GOVERNMENT DISCOURSES ON LAND DEMARCATION IN BRAZIL

NECROPOLITICS, INDEXICALITY AND RESISTANCE

Abstract

This article examined the speeches produced during the government of Jair Messias Bolsonaro (hereinafter JMB), at the beginning of his term, focusing on the demarcation of lands for Brazilian indigenous people. The focus was on statements that mobilized actions that transferred the responsibility for demarcating lands from Funai to the Ministry of Agriculture, placing rural interests above indigenous agendas. The article also investigated the reactions of NGOs and indigenous people, specifically Apuí, Guarani Mbya Carijó and Mundurucus, who positioned themselves as voices of resistance and criticism of the necropolitical actions of the government sphere. The analysis mobilized Achille Mbembe's (2018) concept of necropolitics, which considers biopower in the decision about life and death, and the indexicality studies of Jan Blommaert (2010; 2014) and Michael Silverstein (2003) to explore how JMB's speeches reflect/refract authoritarian (Volóchinov, 2013) and violent ideologies. The results show that JMB used its sovereignty over unprotected bodies to favor a specific political group, justifying its actions in arguments based on economic development, while disregarding the rights and dignity of these people. Language was used to shape public perception and legitimize these actions, favoring economic exploitation over environmental preservation.