“There has been a shock indoctrination, with fake news and disinformation, in addition to deregulation (of legislation), equipping of social control institutions, demobilization of control bodies, and criminalization of social movements. We saw a mix of tactics to advance a predatory land use agenda, whether for mining or agriculture, which resulted in increased violence and deforestation,” said Lerer.

The hearing participants contributed with questions about the situation of miners, the proper destination of CFEM (Financial Compensation for Mineral Exploration) resources in the municipalities, and the impossibility of pointing an example of “sustainable mining”. You can watch the public hearing on Youtube.

On Wednesday, May 10, the Federal Senate hosted a debate on the “Pure Dynamite” report and examined the 4 years of climate and anti-indigenous activities carried out by the government of Jair Bolsonaro. The event was attended by several experts, including Maurício Angelo of the Mining Observatory, André Elias Marques, Ombudsman of the National Mining Agency, and Suely Araújo, former president of Ibama and senior public policy specialist at the Climate Observatory, as well as the remote participation of Rebeca Lerer, coordinator of Smoke Signal, and Juliana de Paula Batista. representing the Socio-environmental Institute (SISA).

The main focus of the debate was “mineral denialism” and self-licensing in the mining sector on indigenous lands. In addition, it was discussed that mining represents only about 1% of Brazilian GDP, consumes 11% of electricity, and employs only 200,000 people, many of them in high-risk, outsourced activities. Environmental licensing was another highlight, with pressure from mining companies and industry to include mining in the Licensing Law (PL 3729). The influence that mining companies have on the licensing process was seen as a problem, as they have encouraged dams in an imminent state of disruption throughout the country. The full debate is available on the Senate website.

The 19th Acampamento Terra Livre [Free Land Camp] (ATL) ended on April 26th with a series of major achievements for the indigenous peoples in Brazil. On the last day of the event, attended by more than 6,000 indigenous people from all over the country, President Lula together with the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, announced the approval of several important policies, including: the ratification of six new indigenous lands, totaling more than 1.5 million hectares; the creation of a new federal agency to protect indigenous lands and resources; and the allocation of $1 billion in funding for indigenous health and education.

Alessandra Korap Munduruku has won the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize, the “green Nobel,” for her work defending the environment in the Tapajós river basin in the state of Pará. Korap, who leads the Pariri Indigenous Association that supports local communities, has worked to prevent large mining companies, such as Anglo American and Vale, from exploiting undemarcated indigenous lands. She has faced several attacks and death threats, but endures as a significant figure in the fight against the destruction of forests and rivers.

The Goldman Environmental Prize has been awarded to only three other Brazilians since 1989: Carlos Alberto Ricardo (1992), Marina Silva (1996), and Tarcísio Feitosa da Silva (2006).

To create memory and help elaborate on the tragedy of mineral policy under the Bolsonaro government, The Mining Observatory [Observatório da Mineração] and Smoke Signal [Sinal de Fumaça] have launched the bilingual report “Pure Dynamite: how Bolsonaro’s Government (2019-2022) Mineral Policy Set Up a Climate and Anti-Indigenous Bomb” an independent production that brings a timeline of the mineral sector and details the dismantling of regulatory bodies, rights violations, scandalous agreements and other measures adopted by the former government to satisfy the mineral market lobby in the country and the world.

In its thorough and investigative work, Observatório da Mineração closely followed the work that Bolsonaro’s government undertook at the national and international levels to dismantle public policies and sell mining and metal goods. Investigations have shown that his administration promoted legal and infralegal changes that benefited large mining companies, caused the criminal networks of illegal mining to soar, and made institutions such as the Ministry of Mines and Energy and the National Mining Agency totally subservient to vested financial interests. Smoke Signal Socio-Environmental Monitor, which has recorded facts and movements related to Brazilian socio-environmental policies over the last four years, joined Observatório da Mineração to produce this unprecedented report.

In addition to exposing the sophisticated articulations made between the mining market lobby, transnational companies and the federal government behind closed doors in the National Congress, the publication also brings a brief summary of the first measures adopted by Lula’s government and a list with 20 initial suggestions for the recovery of public governance and the reduction of negative effects of mining in the country. 

Click here to read our report in english. Also available in portuguese.

Eletronuclear, a subsidiary of Eletrobras, Brazil’s electricity company, is facing a public civil suit after the Angra 1 nuclear plant in Angra dos Reis. in Rio de Janeiro state, leaked radioactive material into the sea in September 2022. About 90 liters of radioactive waste escaped from valves during a maintenance process and was carried by rain into Itaorna Bay.

Eletronuclear took three weeks to notify the regulatory agency about the incident, which happened on September 16. The company denied the leak in a statement, but the Federal Prosecutor’s Office believes that Eletronuclear tried to hide the incident. The Court ordered the company to publicly disclose information about the incident and the measures to contain the damage, and to make a full assessment of the damage within 30 days and not to conceal or manipulate information about what happened. It is not yet known whether the accident may cause harm to the environment and to the population.

The temporary commission of the Brazilian Federal Senate to monitor the humanitarian crisis in Yanomami Indigenous Land approved its work plan last Wednesday (8/3). According to the rapporteur of the commission, Senator Dr. Hiran (Progressistas-RR), more than 19,000 gold miners have left the area since the eviction operation began last February. The president of IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental agency, Rodrigo Agostinho, also supports this: “We have removed almost 80%, 90% of the gold miners.”

The Senate commission also requested information on the funds released by the Amazon Fund and invited indigenous and environmental organizations for public hearings. Meanwhile, federal forces continue anti-gold mining actions and have already applied penalties of over R$10 million.

Rubén Dario da Silva Villar, known as “Colombia”, was the mastermind of the murders of Brazilian indigenist Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips, occurred in June 2022 in Vale do Javari [Javari Valley], in Amazonas. The information was confirmed by the superintendent of the Federal Police in the state, Alexandre Fontes, on Monday (23).

According to investigations, “Colombia” had a direct relationship with Amarildo da Costa Oliveira, known as “Pelado”, who is in prison and confessed participation in the deaths of Bruno and Dom. Amarildo’s brother, Oseney, and Jefferson da Silva Lima, also were arrested on suspicion of the crime.

The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office denounced Amarildo, Oseney and Jefferson for the murder of the victims. According to the superintendent, Colombia should be indicted for the murder in the coming days.

“The motivation is illegal fishing in the Vale do Javari region. And the intellectual author, I have no doubt, is ‘Colombia’. He was also the one who supplied boats for the illegal fishing in the region,” explained the delegate.

The confirmation by the police of the direct involvement of Colombia, which had been pointed out by the Union of Indigenous Peoples of Vale do Javari (Univaja), brings relief to the families of Bruno and Dom, but much remains to be done to defeat the criminals in Javari, says the public note from the Observatory of Human Rights of Isolated Indigenous Peoples and of Recent Contact. “Other people may be involved in the killings, it is necessary to clarify the death of Maxciel Pereira and the involvement, by omission or action, of public servants, including military personnel,” says the note.

On Friday (20), the Federal Court in Amazonas rescheduled the first hearings of the process that investigates the murders of Bruno and Dom. The lawyer for the Union of Indigenous Peoples of Vale do Javari (Univaja), Eliésio Marubo, was dismayed by the postponement of the hearings. For him, the impasse “causes insecurity in the trial and gives the idea that the criminals are poor wretches unjustly treated by the judicial system. “Someone is making mistakes on purpose, because not even a trainee can make such errors,” said the indigenous lawyer.

The Indigenous Lands with presence of isolated groups (with little or no contact with outsiders) are the most threatened in the Amazon biome. The conclusion comes from a new study produced by Ipam (Amazon Environmental Research Institute) and Coiab (Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon).

The Bolsonaro supporter who tried to explode a homemade bomb in the surroundings of Brasilia’s airport on December 24th used explosives from wildcat gold digging and other mining operations in the Amazon state of Pará.  The 54-year old suspect is called George Washington De Oliveira Sousa and he traveled from Para to join the extremists camping in front of the Military Headquarters in Brasilia. In a statement to the police, he admitted the political motivation behind the failed terrorist attack. According to the Civil Police from Brasilia, the suspect is registered as a weapon holder (Caçador, Atirador e Colecionador – CAC, in Portuguese).

The news portal De Olho Nos Ruralistas raised suspicions that agribusiness stakeholders are behind extreme bolsonarists such as Sousa –  who was camped in Brasilia since November claiming for a military coup to prevent Lula from becoming president. The same news portal also revealed that George’s declared address is the same of the transport company Transpal, which has permits to carry hazardous materials and has been caught with illegal timber in the past. 

The nhandesy, Guarani-Kaiowá spiritual leader and healer, Estela Vera, was murdered in the Ivy Katu Land, a traditional territory retaken between 2003 and 2015 by the indigenous, in the municipality of Japorã, in Mato Grosso do Sul, on November 15. According to the kuñangue Aty Guasu, Assembly of Kaiowá and Guarani Women, the assassins shot Vera and children with large caliber firearms. The entity denounces that ranchers and tenants have been putting pressure against the territory and threatening another leader, Leila de Ivy Katu.

Indigenous organizations are demanding the federalization of the investigation and protection for the territory and the leaders who have received death threats. The execution of the religious leader is also part of a context of religious violence, with burning of prayer houses in indigenous territories in the state.

The final report of a external commission of the House of Representatives that is following the investigation of the murder of the Brazilian indigenous activist Bruno Pereira and the English journalist Dom Phillips, in the region of Vale do Javari (AM), was approved. The report calls for the creation of a Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) to investigate crimes committed in the region, among other measures.

The External Commission of the Chamber of Deputies holds the Brazilian State responsible for not being present in the Javari Valley, which is overrun by international drug trafficking, illegal fishers and illegal mining. The rapporteur, congresswoman Vivi Reis (PSOL-PA), highlighted the “planned omission of the government in favor of organized crime” and the lack of action by authorities in the face of “tragedy foretold”, referring to the potential for conflicts involving various interests in the region.

Norte Energia, the company responsible for operating the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant, in the state of Pará, proposed to pay R$ 20 thousand for each fisherman who can no longer work due to lack of fish in the Xingu River since the beginning of operation of the plant, in 2016.

Hundreds of fishermen gathered on Tuesday (22) in the city of Altamira, Pará, to express dissatisfaction with the proposal. They disagree with the number of people contemplated by the reparation, because, according to them, there are at least 4,000 workers affected by the plant, more than double the almost 2,000 fishermen that Norte Energia proposed to attend.

Belo Monte is a project conceived during the military dictatorship (1964-1985) that was on the agenda of several governments until it was made possible by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. The first turbines began operating in 2016. The construction resulted in serious environmental and social impacts in the Amazon.

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) lost the election to Luís Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) by 50.9% to 49.1% of the valid votes. It is the first time that a Brazilian president has failed to win reelection since the end of the military dictatorship.

The former Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva (REDE), who was one of the responsibles for the drop of more than 70% in deforestation in the Amazon during Lula’s administration, is one of the favorites to run the Ministry starting January, 1st.

During the campaign, Lula committed himself to the environmental agenda, to fighting illegal mining on indigenous lands, and to the creation of a Ministry of Indigenous Peoples. Politica por Inteiro listed 401 acts of the Federal Executive Branch between 2019 and 2022 to be repealed or revised in order to reconstitute the Brazilian climate and environmental policies.

The Federal Public Prosecution Office (MPF) appealed on Wednesday (26) against the decision that released Ruben Dario da Silva Villar, aka Colombia, suspected of ordering the murder of indigenous expert and activist Bruno Pereira and English journalist Dom Phillips. The MPF had already expressed its opposition to the request for the defendant’s release made by his defense.

The MPF is asking for Colombia to be kept in preventive custody until all doubts about his identity have been resolved, since he has Colombian, Brazilian, and Peruvian documents. The prosecution argues that “the applicant, once released, does not need much to evade and escape the application of Brazilian criminal law”. The prosecutor also claims that the Brazilian document he presented to the Federal Police “is false and, therefore, Rubens (or Ruben), in fact, committed the crime of use of a false document”.

The Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns Human Rights Defense Commission asked the authorities to reinforce their efforts to solve the case. In a statement released on Wednesday, the commission states that “it is important to ensure the due legal process without, however, opening opportunities for interference in the investigation of the facts or aggravating the situation of threatened groups”.

The Observatory for the Human Rights of Isolated and Newly-Contacted Indigenous Peoples (OPI) considers that the release of Colombia is a threat to the safety of indigenous people and public servants in Vale do Javari and also to the families of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips. 

The Federal Police is continuing investigations against Colombia for the crime of armed criminal association and command of an illegal fishing gang in Vale do Javari, Amazonas, used to launder drug trafficking money. There are also suspected links to local politicians who benefit from the scheme.

Ruben Dario da Silva Villar,  also known as ‘Colombia’, was released from jail on Friday morning (21) after paying a R$ 15,000 bail. Ruben is under investigation for ordering the murder of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira. He was imprisoned for carrying false documents. Colombia He is also suspect of running an illegal fishing gang in the Vale do Javari Indigenous Reserve in Amazonas state.

On October 11, Judge Fabiano Verli granted Colombia provisional release, further determining “the payment of bail in the amount of R$15,000; monthly appearance before Justice; to remain under house arrest; electronic monitoring; prohibition of travel outside of Brazil; and the surrender of his passport.”

Colombia was arrested in July 2022 while trying to enter Brazil with false documents. He denied involvement in the murders of Bruno and Dom and said he only had a “commercial relationship” with fishermen in Vale do Javari. However, the Federal Police suspect that Coelho finances illegal fishing in indigenous areas in the border region as a way to launder money from drug trafficking. To preserve his business, he would have put a bounty on Bruno Pereira’s head among the region’s criminals.

Indigenous people of the Guajajara and Pataxó peoples were victims of a series of attacks in the first week of September.

On September 3, in the state of Maranhão, two Guajajara indigenous people were killed and a teenager was wounded. According to Mongabay, Janildo Oliveira Guajajara was killed in an alleged ambush in the municipality of Amarante. On the same day, Jael Carlos Miranda Guajajara was run over in the neighboring municipality of Arame.

On September 4, in Bahia, gunmen shot at a group of Pataxó indigenous people who were trying to retake some areas in the Comexatibá Indigenous Land in the municipality of Prado. A teenager was killed in the attack and another was wounded, according to indigenous leaders.

A week later, a new attack against the Guajajara occurred in Maranhão, targeting Antônio Cafeteiro Silva Guajajara, who was shot to death also in the municipality of Arame.

According to indigenous leaders and socio-environmental activists, the attacks are related to conflicts over land and the pressure exerted by illegal loggers against indigenous territories.

With a little over a month to the 2022 presidential elections in Brazil, the monitoring initiative Smoke Signal launches “The Amazon and the Future of Brazil: a guide – An examination of the region’s nine states between 2018 and 2022”, an independent production started from a survey of the main events of the socioenvironmental agenda in the four years of Bolsonaro’s administration in all states that make up the region known as “Legal Amazon” in Brazil.

The material was written based on an active listening process carried out between May and July 2022 with the collection of 19 testimonials from people working in the territories covered by the guide. Communicators, researchers, indigenous and community leaders, and activists were heard. The interviews directed the research and, combined with the best available data, resulted in a qualified and thorough report on the region that occupies almost 60% of the national territory. 

The Guide presents an overview of what the Brazilian Legal Amazon is, contextualizing the reader with geographic and socioenvironmental information and the main political and economic drivers of forest destruction and violence. It brings a selection of data produced by relevant scientific institutes and civil society organizations from the region, and a survey of emblematic cases, violent deaths and indicators of the growing threats faced by native peoples in these areas.

The publication also details the movements of the National Congress in this scenario of dispute over land and environmental resources, highlighting four bills in progress in the federal houses and the behavior of state governments and their parliamentary caucuses regarding the so-called Destruction Package, a series of legislative proposals that profoundly change the use and management of land in the country. Moreover, the guide organizes timelines with the main events monitored by Smoke Signal over the past four years, mapping the main fake news and disinformation campaigns related to weakening environmental protections promoted in each of the states. Finally, it highlights critical areas and high-impact projects for the populations and biodiversity that will likely continue to be the subject of political bargaining after the elections. 

Brazil’s National Mining Agency (ANM) has taken advantage of a legal loop hole that left the Negro river outside of the protection area of Indigenous Territories to allow mining requests in the region. The situation provoked Indigenous leaders to petition the Federal Justice to annul existing mining requests in July. They claim that they have not heard back from the court. 

The petition states that the mining requests stimulate the action of illegal miners in the territories and puts people from 21 ethnicities at risk. Among the threatened people are the Baré, Tukano, Baniwa, Piratapuya, Yanomami, Desano, Wanano, Hupda and Dâw.

“We filed the petition because the most affected will be ourselves, Indigenous peoples. It won’t be the government, it won’t be the corporations, it won’t be the urban populations: it will be us, who are inside the territory”, stated Marivelton Baré, from the Federation of Indigenous Organizations from Negro River (Foirn).

The investigative journalism agency Repórter Brasil launched the second edition of the tool that monitors how Congress representatives are positioned in relation to the environment agenda and rural workers. The “Ruralômetro 2022” shows that 68% of the representatives voted against the environment. 

That means that these are representatives who “presented bills and voted on legislative changes that harm environmental inspection, favor predatory economic activities, to make labor legislation precarious, to make access to social benefits difficult and to stop agrarian reform, among other setbacks pointed by socio-environmental organizations”, says the story that presents the project.

To measure the “rural fever” of parliamentarians, the tool gave each representative a score, ranging from 36⁰C to 42⁰C. The more aligned with the work of the ruralist caucus, the higher its temperature.

The evaluation was based on the analysis of 28 roll call votes and 485 bills presented in the current legislature.

Federal Police agents served seven preventive arrest warrants and ten search and seizure warrants in an operation in Vale do Javari [Javari Valley] (AM), region where the murder of indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips happened, in June. Three suspected of participating in the concealment of the victims’ bodies were arrested, all relatives of Amarildo Costa de Oliveira, who is under detention since July 9.

The targets of the Federal Police action, carried out in the Amazonian municipalities of Atalaia do Norte and Benjamin Constant, are suspected of being part of a gang dedicated to illegal fishing in Vale do Javari.