Indigenous leader Txai Suruí sharply criticized the approval of a bill allowing mining on indigenous lands, citing severe risks to both indigenous rights and environmental preservation.
Indigenous leader Txai Suruí has expressed strong opposition to the approval of Bill 2903/2023 by the Senate's Human Rights Committee, warning that it poses a significant threat to indigenous rights and environmental preservation. In a previous article published in Folha in 2025, she highlighted the alarming state of mercury contamination affecting her community. According to a report from Fiocruz in collaboration with the Kanindé Association and Metareilá Association, mercury was detected in the hair samples of 100% of the Paiter Suruí indigenous people, with particularly high levels in certain villages, raising serious health concerns such as neurological damage in adults and developmental issues in children, alongside ecosystem degradation.
Txai Suruí dismantled the developmental arguments presented by proponents of the mining initiative, calling the justification of 'development' a fallacy. She asserted that illegal mining does not contribute positively to economic growth or the well-being of indigenous communities, rather it poses grave dangers to their health and environment. The ongoing discourse around the project reveals a broader struggle for the recognition of indigenous rights and the necessity to protect ancestral lands from exploitative practices. The situation represents a critical juncture in Brazilian politics regarding environmental conservation and the rights of indigenous peoples, further complicating the nation's approach to development and sustainability.
