ABSTRACT
This chapter summarises the positive and negative impacts of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's first two presidencies on Brazil's Indigenous peoples. It evaluates how his social and environmental policies affected their lands, health, and education and how, despite his pledges, Indigenous peoples were side-lined in decision-making and their autonomy undermined. It assesses the damaging impacts of President Jair Bolsonaro's policies on Indigenous rights and how his weakening of the institutions supposed to protect Indigenous peoples led to the destruction of their lands with devastating impacts on their health, social cohesion, and self-sufficiency. It examines how his support for agribusiness and mining reversed progress in the demarcation and protection of Indigenous territories under the Lula and Dilma Rousseff governments and describes how his hate speech led to increased violence against Indigenous peoples and invasions of their land. The Indigenous movement's critical role in denouncing and countering Bolsonaro's criminal policies is outlined. It concludes by considering the huge challenges Lula faces if he is to overturn the damaging legacy of the Bolsonaro presidency and to fulfil his election manifesto promises to uphold Indigenous peoples’ constitutional rights.
