LAND CONFLICTS
Brazil’s land wars turn deadlier amid legal insecurity
“Justice for Nega Pataxó” reads a protest sign raised by an indigenous woman at a recent rally in Brasília. Photo: Hellen Loures/CIMI
In January of last year, a violent attack on the Caramaru-Paraguassu indigenous land in the northeastern state of Bahia resulted in the death of Maria Fátima Muniz de Andrade, known locally as Nega Pataxó, a spiritual leader of the Pataxó Hã-Hã-Hãe indigenous people. While holding her guitar, she was shot by a .38 caliber revolver as a group of roughly 200 armed men stormed their camp, seeking to chase indigenous occupiers off the land.
Three other indigenous people were shot during the attack, including Nega’s brother, Nailton Pataxó.
Ballistic evidence showed that the bullet that killed Nega Pataxó came from…
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