Left dominates Brazilian House Amazon Committee

Congresswoman Célia Xakriabá was elected as one of the House Amazon Committee's deputy chairs. Photo: Renato Araújo/CD

The House Amazon Committee on Tuesday elected its deputy heads, forming a roster of exclusively left-wing lawmakers. Congresswoman Dilvanda Faro of the Workers’ Party was elected last week to chair the committee.

Her predecessor, Célia Xakriabá, an indigenous congresswoman of the Socialism and Freedom Party, took over yesterday as first deputy chair. Lawmakers Juliana Cardoso and Airton Faleiro complete the roster. Ms. Cardoso is also a vocal supporter of indigenous peoples and was among those targeted last year by far-right lawmakers with a complaint at the Ethics Committee for saying that people against indigenous land rights are “murderers.”

Ms. Faro has pledged to keep hosting social movements and representatives of indigenous and riverside communities in public hearings.

Congresswoman Juliana Cardoso stressed in the election session yesterday that Brazil will host the UN climate conference next year, which increases the committee’s responsibility. “We are the last generation [able] to save the world” from climate change, she said.

The Amazon Committee was among those created in early 2023 after House Speaker Arthur Lira was re-elected with a record vote, and in turn was required to accommodate political parties seeking leadership positions. It has been mostly a “safe space” for left-wing lawmakers and environmental activists, in opposition to the House Environment Committee, where Big Agro supporters have a larger voice.

The House Environment Committee is one of the few that has not yet elected its leadership for this year. Thus, it has not yet held a public hearing or voted on a bill. The centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) party is supposed to nominate the head of the Environment Committee this year, but The Brazilian Report has learned from three separate sources that it has failed to do so due to internal disagreements. MDB House whip Congressman Isnaldo Bulhões Jr. did not reply to a request for comment.