A Munduruku indigenous man was killed in a gunfight with Brazilian federal police at the remote Amazonian settlement of Teles Pires, straddling the border of Mato Grosso and Pará states, authorities said Nov. 9. Six other Mundurukus and three officers were wounded, the federal police said. The police were part of a multi-state operation targeting illegal gold mining. Police said a group of Munduruku men armed with shotguns and bows and arrows attacked the officers as they were destroying mining equipment. Authorities charge Munduruku leaders were receiving monthly payoffs from illegal miners. (Otramérica, Nov. 25; Agência Estado, Nov. 21; EFE, Nov. 9)
In a victory for a Guarani-Kaiowá community seeking to keep traditional lands now claimed by ranchers in Mato Grosso do Sul state, federal authorities in Iguatemí town late last month voided a local court order allowing eviction. National Human Rights Minister María do Rosario personally intervened in the case, announcing via Twitter, “According to the decision, the inidigenous are going to stay where they are!” (Adital, Oct. 31)
