Developments in the Situation of Brazilian Tribal Populations from 1976 to 1982 Author(S): Greg Urban Source: Latin American Research Review, Vol

Developments in the Situation of Brazilian Tribal Populations from 1976 to 1982 Author(s): Greg Urban Source: Latin American Research Review, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1985), pp. 7-25 Published by: The Latin American Studies Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2503256 Accessed: 18/07/2010 22:56 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=lamer. 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The Latin American Studies Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Latin American Research Review. http://www.jstor.org DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SITUATION OF BRAZILIAN TRIBAL POPULATIONS FROM 1976 TO 1982* Greg Urban University of Texas, Austin Since 1976 profound changes have occurred in Brazilian national society, changes that have implications for the tribal populations in Bra- zil as well as for those conducting anthropological and linguistic research among these populations. Many of these changes can be linked to the government policy of abertura (opening). This policy was begun implicitly under the regime of Ernesto Geisel (1974-79) and has been continued more explicitly by the current President, Jodo Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo, who is scheduled to remain in office until 1985. Perhaps equally as important at the infrastructural level have been the global economic changes that were largely linked to earlier increases in oil prices. These steep increases have severely shaken the Brazilian economy, causing annual inflation rates in 1980, 1981, and 1982 of ap- proximately 100 percent. For the tribal populations, the key components of their current situation are the civil society (itself internally differentiated), the Brazil- ian national government, and religious organizations. Any realistic un- derstanding of the present-day situation must consider the complex dynamic of interaction among these components, whose long-range goals and intentions must first be understood. This essay will attempt to assess these goals and intentions on the basis of my experiences in Brazil in 1974-76 and 1981-82. THE CIVIL SOCIETY: "SUPPORT GROUPS" AND ECONOMIC INTERESTS Civil society in Brazil, insofar as the tribal populations are con- cerned, consists of at least two distinct components: the "support groups" that have mushroomed since 1977 to aid the tribal populations *1 would like to thank Professors Sylvia M. Caiuby Novaes and Lux B. Vidal of the Uni- versity of Sao Paulo and Professor David Maybury-Lewis of Harvard for their numerous comments on earlier versions of this paper. 7 Latin American ResearchReview and economic interests such as ranching, lumbering, and mining that are engaged in utilizing land and resources in the interior of Brazil. Support Groups An imiportant development since 1976 has been the proliferation of groups and organizations working on behalf of indigenous peoples in Brazil. In May of 1977, the first Associacdo Nacional de Apoio ao Indio (ANAI) was formed in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Since then ANAI groups have proliferated in Bahia, Ijui, Parana, and Rio de Janeiro. In April of 1978, the first groups working under the name Co- missao Pro-Indio (CPI) were formed in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe, Alagoas, Acre, and Maranhao. Other support groups include the Centro de Trabalho Indigenista (CTI) in Sdo Paulo, the Grupo de Apoio ao Indio in Belem, the Grupo de Estudos sobre a Questao Indi- gena (GREQUI), and the Grupo Kukuro de Apoio a Causa Indigena, as well as groups focusing on more specialized problems, such as the Co- missdo pela CriacJo do Parque Yanomami (CCPY). It is difficult to keep track of all of these groups and their activities because the situation is still fluid, with new groups being formed as old ones disappear (see the appendix). The proliferation of support groups was not a fortuitous phe- nomenon, however. It was at least to some degree part of a conscious strategy for dealing with a multifaceted reality. The nature of "Indian problems" in Brazil varies from region to region according to the degree and kind of contact with Brazilian national society; hence, the decision to create distinct regional ANAIs and CPIs. The different groups also focus on different aspects of the "Indian problem." For example, ANAI is more interested in legal issues, CPI in government policy, and CTI in formulating and carrying out projects of economic development in indigenous areas. Finally, the proliferation of support groups was important for diffusing the tensions that could have developed between the federal government, on the one side, and a monolithic tribal support group, on the other. This view does not suggest that no factionalism exists among the support groups themselves but that the decision to proliferate support groups represented an attempt to adapt to the complex social and political realities in Brazil at the time. In nature these groups somewhat resemble international groups that already had appeared elsewhere in the world, such as the Interna- tional Work Group for Indian Affairs (IWGIA), Survival International, Cultural Survival, and the Anthropology Resource Center (ARC), as well as Amazind and Indigena. But the Brazilian groups differ in being more intensely involved in the day-by-day developments in Brazil. Their membership consists primarily of anthropologists, former FUNAI 8 BRAZILIAN TRIBAL POPULATIONS FROM 1976 TO 1982 workers, doctors, and lawyers, with each group having its own head- quarters, elected officials, and regular meetings. To take an example with which I am most familiar, the Comissao Pro-Indio-Sao Paulo (CPR-SP) meets formally on a weekly or semi- weekly basis. It publishes a monthly bulletin to disseminate information to its members. The Boletim contains information about national and international developments affecting Brazilian tribal populations, statements of opinion by tribal leaders, and news of upcoming events. The CPI-SP also publishes a series of booklets (cadernos)for wider distri- bution that deal with key problems relative to the "Indian question." So far it has published three cadernos entitled A Questao da Emancipago, A Questao da Terra,and Indios: Direitos Historicos. These little volumes are invaluable for those interested in the current plight of tribal Brazilian populations because CPI-SP members are in constant contact with tribal leaders. Often interviewed by the press about issues affecting indigenous peoples, this group is among the most active and visible in Brazil. The CPI-SP differs markedly in its orientation from the Cenitro de Trabalho Indigenista (CTI). Whereas the CPI sees its role in terms of publicizing or bringing to the national consciousness information about the Indian populations, especially their plight and their point of view on recent developments, the CTI takes the much more practical role of organizing projects of economic revitalization among the tribal populations themselves. Its members appear only infrequently on television and make few statements to the press, but they are more involved in the daily life of Indian villages because they spend a considerable por- tion of their time there. They seek to make tribal societies economically viable, and preferably autonomous, entities. They consider economic adaptation to changing conditions as the precondition for "cultural survival." EconomicInterests Differences among these "support groups" are minor, however, when contrasted with the economic interests operative in Brazilian society. Such economic interests view tribal populations as obstacles to their goal of exploiting the interior for profit. Because tribal populations are far weaker militarily than the larger Brazilian society, they obviously cannot wage a successful military campaign for independence and au- tonomy. Many of them nevertheless have tried, with attacks and coun- terattacks forming a constant of life in the interior. But insofar as national policy is oriented to economic interests in Brazil, the indigenous cause is already lost. Yet national policy is precisely what support groups inside and outside Brazil are attempting to affect. Insofar as these groups can convince the world that native cultures are intrinsi- 9 Latin American ResearchReview cally valuable, that tribal peoples have certain "historical rights" to their lands, health, and cultural integrity, in that measure can the support groups hope to influence policy. It is for this reason that the support groups come into conflict with economic interests, not because the lat- ter have anything against tribal populations in principle. During the recent period, the level of economic activity in the interior of Brazil has been striking indeed, at least as impressive as the level of activity of the support groups that are monitoring the situation. One has the unmistakable sense that the "frontier" is rapidly closing, that twenty, perhaps even ten, years from now there will be no tribal Brazilian populations in what Darcy Ribeiro termed an "isolated" state, that is, having no direct contact with the national society.1 During the 1976-82 period, the "economic miracle" described by Shelton Davis in Victims of the Miracle has given way to an economic crisis, fueled by the energy shortage.

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