Bruno Pereira

Bruno da Cunha Araújo Pereira (15 August 1980 – 5 June 2022)[1] was a Brazilian indigenist and career employee of the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI).[2] He was an expert on uncontacted or recently contacted indigenous people in the country and on the Vale do Javari.[3]

Bruno Pereira
Born(1980-08-15)15 August 1980
Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
Disappeared5 June 2022
Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas, Brazil
Died5 June 2022(2022-06-05) (aged 41)
Atalaia do Norte, Amazonas, Brazil
Cause of deathShot
Body discovered15 June 2022
Resting placeMorada da Paz cemetery, Recife, Brazil
Alma materFederal University of Pernambuco
OccupationIndigenist

Early life and education

Pereira was born as the second of the three sons to Max Pereira Pereira and Maria das Graças da Cunha on 15 August 1980 in Recife.[1][4] His father worked as a sales executive in the aluminum and glass industries and his mother was an employee of Brazil government's pension office.[1] After graduating from Colegio Contato in Recife he wrote Brazil's university entrance exam to study journalism.[1] After passing the exam, he started studying journalism at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) in 2000, but left the course in 2003, deciding that his future lay in the country's forests.[1][5]

Career

Pereira worked for a period at the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) in Recife.[6] After getting a job in the environmental program at the Balbina Hydroelectric Power Plant, Pereira went to the Amazon region.[5]

After a few years at the Balbina hydroelectric plant, Pereira was approved in a competitive examination by the National Indian Foundation (Funai) and chose to go to the Javari Valley, the indigenous land with the highest concentration of isolated indigenous people in the world. In 2018, Pereira became the general coordinator of Isolated and Newly Contacted Indigenous People at Funai, when he headed the largest expedition for contact with isolated groups.[5]

In 2019, Pereira led the largest expedition to contact isolated indigenous people in the last 20 years. However, after pressure from ruralist sectors linked to the Jair Bolsonaro government, he was removed from his post in October of that year by Sérgio Moro then executive secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Luiz Pontel.[2][7][8]

According to indigenous entities, Pereira was constantly threatened by miners, loggers, and fishermen.[2][7][9]

Pereira also coordinated a project to equip indigenous people to defend their territory with drones, computers and training. Pereira claimed that the invaders felt more at ease as a result of the permissiveness of the public authorities, and surveillance has undergone a continuous weakening process.[10]

Death
Main article: Murder of Bruno Pereira and Dom Phillips

Pereira and journalist Dom Phillips received death threats for helping to protect Indigenous people of Amazonas from illegal drug traffickers, miners, loggers, and hunters. They were reported missing in early June 2022 while they were on a trip in the Vale do Javari.[11][12] A confession of murder led to the discovery of their bodies; both had been shot to death.[13] He was 41 years old.[14][15]

See also

References
  1. Downie, Andrew (6 July 2022). "Bruno Pereira obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  2. "Saiba quem é Bruno Pereira, indigenista e servidor da Funai dado como desaparecido no Amazonas". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). 6 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  3. Leandro Prazeres (13 June 2022). "Treinado na selva, Bruno Pereira superou desconfiança e ganhou respeito de indígenas". BBC (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  4. Priscilla Aguiar (16 June 2022). "Bruno Pereira recebe homenagens por trajetória de defesa de povos indígenas; 'comprometido com causas importantes', diz reitor da UFPE". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. Priscilla Aguiar (15 June 2022). "Bruno Pereira fez jornalismo na UFPE e participaria de filme inspirado no seu trabalho e na proteção de indígenas; 'Ele será uma inspiração', diz amigo". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. "Indigenista Bruno Pereira cursou jornalismo na UFPE e trabalhou no INSS em Recife". Diário de Pernambuco (in Brazilian Portuguese). 16 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  7. Ana Luiza Albuquerque; João Gabriel (8 June 2022). "Indigenista Bruno Pereira acumula anos de experiência e ameaças na Amazônia". Folha de S.Paulo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  8. "Indigenista desaparecido pediu licença da Funai após ser exonerado por sub de Moro". UOL (in Brazilian Portuguese). 8 June 2022. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  9. Daniel Biasetto (6 June 2022). "Bilhete com ameaça a indigenista da Funai partiu de pescadores invasores; veja". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  10. "Projeto equipa e treina indígenas para defenderem seu território em área ameaçada". WWF Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  11. "Brazilian police say 'no evidence of crime' in search for missing journalist". the Guardian. 8 June 2022.
  12. Reverdosa, Juliana Koch, Marcia (7 June 2022). "British journalist and Brazilian indigenous affairs expert missing in the Amazon". CNN.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. "Brazilian police confirm journalist Dom Phillips and Indigenous expert Bruno Pereira were killed by gunfire". SBS.com. 19 June 2022.
  14. Downie, Andrew; Briso, Caio (8 June 2022). "Bruno Pereira: the dedicated defender of Indigenous rights missing in Brazil". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  15. "Bruno Pereira, expert on Brazil's Indigenous communities, dead at 41". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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