In an open letter released during the Free Land Camp (Acampamento Terra Livre) demonstration, in Brasília, indigenous organizations accuse the Brazilian Congress of treating the constitutional rights of indigenous people as “bargaining chips” in negotiations with private sectors, particularly agribusiness and mining.

“We condemn the fact that the National Congress functions as a machine of regression, acting as an enemy of [indigenous] peoples, launching daily attacks on our lives, and subjecting our rights to a bargaining table,” the text reads.

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This edition of the rally – referred to as ATL 2026 – is bringing together thousands of indigenous people in Brasília from Sunday, April 5, through April 11.

“They have turned the people’s house into a gambling den. They want to gamble in the National Congress, where our rights become a bargaining chip between lawmakers and private sectors, with national and foreign companies and corporations profiting off our lives,” the letter states.

Signed by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), the association organizing the mobilization, and by seven other entities covering the entire national territory, the letter criticizes the executive, legislative, and judicial branches – especially the federal government – for the delay in defining federal territories designated for the exclusive use of indigenous people.

Under the Brazilian Constitution, in effect since 1988, the federal government should have completed the demarcation of indigenous lands within five years of its enactment – i.e., by 1993.

“The timid demarcation of only a few indigenous lands fails to fulfill the political commitment to guarantee all our territories,” the associations point out.

They maintain that the government’s “inaction” has contributed to an atmosphere of insecurity, with rising cases of violence, invasions of recognized, demarcated, or claimed indigenous areas, and the illegal exploitation of natural resources.

“The federal government has an obligation to demarcate and protect indigenous territories and lives, as well as to guarantee free, prior, and informed consultation. We demand concrete action for land regularization, territorial protection, and respect for the autonomy and leadership of our peoples,” the document says.

Indigenous organizations, however, acknowledge progress, such as the creation of the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and the formal recognition of 20 indigenous areas from January 2023 to November 2025, following a four-year hiatus from 2019 to 2022.

“Indigenous presence in institutional spaces has advanced as a direct result of our struggle,” the groups point out, citing the presence of historic leaders of the movement at the helm of bodies responsible for managing public policies and the growing number of representatives from the community in Congress, state assemblies, and municipal councils.

New Policy

In a statement to Agência Brasil, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples emphasized that the creation of the ministry in 2023 led to indigenous people assuming strategic and decision-making roles, as the indigenous movement itself has acknowledged.

“The creation of the ministry marked a break from the paternalistic approach that had guided indigenous policy for decades,” the statement says.

Decisions regarding the rights and needs of Brazil’s more than 391 indigenous peoples are now made by individuals who are familiar with and understand their demands and challenges, the ministry states.

Among the key initiatives undertaken over the past four years to guarantee the rights and safety of indigenous people is the official recognition of 20 indigenous territories, equivalent to some 2.5 million hectares of protected land across 11 states, the ministry reports.