Brazilian ranchers block government officials from demarcating Indigenous land

Since late September, rural producers backed by local politicians have blockaded the road into the Paquiçamba Indigenous Land in Brazil's Pará state, stopping federal agents from Funai, the Indigenous Affairs Agency, from physically marking the territory's boundaries. That demarcation is a required step before the land can be formally registered, and it was also a condition attached to the environmental license for the nearby Belo Monte hydroelectric dam.

Funai says the blockade has halted georeferencing and boundary-marker work, and that clashes broke out between protesters and federal agents even with national security forces present. A local mayor has publicly backed the blockaders, calling the demarcation effort an affront to farmers in the region.

An Indigenous resident of Paquiçamba says the community has waited years for legal recognition of land she says already has clear owners, and that the standoff coincided with Brazil's election season. A separate Indigenous territory nearby, Ituna/Itatá, has recently seen hundreds of people invade, set fires and open illegal roads.

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