“Brazil’s Bolsonaro presses anti-indigenous agenda; resistance surges”, 27^th June 2019

…As President Jair Bolsonaro tries to steamroll his indigenous and environmental policies into law, more than 340 international and Brazilian NGOs are urging the European Union to show its disapproval by pulling out of a nearly complete landmark trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (South America’s trade bloc)…Despite being blocked by the Brazilian Congress and by the nation’s Supreme Court, Bolsonaro continues demanding that responsibility for demarcating indigenous lands be taken away from FUNAI, Brazil’s indigenous affairs agency, and be handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture…In a drive to put economic pressure on the Bolsonaro government, more than 340 international and Brazilian NGOs signed an open letter on 17 June calling for the European Union to immediately break off negotiations with Brazil over a ground-breaking trade deal, due to “worsening human rights and [the] environmental situation” in the Latin American country…The letter comes just days, perhaps hours, before the EU is expected to announce the completion of a long-awaited trade deal with Mercosur, South America’s trade bloc, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The deal would create one of the biggest free trade blocs in the world, encompassing over 770 million consumers and a combined economic output of €18 billion (US$20 billion)…