Exclusive: Illegal cattle numbers soar on Indigenous Land

Cattle are being illegally grazed in the homeland of the Arariboya, in the Amazon region, where there are mass murders of the Guajajara indigenous peoples.

Brazilian law prohibits cattle ranching on indigenous lands, but a year-long investigation by Mongabay revealed that large areas of Arariboya indigenous lands were being used for large-scale cattle ranching amidst a wave of murders of Guajajara natives. Mongabay traveled to Arariboya in August 2023.

There, we saw cattle farming among the natives.

We collected geographic coordinates, analyzed satellite images, and conducted spatial analyses to investigate pastures, farms, and land leasing disputes.

Reports of illegal cattle ranching, poaching, and a database of homicides of Guajajara indigenous people were compiled as part of our investigation.

Our investigation tracked several dozen illegal or suspicious incidents and uncovered a clear increase in local crime in the region by mid-2023, the deadliest year for indigenous peoples in Arariboya since 2016.

Four Guajajara were killed, and three survivors of the attack were reported.

The crimes last year matched the number of deaths in 2007, 2008, and 2016, when four Guajajara indigenous people from Arariboya were also killed—the highest number since the first indigenous murder in 1992.

In 2023, the homicide rate is projected to be the lowest since 2010, according to data from the Unified Public Security System (SUSP).

Maranhão was one of five states that recorded an increase in the number of murders.

The revelations from the investigation expose a type of targeted murder against Guajajara indigenous peoples through illegal cattle ranching and encroachment into and around Arariboya.

Recorded Cattle Areas

The areas that recorded the highest number of deaths were primarily around operations for combating illegal logging by the Federal Police and illegal logging activities by Ibama.

There is no evidence that the owners of sawmills and farms were related to the murders.

In addition to the crimes in Arariboya, our investigation tracked illegal activities and suspicious actions in the IT environment.

Although the location of the farms around Arariboya is not illegal, we found deforestation in these areas.

In July 2023, less than a kilometer from Arariboya, illegal deforestation was discovered in the headwaters of the Buritikupu River, where the Guajajara people reside.

A month ago, an unlicensed airport began construction 17 kilometers from Arariboya and 4 kilometers from the neighboring administrative land.

In both cases, deforestation occurred in legally protected areas, which is a crime under the country’s Environmental Crimes Law.

The illegal deforestation and the airport are linked to four farms, indicating conflicts over land ownership.

One of the farms encroached on the Governor’s Native Land (TI).

The farmers, identified in the investigation as owners of three farms near Arariboya, have been accused of environmental crimes, land usurpation, and money laundering but have denied the allegations.

The Secretary of the Environment of Maranhão (SEMA) confirmed that there has been no licensing process for the airport, and the Secretary of Family Agriculture stated that it would examine the Rural Area Register (CAR)—a mandatory independent document used for environmental protection—among the four farms.

Conclusion

The overlap of the airport area “as quickly as possible” and one of the farm vehicles was previously canceled.

Arariboya “has a big problem because the outlines are not well protected,” said Hilton Melo, a federal prosecutor specializing in indigenous affairs in São Luis.

The Amazon rainforest covers about one-third of Maranhão.

Arariboya, the second-largest indigenous land in the state, serves as a green island that extends over 413,000 hectares in a sea of deforestation—more than three times the size of São Paulo.

The southwestern region of Arariboya, which the Mongabay team visited last year, borders the Cerrado, which spans several eastern states in the country and is one of the most threatened areas in the state.

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Source of information: Own Authorship

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