Brazil’s Indigenous People, Bolsonaro, and the Rest of Us
Brazil’s most revered Indigenous leader, Raoni Metuktire, released his latest book, Memórias do Cacique (The Chief’s Memoirs), on June 24, 2025. The book is a compilation of over 80 hours of interviews in which Metuktire accuses former President Jair Bolsonaro of attempting to exterminate Brazil's Indigenous population through his policies and actions in the Amazon.
If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that national borders are merely political constructs, capable of separating people but powerless against environmental crises or biological threats. Like the global spread of COVID-19, Bolsonaro’s actions, if left unchecked, would have spilled far beyond Brazil’s borders and endangered the entire planet.
The Amazon and our Planet
Beyond being home to Brazil’s Indigenous population, the Amazon is critical to the survival of humanity. Any disruption of the Amazon ecosystem will not only affect the people who call it home, but every species that calls Earth home.
The Amazon stores enormous amounts of carbon, up to 150 metric tons, acting as a vital carbon sink. In addition, the Amazon absorbs a substantial amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to offset global emissions. It also releases moisture and influences cloud formation, which is crucial for keeping South American temperatures cool. The Amazon affects weather patterns around the world, generating its own weather through transpiration.
The Amazon basin is a global hotspot for biodiversity, characterized by species richness not found anywhere else on Earth. Although it comprises less than 1 percent of Earth's land surface, the Amazon harbors approximately 10 percent of all known species, with many of them found nowhere else. This vast biological repository provides essential ecosystem services, including the development of invaluable genetic resources critical to global well-being.
Bolsonaro and the Amazon
The thoughts shared by Brazil’s Indigenous leader in his book are the latest in a long list of accusations from various groups brought against former President Bolsonaro. His administration was marked by a sustained assault on the Amazon. Executive orders were issued to facilitate large scale land grabbing from Indigenous communities. Licenses were granted to cronies and mining companies to exploit the Amazon rainforest and Indigenous territories.
This campaign against the Amazon resulted in deforestation, mercury poisoning of rivers, and a surge in forest fires set intentionally for land clearing. Illegal mining, often emboldened by the government's stance, triggered severe health crises among Indigenous populations, including mercury poisoning and increased malaria infections among the Yanomami people, among other devastating consequences for the Amazon and Indigenous cultures.
Checking the Bolsonaros of the World
The world is full of Bolsonaros: individuals and corporations who place profit above people and the planet. They must be held accountable and stopped from causing further harm to humanity and the Earth. At the same time, their thinking must be challenged through education.
Globally, school systems must integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge as a key part of learning from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Colleges and universities should also include this knowledge in their graduation requirements. In informal and nonformal education, the value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge must be highlighted in conferences, workshops, and public discussions related to climate change and sustainability.
Raoni Metuktire’s voice echoes far beyond Brazil’s borders, reminding us that the destruction of one part of the Earth threatens the whole. In an age of pandemics and climate collapse, we cannot afford to ignore Traditional Ecological Knowledge or allow political and corporate greed to destroy the world. The survival of the species depends on our action.