Governor sued for spreading fake news about Indigenous peoples in the host city of COP30

By Mayra Leal – From Cenarium

BELÉM (PA) – The Public Defender’s Office of the Union (DPU) has filed a public civil action against the Government of Pará to prevent the state from spreading false information about the occupation of the State Secretariat of Education (Seduc), carried out by Indigenous peoples and Quilombola communities since January 14. The DPU document was signed on Sunday, the 2nd, by the Union’s public defender, Marcos Teixeira.

According to the lawsuit, the state government, through the social media accounts of Governor Helder Barbalho (MDB), disseminated false information about the movement, such as claims that the occupants were vandalizing public property, which was refuted by a judicial inspection conducted by the DPU and other agencies.

“We were able to prove that the Indigenous leaders had not, at any time, vandalized the building, that the damages identified in the building already existed or could not be determined who was responsible for them”, explains Marcos Teixeira, the public defender of the Union responsible for the action.

The Indigenous movement, however, is protesting against Law No. 10.820/24, which, according to them, opens the door for distance education in the villages.

According to the DPU, the claim that the government had no intention of implementing distance education in the villages is also false. As evidence, the lawsuit presents a response given by the Secretary of Education, Rossieli Soares da Silva, on August 29, 2024, to the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), in which he affirms the intention to implement High School education via Media Center in the Itapeyga Village, in the southeast of the state.

“Documents prove that the secretariat already had a plan, that there were already classes scheduled to start, specifically in the Parakanã Indigenous Territory in Southern Pará, where High School education would begin through distance learning. So, we proved through this document that the governor’s statement is false, considering that at a certain point, the State Government, specifically the Secretariat of Education, did intend to implement distance education in Indigenous lands”, explains the defender.

In the video released, Helder Barbalho states that the government had already met the Indigenous people’s demands, which, according to the public defender, is also untrue, as the movement’s main request is the repeal of Law 10.820 and the dismissal of the secretary.

The lawsuit is also directed at the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai), from which the public defender demands administrative and legal measures to “protect the honor and integrity of Indigenous communities affected by false information related to the Seduc occupation.” It also targets Meta, responsible for Facebook and Instagram, requesting the removal of the governor’s posts classified as false.

The DPU also demands R$10 million in collective moral damages for the communities occupying Seduc and that the governor’s social media accounts be used to provide the movement with a right of reply. See the full document:

About the occupation

Since January 14, Indigenous peoples and Quilombola communities have been occupying the State Secretariat of Education building. More than five hundred people from at least 14 ethnic groups are involved. The movement is demanding the repeal of Law No. 10.820/2024, sanctioned in December, which restructures the teaching profession in Pará and establishes new rules for public education in the state.

According to the protesters, the legislation could eliminate the Modular Education System (Some) and the system applied in traditional communities, Somei, replacing Indigenous education with distance learning.

The Government of Pará denies that the law will lead to the elimination of in-person classes, but for the protesters, the changes do not ensure quality Indigenous education in the villages and remote communities of the state.

The movement is also calling for the dismissal of the Secretary of Education of Pará, Rossieli Soares.

The report reached out to Funai but did not receive a response on the matter.

Translated from Portuguese by Gustô Alves