Global groups to resist Bolsonaro's policies affecting indigenous people, calls it "genocidal"

Two organisations - Brazil's Indigenous People Articulation (APIB) and Progressive International - have released a statement calling for worldwide solidarity against Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro's policies threatening the indigenous communities and environment.

The statement has termed the policies that will steadily deplete the Amazon rainforest as "genocidal".

The statement noted the president's own words: "The Indigenous person can't remain in his land…Any [Indigenous] reserve that I can reduce in size, I will do so", reported The Wire.

President Bolsonaro's intention to carry on with the Ferrogrão railroad project is at the centre of the global call as the 1,000 km plan will tear the Amazon forest into two.

The move will drastically affect local communities and their forms of life. It will also lead to unfathomable environmental impacts, said APIB.

The call for action comes days after "terrifying" research revealed that deforestation has turned some parts of the Amazon forest into a source of planet-warming carbon dioxide.

They pointed out that 11,000 kilometres of forest were cleared in 2020, under Bolsonaro's rule. They said that the Amazon is approaching a tipping point where the rainforest cannot produce enough rain to sustain itself. This will also send billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.