diversity
Brazil’s first indigenous minister sworn in
Sonia Guajajara alongside Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. photo
© Eraldo Peres/AP/dpa
“We are the voices that need to be heard,” says Sônia Guajajara during the election campaign. Now she is taking office under Brazil’s President Lula as the first indigenous minister.
The indigenous leader Sônia Guajajara made history in Brazil: the former coordinator of the indigenous umbrella organization Abip was sworn in yesterday (local time) in Brasília as the first indigenous minister. She will head the Ministry for Indigenous Peoples created by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
At the ceremony, Guajajara paid tribute to British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira, who were murdered in the Amazon last year.
The event, attended by Lula, also inaugurated the sister of councilwoman Marielle Franco, killed by paramilitaries, Anielle Franco, as Minister for Ethnic Equality. The left-wing politician Lula prevailed in a runoff election at the end of October against the right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.
The 77-year-old was President of the largest country in Latin America from early 2003 to late 2010. He took office on January 1, 2023. The swearing-in ceremony for Sônia Guajajara and Anielle Franco was postponed after radical Bolsonaro supporters stormed the government district in Brasília on Sunday.