Attacked by Bolsonaro, Raoni Was Among Favorites for Nobel Peace Price

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On a tour of Europe, he visited Geneva and told UOL that he wanted to meet the president. His goal was to debate the demarcation of his lands and the protection of the country’s forest.

“He [Bolsonaro] said a lot and I didn’t like it. But I want to sit down with him to see if we can find a solution,” he said at the time. “I want to meet with Bolsonaro to get him to sign a decree to ensure demarcation. That’s all I want,” he said.

The meeting never took place. The fires began to take over the international agenda, and instead of dialogue, the world learned in September about Bolsonaro’s thoughts about the chief.

In his opening speech at the UN General Assembly, the Brazilian president attacked Raoni, denounced an alleged manipulation of his image and decreed that his “monopoly” had ended.

Bolsonaro also cautioned: he will no longer demarcate land while he is president. But now Raoni may once again be a thorn in the government’s side

Today, the Nobel Peace Prize organizers have announced Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed Ali as the winner for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

Though Ahmed Ali won the prize, names such as Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and Raoni were among the most frequently mentioned and gained therefore massively in international prestige.

There were many foreign publications that ranked Raoni among the top five favorites. One of them, Time Magazine, recalls that the chief “spent his life protecting his home, the Amazon rainforest”. In his presentation, there are plenty of references to Bolsonaro and to fires.

At Skybet, Raoni ranked fourth in the betting markets and, in the press in different languages, his name is among the “favorites”.

The Nobel is not the only prize Raoni is running for. The European Parliament has appointed him as one of the five finalists to receive the Sakharov Prize, the European Union’s main human rights tribute. Rio de Janeiro’s murdered city Councilor Marielle Franco and Brazilian environmentalist Claudelice Silva dos Santos are also on the list.

Source: UOL

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