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Clashes erupt as indigenous activists protest in Brasilia

Indigenous people and police have clashed near Brasilia’s congressional building, during a protest over land disputes. Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at protesters, whose bodies were painted and dressed in colourful head-dresses, while some tribe members shot arrows in return. Dozens of indigenous people are killed every year in Brazil in fights with farmers and ranchers, often in the relatively lawless Amazon region, where gunmen have been used to push them off resource-rich reserves. The demonstration focused on legislation that would give the last word on boundaries to Congress, where a powerful farm lobby holds sway. At the moment, it is down to the president to set the lines. #Brazil: #Indigenous people injured by tear gas pumps in #Brasilia. #TerraLivre #demarcacaoja  via ciminacional pic.twitter.com/T6I5qANMIo— ubique (PersonalEscrito) 25 April 2017