Indigenise, womanise and reforest politics: thoughts on the candidaciesof indigenous women in the 2022 brazilian elections

Abstract

We propose a reflection on the candidacies of indigenous women in the 2022 brazilian elections and their connection with the ecological agenda. We start from a discussion on the search for indigenous representativity in Brazilian institutional and representative politics as a response to an anti-indigenous policy intensified in the Bolsonaro government and at the time of the covid-19 pandemic. We then analyse the emergence of the Indigenous Campaign launched by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) in 2022 from mobilisations that were strengthened at the turn of the 2010s to the 2020s, such as the Acampamentos Terra Livre and the Marchas das Mulheres. We examine two calls that stem from this Campaign: “indigenise politics and reclaim Brazil” and “reforest minds in defence of body-territories”. The latter reveals the crucial role of women in the struggle against the ecological and climate crisis. It is in this sense that we ask ourselves whether the indigenous women's movement and the ensuing candidacies can be connected to so-called ecofeminism.