Politics
Bolsonaro Caps Natives’ Lands, Pleasing Farmers in One of First Acts
- Farm leaders say indigenous lands hinder development
- Environmentalists worried about deforestation in the Amazon
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In one of his first acts as Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro stripped the National Indian Foundation of the power to create new indigenous reserves, a move that will please the country’s influential farm lobby.
From now on, it is the agriculture ministry, led by the former chief of the farm lobby, that decides over new indigenous lands. It will also control the forestry service that registers rural property as part of an effort to prevent deforestation. The changes were published in the official gazette.