The National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) confirmed this Sunday (16) the death of a Guarani Kaiowá indigenous man during an armed attack on the Pyelito Kue resumption, located in the municipality of Iguatemi, in the south of Mato Grosso do Sul. In notethe municipality expressed “deep regret” for the crime and classified the murder as “unacceptable”.
Teams have already been mobilized to monitor investigations and coordinate actions with public security bodies.
According to the Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi), the victim is Vicente Fernandes Vilhalva Kaiowá, aged 36, who was shot in the head during the action of around 20 armed men who invaded the area at around 4am.
Four other indigenous people, including teenagers and a woman, were injured by firearms or rubber bullets. The community reported that the gunmen tried to take Vicente’s body, which was prevented by the indigenous people.
Reports sent to Funai and gathered by Cimi indicate that the killers surrounded the community and blocked access to the area, including destroying a bridge. Employees from the Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Sesai) were also mobilized.
History
The recent escalation of resumptions in the south of the state is related to the attempt by indigenous people to stop the spraying of pesticides, which has affected the health and food security of the villages.
The recovery of Pyelito Kue is located in the Iguatemipeguá I Indigenous Land, whose Detailed Identification and Delimitation Report (RCID) was published by Funai in 2013, with an area of 41.5 thousand hectares. The community claims to have been waiting for around 40 years for the demarcation process to be completed.
Climate defenders
In a statement, Funai highlights that the death of yet another indigenous Guarani Kaiowá occurs at the same time that the world discusses and visualizes the importance of indigenous peoples for the climate mitigation debated at COP30, “unfortunately showing that there is no respite in the persecution of the bodies of climate defenders”.
According to the municipality, on November 3, through a task force, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Agriculture (MDA) and the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services (MGI) established a Technical Working Group (GTT) to gather information and contribute to the mediation of land conflicts involving indigenous peoples in the south of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
