Mário Juruna
Encyclopedia
Mário Juruna was the first national-level federal representative in Brazil that belonged to an indigenous people.
He was born in Xavante
Namurunjá village, near Barra do Garças, in the state of Mato Grosso
. He was the son of the cacique (chief) Apoenã
. He lived in the jungle, without contact with civilization, until the age of 17, when he became cacique.
In the 1970s he became famous for walking the halls of FUNAI
, in Brasilia
to fight for land rights of Indians, while carrying a tape-recorder, which he used to record everything that was said to him and to prove that the authorities, in most cases, did not keep their word.
He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil
by the Democratic Labour Party
from 1983–1987, representing Rio de Janeiro
. His election had strong repercussions in Brazil and the world. He was responsible for the creation of a permanent commission for Indians, which brought formal recognition to issues related to Indians. In 1984, he denounced the businessman Calim Eid as having attempted to bribed him to vote for Paulo Maluf
, the presidential candidate supported by the military regime then in power. He voted for Tancredo Neves
, the democratic opposition candidate. He was not reelected in 1986, but he remained active in politics for several years. With his mandate ended, and abandoned by his tribe, he found himself in misery in Brasilia. He died on July 18, 2002, due to complications from diabetes.
He was born in Xavante
Xavante
The Xavante are an indigenous people, comprising some 9,600 individuals within the territory of eastern Mato Grosso state in Brazil...
Namurunjá village, near Barra do Garças, in the state of Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
. He was the son of the cacique (chief) Apoenã
Apoena
The Apoena is a Low Altitude Long Endurance unmanned aerial vehicle designed for several kinds of highly persistent sensing roles.Its project focused on reliability, with the platform, hardware and software development based on FAR 23, DO-160 and DO-178B standards, respectively.There are two...
. He lived in the jungle, without contact with civilization, until the age of 17, when he became cacique.
In the 1970s he became famous for walking the halls of FUNAI
Funai
Funai Electric is a Japanese consumer electronics company headquartered in Daitō, Osaka. The company was founded in 1961. It owns the subsidiary Funai Corporation, Inc., established in the United States since 1991, to market and maintain Funai-licensed brands such as Sylvania, Emerson Radio,...
, in Brasilia
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
to fight for land rights of Indians, while carrying a tape-recorder, which he used to record everything that was said to him and to prove that the authorities, in most cases, did not keep their word.
He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil
Chamber of Deputies of Brazil
The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. As of 2006, the chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms...
by the Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Labour Party
The Democratic Labour Party is a name used by many political parties:* Democratic Labour Party * Democratic Labour Party * Democratic Labour Party of Lithuania* Democratic Labour Party...
from 1983–1987, representing Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. His election had strong repercussions in Brazil and the world. He was responsible for the creation of a permanent commission for Indians, which brought formal recognition to issues related to Indians. In 1984, he denounced the businessman Calim Eid as having attempted to bribed him to vote for Paulo Maluf
Paulo Maluf
Paulo Salim Maluf is a Brazilian politician with a career spanning over four decades and many functions, including those of State Governor of São Paulo, Mayor of the City of São Paulo, Congressman and Presidential candidate. As of 2011, Maluf is on a second consecutive term as Federal Deputy...
, the presidential candidate supported by the military regime then in power. He voted for Tancredo Neves
Tancredo Neves
Tancredo de Almeida Neves, SFO more commonly Tancredo Neves was a Brazilian politician. He was born in São João del Rey, in the state of Minas Gerais, of mostly Portuguese, but also Austrian descent and graduated in law. The Neves family name comes from an Azorean great great grandfather...
, the democratic opposition candidate. He was not reelected in 1986, but he remained active in politics for several years. With his mandate ended, and abandoned by his tribe, he found himself in misery in Brasilia. He died on July 18, 2002, due to complications from diabetes.