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An indigenous tribe claiming compensation for environmental damage that blocked a major grain export route to the Amazon last week failed to reach an agreement with the Brazilian government on Wednesday (August 26, 2020). They will be waiting for the court's verdict on this dispute.
The Kayapó stopped trucks carrying corn to protest the lack of federal government assistance to protect the tribe from the coronavirus outbreak, and demand overdue reparation money that they have been receiving since paving of the BR-163 highway began a decade ago.
The Kayapó, who had camped out this week on the side of the road without blocking it, returned to their villages hoping a federal judge would decide in their favor in 10 days.
“If the government wants to stop the payments, it can. We are going to wait for the court decision,” their chief Bepronti Kayapó said in a video posted on social media after a meeting with representatives of the federal indigenous affairs agency Funai that ended abruptly after 10 minutes.
According to the Kabu Institute that represents the Kayapó living on two reservations adjacent to the highway, the tribe has received 32 million reais ($5.71 million) over a decade to fund sustainability projects and the collection and marketing of Brazil nuts.
As a result of the roadblock last week that caused truck lines of up to 30 kilometers (18.64 miles), Funai paid out money owed for the first six months of this year, but has delayed settling future payments, the institute said. Find more...
Source: Online/SZK
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