Indigenous leader murdered in brazil’s ongoing land rights violence against kaiowá people

Vicente Kaiowá e Guarani, a father and community spokesman, was shot dead in the early hours of November 16th near Pyelito Kue in Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul state. The fatal attack represents the latest escalation in a decades-long conflict over indigenous land rights that has turned increasingly violent for the Kaiowá people.

According to the Kaiowá community, armed men arrived under cover of darkness in what appeared to be a coordinated assault that left several wounded. While police suggested the killing resulted from internal disputes, indigenous leaders firmly reject this characterization. Vicente’s death adds another name to a growing list of casualties in what has become a pattern of systematic violence against indigenous communities fighting to reclaim their ancestral territories, known as tekoha.

The Kaiowá communities of Pyelito Kue and Mbarakay have endured years of attacks including raids, arson, beatings, and forced removals. These assaults are allegedly carried out by militias with ties to cattle ranchers who now occupy traditional indigenous lands. Critics argue that state security forces have consistently prioritized protecting private property interests over enforcing constitutional rights guaranteeing indigenous peoples’ territorial claims.

The Guarani Kaiowá organization Aty Guasu issued a defiant statement following the killing: “We no longer accept being treated as invaders on our own land.” As one relative mourned, “We lost a warrior” – a sentiment that reflects both the community’s grief and their recognition that this violence is far from over. The murder underscores the dangerous reality facing indigenous land rights defenders across Brazil.