Indigenous Man Shot Dead as Land Dispute Escalates in Brazilian Farm State

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – A man from the Guarani community was shot and killed on Wednesday morning, according to a government agency that protects Indigenous peoples, as tensions escalate over a land dispute in the farm state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

This incident follows a violent clash in early August in which armed individuals, supported by farmers in vehicles, attacked Indigenous people who were reclaiming their land, resulting in 11 injuries.

The victim was shot in the head, as reported by the Indigenous affairs agency Funai. The conflict centers around the Nhanderu Marangatu Indigenous Land in Mato Grosso do Sul, located near the border with Paraguay.

According to a database maintained by an environmental and Indigenous rights nonprofit in Brazil, this area comprises around 9,000 hectares and has a population of approximately 1,350 people recognized as Indigenous.

Funai has requested the specialized federal prosecutor’s office to take all necessary legal actions and has engaged with the judge overseeing the case.

In a statement, Funai emphasized its commitment to stopping the violence and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable: "Given the seriousness of this matter, we are preparing new actions before the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region to guarantee the protection of the Indigenous community."

Farmers are eager to clear land for soybean cultivation and cattle ranching. As Brazil’s agricultural expansion heads toward the Amazon, disputes over land claimed by Indigenous peoples have become more common.

Such violent land disputes have intensified, fueling an ongoing debate about restricting Indigenous claims to ancestral lands within a conservative Congress supported by a powerful agricultural lobby.

Additionally, lawmakers have proposed a constitutional amendment that would restrict land claims by Indigenous communities made after 1988, despite a Supreme Court ruling that declared such a time limitation unconstitutional.

Currently, less than half of Brazil’s 1.6 million Indigenous people reside on about 13% of the country’s land area.