This month, Indigenous communities in Brazil organized and mobilized to celebrate “Indigenous April” at their 18th annual Free Land Camp in Brasília. They declared 2022 to be the last year of Bolsonaro’s genocidal administration and marked the launch of several actions leading up to national elections in October.

With elections ahead, the event’s theme was “Retaking Brazil: Demarcating Territories and Indigenizing Politics,” and it brought together over 7,000 Indigenous people before key votes in Brazil’s Congress on bills that would violate the rights of Indigenous peoples, including Bill 191/2020, which would open up Indigenous lands to mining and other extractive industries.

Amazon Watch provided travel funds, communications capacity, and technical support to Indigenous delegations. We also sent funds for food during the trip and 10 buses carrying Indigenous peoples from the Amazon. In addition, our team in Brazil was on the ground supporting the event and strengthening its international visibility.

Two thousand copies of a special Free Land Camp edition of Complicity in Destruction IV were printed and distributed to ministers of the Supreme Court, members of Congress, and embassy officials, and we also launched a new mining data website with our Forest & Finance coalition partners to complement the report's data with updated findings.

2022 is a crucial year for democracy in Brazil, for Indigenous peoples, for the Amazon, and for life on the entire planet. That’s why we say: “Defend the Earth Defenders! Protect the Amazon! Respect Indigenous Rights!”