Struggles, Conflicts, and Inequalities among Indigenous Peoples in Brazil

This chapter addresses the multidimensional reality of inequality among Brazilian Indigenous peoples, particularly those of the Solimões River in the Amazon. It argues that socioeconomic exclusion is merely one facet of a deeper problem: the continuous economic and cultural denial of effective citizenship. The roots of this permanent social conflict are anchored in an anachronistic power structure – an unresolved colonial legacy whose violence is reproduced in contemporary struggles for land and rights. The analysis reveals the insurmountable chasm between the legal advancements made after the 1988 Constitution and the material reality of these populations. This gap is perpetuated by the reproduction – at varying intensities across different regions of Brazil – of structural deficiencies and systematic violations that cement exclusion and precariousness.