Brazilian indigenous peoples aim to enter mainstream politics

There is currently only one indigenous representative among Brazil’s 513 lower house members: Congresswoman Joenia Wapichana of Roraima. She is only the third lawmaker from a Brazilian native community in history, after Mário Juruna was elected to the House in 1982 and Antônio Apurinã took office as senator two decades ago.

But in 2022, indigenous leaders want to make a big leap into mainstream politics. Multiple sources within left-leaning parties have told The Brazilian Report of a growing push to form an “indigenous caucus” in the House. 

“Today we understand that we must be in the arenas where decisions are made,” says Vania Witoto, a 34-year-old woman whose ethnic group lives in the western part of the Amazonas state, as well as in parts of Peru and Colombia. “It is where discussions about us are made – and where our rights are being taken from us.”

Ms. Witoto’s words sum up the skepticism indigenous populations feel about a state that has deprived them of land and rights for centuries – and which has systematically excluded them from public life. In 2020, fewer than 200 indigenous candidates were elected to the 69,000-plus offices up for grabs – a rate of just 0.28 percent.

The nomination of Sonia Guajajara, an indigenous leader from Maranhão, to be the vice-presidential nominee of...