By occupying the building, the women reaffirmed "the position of our peoples against any prospect of municipalization or privatization of indigenous healthcare."

Approximately 1,500 women from 113 Indigenous tribes of Brazil occupied the headquarters of the Special Secretariat of Indigenous Health (Sesai) Monday in the country’s capital Brasilia in defense of the differentiated healthcare subsystem of Indigenous peoples.

"We are here representing those who have not yet come to say that we will never accept any imposition of the destructive agenda of Bolsonaro’s government," Indigenous leader Sonia Guajajara said.

In a statement released after the occupation, which takes place in the midst of the activities of the first March of Indigenous Women, they expressed repudiation “of Bolsonaro government's purpose of dismantling all social institutions and policies that concern us.”

The document, signed by the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples Association, denounces Provisional Measure (MP) 890, issued by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to create the Doctors for Brazil Program, replacing the Cuban-Brazilian initiative More Doctors Program.

As well as the proposal to institute the Agency for the Development of Primary Health Care (ADAPS), which, for indigenous women, seeks to “open primary care as a market for the private sector,” in a bid to take free differentiated healthcare away from the Indigenous subsystem.

By protesting and occupying the Sesai’s building in Brasilia, the women reaffirmed "the position of our peoples against any prospect of municipalization or privatization of indigenous healthcare."

Mulheres indígenas ocupam o Ministério da Saúde! A luta é em defesa do subsistema de saúde indígena. Atividade faz parte da 1ª Marcha das Mulheres Indígenas em Brasília. Vídeo: Kamikia Kisedje #marchadasmulheresindigenas #nenhumagotaamais pic.twitter.com/mptAru5FoI — Cimi (@ciminacional) August 12, 2019

Indigenous women occupy the Ministry of Health. Thus begins the week with the 1st March of Indigenous Women in Brasilia.

On March 26, in a similar manner, Indigenous people occupied the building of the Ministry of Health in Curitiba, joining other protests in Bahia, Porto Velho, Brasilia, and all over the country. With their banners raised, hundreds of demonstrators emphatically called for “more health, more rights, and more respect.”

“The Indigenous health subsystem is a conquest of ours, it has to do with our struggle. It does not belong to a party or certain politics, as it was built by us," Guarani Indigenous leader, Eloi Jacinto, told Brazil de Fato back in March.

The Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health is responsible for coordinating and implementing the National Policy on Health Care for Indigenous Peoples. Its mission is to implement a decentralized care model within the 34 Special Indigenous Health Districts.

According to the last census (2010) done by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, approximately 817,000 Brazilians classified themselves as Indigenous, occupy 12.6% of the national territory, and speak 274 different languages. It is for this, and to break down the cultural and linguistic barrier, the Sesai created the figure of Indigenous health agents, people from the community who link ancestral health and the state system.

The Federal Government proposes to close down the Sesai and municipalize these services and Indigenous healthcare. “The municipalization will damage our health because they are not able to support the Indigenous health subsystem”, argued Jacinto.

This proposal aligns with the path of the anti-Indigenous policies that Brazil is embarking on as part of its current neoliberal and far-right government. </s> Hundreds of indigenous women occupied a building of Brazil's health ministry in the capital, Brasília, on Monday to protest against the policies of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

Image copyright Reuters

The group of some 300 protesters demanded better healthcare for indigenous people, especially women, and condemned proposed changes to how these services are delivered.

The Bolsonaro government wants to make towns and cities responsible for providing medical services to indigenous people, and community leaders fear local authorities lack the infrastructure and specialised units required.

The federal government is currently in charge of healthcare, and indigenous communities are visited by specially trained professionals.

Image copyright AFP

The protesters, who are in the city for the first March of Indigenous Women, sang and danced inside and outside the building of the Special Secretariat of Indigenous Health, known as Sesai.

"We've been left abandoned. They treat indigenous people like animals," 43-year-old Teresa Cristina Kezonazokere told Correio Braziliense newspaper (in Portuguese).

The demonstration ended almost 10 hours later, when Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta said he would talk to some of their leaders. There were no reports of violence.

Image copyright Reuters

Organisers say the event in Brasília aims to highlight the role of women in indigenous communities. On Wednesday, some 1,500 indigenous women from 110 ethnic groups are expected to join a protest to defend rights they say are under threat under Mr Bolsonaro.

"We don't have to accept the destruction of our rights," said indigenous leader Sônia Guajajara.

Image copyright Reuters

The president has promised to integrate indigenous people into the rest of the population and repeatedly questioned the existence of their protected reserves, which are rights guaranteed in the country's constitution.

Mr Bolsonaro, who supports policies that favour development over conservation, says the indigenous territories are too big in relation to the number of people who live there and has promised to open some of them to agriculture and mining.

Image copyright EPA

More than 800,000 indigenous people live in 450 demarcated indigenous territories across Brazil - which cover about 12% of land. Most are located in the Amazon region and some people live totally isolated.

Critics say Mr Bolsonaro's positions have encouraged illegal mining and invasions of reserves. Last month, an indigenous leader was stabbed to death, reportedly by heavily armed gold miners who had invaded a remote indigenous territory.

Image copyright EPA

Meanwhile, deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest tropical rainforest, soared more than 88% in June compared with the same month a year ago, according to data from Brazil's National Space Research Institute, Inpe.

But Mr Bolsonaro, who took office in January, has accused the institute of lying about the scale of the deforestation, and earlier this month sacked its head, Ricardo Galvão.

The president and his ministers have also criticised the country's indigenous rights agency, Funai, and its environmental protection body, Ibama.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau are among groups that say Brazil's president wants to allow deforestation in protected areas.

All pictures subject to copyright. </s> Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has decreed the FUNAI agency in charge of indigenous affairs will no longer have a say over creating and defining the boundaries of lands occupied by indigenous people (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)

Brasília (AFP) - Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro, has stripped an agency of the responsibility to demarcate indigenous lands in a move that has unsettled native rights groups and even some farm businesses that will benefit.

The decree published late Tuesday marked Bolsonaro's first order since taking office earlier that same day.

It stipulates that the FUNAI agency in charge of indigenous affairs will no longer have a say over creating and defining the boundaries of lands occupied by indigenous people in Brazil. Instead, the agriculture ministry will take over those functions.

Bolsonaro has said he intends to loosen regulations holding back farming and mining interests in Brazil, including those relating to nature preservation and indigenous land.

Part of his proposed reform is to bring FUNAI under the ministry in charge of human rights, instead of the justice ministry where it is currently placed.

He had planned to merge to merge the agriculture and environment ministries but backtracked when that provoked an outcry.

Bolsonaro, a far-right veteran lawmaker, won election in October by promising a pro-business, anti-crime agenda. To pass legislation, he will rely on lobbies in Congress representing the interests of agribusiness and a burgeoning evangelical movement, instead of reaching out to the leaders of other parties.

"You see? The dismantlement has already started. FUNAI is no longer responsible for the identification, delimitation and demarcation of indigenous lands," a far-left indigenous leader, Sonia Guajajara, tweeted.

Agribusiness lobbyists also expressed concern, fearing that trade sanctions could end up being slapped on Brazilian agricultural exports by countries in favor of nature preservation. </s> SAO PAULO (AP) — Newly installed President Jair Bolsonaro targeted Brazil’s indigenous groups, descendants of slaves and the LGBT community with executive orders in the first hours of his administration, moving quickly after a campaign…

SAO PAULO (AP) — Newly installed President Jair Bolsonaro targeted Brazil’s indigenous groups, descendants of slaves and the LGBT community with executive orders in the first hours of his administration, moving quickly after a campaign in which the far-right leader said he would radically overhaul many aspects of life in Latin America’s largest nation.

Sao Paulo’s stock market, meanwhile, jumped 3.56 percent to a record closing of 91,012 points as new Cabinet ministers reinforced the intent to privatize state-owned companies and a Brazilian arms maker benefited from Bolsonaro’s plans to loosen gun controls. Similar spikes in stock prices also occurred during the presidential campaign.

One of the orders issued late Tuesday, hours after Bolsonaro’s inauguration, likely will make it all but impossible for new lands to be identified and demarcated for indigenous communities. Areas set aside for “Quilombolas,” as descendants of former slaves are known, are also affected by the decision.

Another order removed the concerns of the LGBT community from consideration by the new human rights ministry.

In a move favorable to his allies in agribusiness, which have criticized giving large swaths of lands to the indigenous, Bolsonaro transferred the responsibilities for delineating indigenous territories from the Justice Ministry to the Agriculture Ministry. The new agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina, is part of the agribusiness caucus in Brazil’s lower house and has opposed requests from native communities.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain and longtime congressman, said during his presidential campaign that he would stop making what he calls concessions to native Brazilians and Quilombolas.

“Less than one million people live in those places isolated from the real Brazil,” he tweeted Wednesday. “They are explored and manipulated by nonprofits. Together we will integrate those citizens and give value to all Brazilians.”

The Justice Ministry previously handled demarcation of indigenous lands through the FUNAI agency, which also oversees other initiatives for indigenous groups such as health care, housing and language preservation. Bolsonaro’s order is raising uncertainties about FUNAI by shifting it to a new ministry for family, women and human rights that is headed by an ultraconservative evangelical pastor.

Observatorio do Clima, a network of 45 Brazilian civil society groups, criticized the executive orders, calling them “only the first step on meeting Bolsonaro’s campaign promises of dismantling environmental governance, stripping indigenous peoples of their rights and opening up indigenous lands for business.”

“The attack on FUNAI goes beyond the wildest dreams of the rural caucus, who had tried for years to pass a constitutional amendment transferring the demarcation of indigenous lands from the president to Congress,” the nonprofit said. “Bolsonaro solved the problem by transferring them directly to farmers.”

The far-right leader said last year that he also wants to annul land demarcation decisions made by previous administrations, but legal experts say recent Brazilian Supreme Court rulings could block such move.

New Health Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta also suggested on Wednesday that there will be spending cuts in health care for the indigenous.

“We have figures for the general public that are much below what is spent on health care for the indigenous,” he said, without providing details.

In removing LGBT concerns from the responsibilities of the human rights ministry, Bolsonaro did not name any agency to consider such issues. He has strongly criticized what he calls “gender-based ideology,” saying it is a threat to Brazil’s Christian values.

Damares Alves, the new human rights minister, did not discuss the LGBT order in her first address on the job, but the evangelical pastor has insisted over the years that “the Brazilian family is being threatened” by diversity policies.

On Wednesday, she said: “The state is lay, but this minister is terribly Christian.”

Under the new administration, Alves added, “Girls will be princesses and boys will be princes. There will be no more ideological indoctrination of children and teenagers in Brazil.”

LGBT activist Symmy Larrat said she doesn’t’ expect reasonable treatment from the Bolsonaro administration.

“The human rights ministry discussed our concerns at a body called secretariat of promotion and defense of human rights. That body just disappeared, just like that. We don’t see any signs there will be any other government infrastructure to handle LGBT issues,” she said.

The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported that Bolsonaro will later announce the closing of an agency within the Education Ministry that has been aimed at promoting diversity in public schools and universities.

New Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo indirectly criticized the LGBT community as being “those that say they are not men and women.”

Also on Wednesday, the Brazilian Press Association criticized restrictions on journalists at Bolsonaro’s inauguration. Reporters had to arrive seven hours before the events began and were forbidden to move freely in Congress and the presidential palace. Food was seized and access to bathrooms and water was limited.

“What was seen in different scenarios of Brasilia is incompatible with a democratic regime,” the association said in a statement. “Respect to the press is one of the main indicators of nations that consider themselves civilized.”

Bolsonaro’s first day in office sparked a wave of optimism in Brazil’s financial market. Stocks of Brazil’s electric-company Eletrobras soared more than 20 percent. Arms maker Taurus, one of the main allies of the new president, jumped more than 47 percent.

Bolsonaro, a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss joint efforts regarding the leftist administrations in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Pompeo told him that Trump is “very pleased with the relationship that our two countries are on the precipice of beginning to develop.”

“He’s also confident that it (the relationship between the U.S. and Brazil) will benefit the world and the set of shared values that we believe we can together advance,” Pompeo said before leaving Brasilia for Colombia.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> SAO PAULO — Brazil’s new president is making it all but impossible for lands of indigenous tribes to be identified and demarcated.

President Jair Bolsonaro issued an inauguration day executive order late Tuesday to transfer those responsibilities to the Agriculture Ministry. The new agriculture minister, Tereza Cristina, is part of the agribusiness caucus in Brazil’s lower house and an adversary of requests from native communities.

Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain and longtime congressman, said during his presidential campaign that he would stop making what he calls concessions to native Brazilians.

His executive order also affects the lands of “quilombolas,” as descendants of former slaves are known.

“Less than one million people live in those places isolated from the real Brazil,” Bolsonaro tweeted Wednesday. “They are explored and manipulated by nonprofits. Together we will integrate those citizens and give value to all Brazilians.”

The agriculture minister did not mention indigenous tribes in her first speech on the job Wednesday, which she used to criticize those that in her view consider the Latin American nation “a transgressor to be incriminated” when it comes to climate change.

“Unfounded accusations come from all sides, including international organizations,” said Cristina, one of the two women in Bolsonaro’s 22-member Cabinet.

The Justice Ministry previously handled demarcation of indigenous lands, through the FUNAI agency, which also oversees other initiatives for indigenous communities such as health care, housing and language preservation. Bolsonaro’s order is raising uncertainties about FUNAI by shifting it to a new ministry for family, women and human rights that is headed by an ultraconservative evangelical pastor.

Indigenous leader Sonia Guajajara said the presidential order aims to dismantle protections for Brazil’s indigenous communities.

“Does anyone still doubt his promises to exclude us during the campaign?” she asked on Twitter.

The new president said last year he also wants to annul demarcation decisions made by previous administrations, but legal experts say recent Brazilian Supreme Court rulings could block such move.

Bolsonaro, a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump, met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday.

Pompeo told him that Trump is “very pleased with the relationship that our two countries are on the precipice of beginning to develop.”

“He’s also confident that it (the relationship between the U.S. and Brazil) will benefit the world and the set of shared values that we believe we can together advance,” Pompeo said before leaving Brasilia for Colombia.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Extinction Rebellion activists have splattered red paint and sprayed messages on the Brazilian embassy in London in a protest over the rights of indigenous people.

The protests by “the Snowflakes” affinity group blockaded the embassy, spray-painting messages and dousing the building in red paint to symbolise indigenous people they say have been killed in Brazil.

They were joined by other activists taking part in a separate vigil for murdered environmental campaigners.

It is part of international action targeting Brazilian embassies around the world, which is taking place at the same time as indigenous women are marching on Brasilia demanding recognition of their rights.

Indigenous groups in Brazil warn that conditions have worsened for them and their environment since President Jair Bolsonaro came to power, with critics saying his regime is allowing environmental destruction by miners and agribusiness.

Amazon deforestation rates have risen significantly, according to recent reports, adding carbon emissions to the atmosphere which drive climate change and destroying important wildlife habitats.

Sian Vaughan, 54, a retired primary school headteacher from Pembrokeshire, who took part in the action in London, said: “We need everyone to know what’s going on in Brazil, and to tell the UK Government to act.

“If we close our eyes to the criminal destruction taking place, our children will pay the price. The climate crisis is global.” </s> Hundreds of women from different indigenous communities launched a day of protests in Brasilia this Monday demanding that the administration of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro provide better healthcare in their territories, which they consider threatened by current government policies.

The Indigenous Women's March began with a gathering in front of the Health Ministry, whose entrance was blocked for a couple of hours by dozens of police due to the authorities' fear of disturbances, though no violence occurred. </s> Minister for Indigenous Health and Aged Care, Ken Wyatt in Turnbull Cabinets

After being sworn in as Minister for Indigenous Health and Aged Care, Ken Wyatt is the country’s first Indigenous person into the Commonwealth ministry, in time prompted by the resignation of former health minister Sussan Ley by Federal politicians gathered at Government House in Canberra for a swearing-in ceremony, in time there is announcing by Greg Hunt inform that Ms Ley’s surrogate a week ago, taking on the health post of minister as part of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s fourth reorganization since taking the top office less around 18 months ago. Mr Arthur Sinodinos was sworn in today alongside Mr Hunt, the first who has taken over the industry, innovation and science post of minister. Kenneth George Wyatt, born 4 August 1952, is a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the electoral division of Hasluck in Western Australia for the Liberal Party of Australia. Wyatt is the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care since September 2015. He is of Aboriginal Australian, Indian, English and Irish root, and in 2010 turn into the first Aboriginal member of the House of Representatives, and also the first indigenous federal minister in 2017. </s> SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - New Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued an executive order on Wednesday making the Agriculture Ministry responsible for deciding on lands claimed by indigenous peoples, in a victory for agribusiness that will likely enrage environmentalists.

The temporary decree, which will expire unless it is ratified within 120 days by Congress, strips power over land claim decisions from indigenous affairs agency FUNAI.

It says the Agriculture Ministry will now be responsible for “identification, delimitation, demarcation and registration of lands traditionally occupied by indigenous people.”

The move stoked concern among environmentalists and rights groups that the far-right new president, who took office on Tuesday, will open up the vast Amazon rainforest and other ecologically sensitive areas of Brazil to greater commercial exploitation.

The executive order also moves the Brazilian Forestry Service, which promotes the sustainable use of forests and is currently linked to the Environment Ministry, under Agriculture Ministry control.

Additionally, the decree states that the Agriculture Ministry will be in charge of the management of public forests.

Bolsonaro, who enjoys strong support from Brazil’s powerful agribusiness sector, said during his campaign he was considering such a move, arguing that protected lands should be opened to commercial activities.

Brazil’s 900,000 indigenous people make up less than 1 percent of the population, but live on lands that stretch for 106.7 million hectares (264 million acres), or 12.5 pct of the national territory.

“Less than a million people live in these isolated places in Brazil, where they are exploited and manipulated by NGOs,” Bolsonaro tweeted, referring to non-profit groups. “Let us together integrate these citizens and value all Brazilians.”

New Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias used to be the head of the farm caucus in Brazil’s Congress, which has long pushed for an end to land measures that it argues hold back the agricultural sector.

After she was sworn in on Wednesday, Dias defended the sector from accusations it has grown at the expense of the environment, adding that the strength of Brazil’s farmers had generated “unfounded accusations” from unnamed international groups.

“Brazil is a country with extremely advanced environmental legislation and is more than able to preserve its native forests,” Dias said. “Our country is a model to be followed, never a transgressor to be punished.”

Bartolomeu Braz, the president of the national chapter of Aprosoja, a major grain growers association, cheered Wednesday’s move.

“We support the initiative of transferring to the agriculture ministry the responsibility of demarcating indigenous land,” he said.

“The new rules will be interesting to the farmers and the Indians, some of whom are already producing soybeans. The Indians want to be productive too,” he added.

Critics say Bolsonaro’s plan to open indigenous reservations to commercial activity will destroy native cultures and languages by integrating the tribes into Brazilian society.

Environmentalists say the native peoples are the last custodians of the Amazon, which is the world’s largest rainforest and is vital for climate stability.

Three-time presidential candidate and former Environment Minister Marina Silva, who was beaten by Bolsonaro in October’s election, reacted with horror at the move.

“Bolsonaro has begun his government in the worst possible way,” she wrote on Twitter.

Dinamã Tuxá, a member of Brazil’s Association of Indigenous Peoples, said many isolated communities viewed Bolsonaro’s administration with fear.

“We are very afraid because Bolsonaro is attacking indigenous policies, rolling back environmental protections, authorizing the invasion of indigenous territories and endorsing violence against indigenous peoples,” said Tuxá.

Under the new plan, the indigenous affairs agency FUNAI will be moved into a new ministry for family, women and human rights.

A former army captain and longtime member of Congress, Bolsonaro said at his inauguration on Tuesday that he had freed the country from “socialism and political correctness.”

An admirer of Donald Trump, Bolsonaro has suggested he will follow the U.S. president’s lead and pull out of the Paris climate change accord.

His supporters hope he will slash red tape to kick-start the economy, tackle violent gangs and run a graft-free government. Others fear he will unleash bloodshed by making guns more readily available and roll back social gains for minorities.
Earlier in the day, over a thousand Indigenous Brazilian women, representing over 100 ethnic groups, march on Brasília after an overnight occupation of the headquarters of the Ministry of Health's Special Secretariat of Indigenous Health. Protestors chanted against the government's recent attempts at municipalization and privatization of the Indigenous health subsystem, and called for stricter environmental regulations.