Our World

Brazilian Tribe Protests in Iron Mine

Today, a group of about 200 Brazilian native people left the iron ore mine they had inhabited yesterday. The Xikrin Indians, which live in the surrounding state of Para, stayed in the mine as an act of protest. The tribe was armed with clubs and bows and arrows, demanding money and improvements to infrastructure. Also, the government’s Indian affairs agency said that the Carajas mine, CVRD, failed to renegotiate with the Xikrin as promised. The Federal Indian Bureau (Funai) stated that CVRD had not fulfilled a September renegotiation clause which was part of the agreement with the natives. However, the company denied that was part of the accord, and said that no clause existed, as well as saying that all terms of agreement were being honored. Also, the CVRD pays the Funai 4.3 million dollars, which is then distributed to the local indigenous population. However, the Xikrin Indians want the company to help build 60 homes for tribal members in two villages, as well as improve roads in the area. The CVRD stated that they would not negotiate with groups that use illegal methods to force companies to meet their demands. The company also claimed that because of the protests, the export of nearly 500,000 metric tons of iron ore was halted.
To me, I believe that the company is being stubborn and unfair. From reading this article, I feel that because the company is mining on the land that once was the Xikrin’s, the company should be more generous to the tribe. Plus, CVRD is the worlds largest iron ore mining firm, so I’m sure they have money to donate to the local tribes. However, I do believe that the Xikrin could have approach the issue better. Not only did they violently protest, but the also jeopardized their ability to negotiate with the company.

Brazilian Indians Leave Iron Mine
CVRD and Xikrin History

posted by Anonymous @ 10/20/2006 06:03:00 PM