Brazil election sparks threats to reinvade Indigenous Amazon territory

A federal judge issued an emergency order on Oct. 23 to deploy federal security forces to the Apyterewa Indigenous Land in Brazil’s Pará state. The order came after new evidence emerged that hundreds of former non-Indigenous occupants planned to reinvade the territory on Oct. 25, the day of Brazil’s presidential runoff election. The court order was in response to an urgent request by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), which documented threats of armed violence against the Parakanã Indigenous people who live in Apyterewa. Allegations suggest that the invaders expected political support following the elections. According to the case file, on Oct. 12, an Indigenous Parakanã man received 10 WhatsApp audio messages that warned of a planned invasion. Some claimed 100 to 300 people were preparing to invade and were buying tarps and tools to rebuild settlements inside. The messages repeatedly warned Indigenous residents to leave, including references to possible gunfire. “The governor said the people should return,” one audio message said. “The governor who has just won, and if Flávio [Bolsonaro] wins the presidency, then the land will be released to the people again, the land to white people.” In another audio message, an individual said: “There are a hundred, two hundred, three hundred men who used to own land there. Everyone is saying they’re going back, that the government is supporting them.” The alleged invasion was scheduled for Oct. 25, coinciding with the election which incumbent Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won in a surprise defeat…This article was originally published on

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