On July 29, Brazil’s National Movement of Human Rights publicly denounced systematic acts of violence perpetrated against the Xucuru people, who number about 8,500 and live in 23 communities in northeast Brazil. The organization claims that many Xucuru leaders have been murdered, and that many crimes against them are not being properly investigated. These events are viewed by some as part of a strategy by governmental officials and rural oligarchies to undermine the Xucuru struggle for recognition of their cultural and political rights.
