Shocking situation of Guarani tribe in Brazil

The release of the report [.pdf] coincides with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 21st March. The Guarani suffer high rates of suicide, malnutrition, unfair imprisonment and alcoholism, and are regularly targeted and killed by gunmen hired by the ranchers who have taken over their land. The denial of the Indians’ land rights is singled out in the report as the main cause of this explosive situation. The report warns that the growing demand for ethanol as an alternative to gasoline will take more land from the Guarani and further worsen the situation. Despite living in one of the wealthiest states in one of world’s largest emerging economies, many Guarani live in dire poverty. Some live under tarpaulins on the side of busy highways, others in chronically overcrowded ‘reserves’ where they are reliant on government handouts. One Guarani community living on the roadside, who have seen three of their leaders killed by ranchers’ gunmen, said, ‘We are growing impatient with the excessive delay of land demarcation. It is slowly killing us and exposing us to genocide’.