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Claims of violence, land grabbing and forced eviction of Indigenous, Quilombola, riverine and campesino communities has been a constant reality in the Amazonian Brazilian state of Pará.
Conflicts in Pará have become longer and deadlier for land and environmental defenders since the beginning of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration.
Two Brazilian palm oil giants in particular, Brasil Biofuels (BBF) and Agropalma, are embroiled in long-standing conflict with local communities.
BBF are accused of waging violent campaigns to silence Indigenous and traditional communities defending their ancestral lands, while Agropalma is linked to fraudulent land grabs and stranding or evicting communities.
Both companies have acquired lands to grow profitable palm crops, apparently at the expense of communities’ constitutional rights. Brazil’s constitution protects Indigenous communities’ rights to their ancestral lands.