Two public servants in Brazil removed after threatening to poison Indigenous people

Brazil’s Indigenous voters helped reelect incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Oct. 25. Following his win, two officials in the municipality of Tacuru, Mato Grosso do Sul, allegedly sent WhatsApp messages threatening to poison the water supply used by the Guarani-Kaiowá Indigenous people. The officials have been suspended; however, activists argue that’s insufficient to curb violence against Indigenous people. “Talking about poisoning the water in Mato Grosso do Sul is not just verbal racism; it is not merely a message of hate,” said Matias Benno Rempel, coordinator of the state’s Indigenous Missionary Council (Cimi). “It is grounded in concrete reality, drawing from numerous instances where this has been a recurring tactic used against the state’s Indigenous peoples.” Shortly after it was announced that Lula won the run-off election, the officials allegedly sent WhatsApp audio messages saying that only Indigenous people voted for Lula. “I already said it, we have to [put] poison in the water. Kill those pests in the water,” the messages said, according to reports made by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) on social media and sent to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI). The case is being investigated by the Federal Police and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF). The Tacuru City government suspended the two employees for 20 days, the MPF told Mongabay; disciplinary administrative proceedings were also initiated. For activists, the measures are insufficient “to put an end to the violence, or at least [to] curb acts of violence against the…This article was originally published on

Mongabay