In the transformation of the political action of Indigenous leaders, the 2022 election campaign will have the first initiative for these communities in the Legislative Power to try to create their own benches. In total, 30 nominations will be presented, which include different representatives of traditional peoples.
“For the first time in the history of the electoral process in Brazil, an Indigenous assembly participates in general elections in a coordinated way based on indications from local grassroots organisations,” says the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples Articulation (Apib), which coordinates the action. 30 candidates will represent 26 different peoples.
The campaign is part of the strategy of “The political struggle to occupy the spaces of decision and representation by indigenous leaders in Brazilian society”.
13 candidates are vying for the federal parliamentary seat, including Vanessa Xerente, Lucio Xavante, Joenia Wapichana, Almir Suruí, Célia Xakriabá, Kerexu Yxapyry and Sonia Guajajara. Another 17 candidates are running in legislatures in 15 different states.
Consultations were held with the Terena People’s Council, the Northeast Indigenous Peoples’ Articulation, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (APOINME), the Grand Assembly of the Guarani People (ATY GUASU) for the selection of names. , Guarani Yvyrupa Commission (CGY), Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the Southeast (ARPINSUDESTE) and Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of the Southern Region (Arpin Sul).
Dinaman Tuxá, one of Apib’s executive coordinators, emphasizes that the initiative is part of a political project that is not limited to the election period and aims to continuously build the participation of leaders.
“We understand the Native Campaign as a more constructive program where the candidates presented are part of our project to strengthen political participation through electoral conflict,” he explains. « We need to occupy decision-making spaces and guide public policy according to what we think about our future,” says Tuxá.
The 2022 Election is already a historic milestone for indigenous peoples, who have declared the highest number of self-declared indigenous candidates since 2014, when the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) began registering racial classification: there are 182 so far. The first indigenous person registered in Brazil’s indigenous movement register was Manoel dos Santos, Seu Coco, from the Karipuna people in 1969. He served as a councilor in the city of Oiapoque in Amapá. In 2018, Joenia Wapichana was elected the first indigenous woman to become a Federal Member of Parliament.
source: Noticias
