At 102 years old, retired Guarani chief Joao Vera Mirim may be voting for the last time as he casts his ballot in Brazil's presidential run-off, hoping this time will be different.
His shallow wrinkles belying his more than 10 decades, the indigenous leader greeted fellow voters with a contagious smile as he descended from his small village in the hills to the seaside town of Angra dos Reis to vote in Sunday's election.
But behind his smile lay deep frustration with the failure of Brazilian politics to address the concerns of the sprawling South American country's indigenous people.
"Almost no candidate remembers the indigenous, what we suffer, what we're going through," he said after casting his ballot for incumbent Dilma Rousseff.
He said his choice was more a vote against center-right challenger Aecio Neves than a vote for the incumbent or her Workers' Party, which has now governed for 12 years -- four under Rousseff and eight under her mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
"I've supported Dilma, I've supported Lula and I'm still waiting for an answer," said Vera Mirim, who dressed up in a striped blue shirt, navy dress pants and a cowboy hat to go to the polls.
"We need healthcare, healthcare, healthcare," he told AFP outside his polling station in Angra dos Reis, a beach town about a two-hour drive west of Rio de Janeiro.
Rousseff has vowed to strengthen government programs for indigenous communities, as well as healthcare and education.
But Vera Mirim, who has voted in every election since the return to democracy at the end of Brazil's military dictatorship in 1985, said he was doubtful.
His nephew Domingos Taendy, 63, who took over as local chief when Vera Mirim retired, said he also felt abandoned by politicians and plans to run for the state legislature himself in the next elections, in 2018.
"A lot of presidents promise a lot and do nothing," he said.
"The government doesn't give us anything. We get by selling crafts. But it's hard because the earth here isn't fertile, and we have to buy our food at the market."
- Indigenous protests -
There are almost 900,000 indigenous people in Brazil, from 305 different ethnic groups, or about 0.4 percent of the population.
In Bracui, the hamlet in the hills above Angra dos Reis where Taendy is cacique, or chief, 87 families live in rustic wood houses with thatched roofs.
Of the 435 people who live in the community, 182 are registered voters. Many of them do not speak Portuguese, the national language.
The rainforest enclave has stunning views over the island-dotted bay below, but seems a world apart from the luxury condominiums on the coast.
Vera Mirim managed to get the government to grant the community formal title to its ancestral lands 24 years ago -- a battle many indigenous groups are still fighting, fending off encroaching farmers and a powerful agrobusiness lobby.
Indigenous groups have protested against Rousseff's government, accusing it of holding up the process.
The protests have sometimes turned violent, with indigenous leaders decked out in traditional feather headdress firing arrows at police.
- 'Time for change' -
Politics didn't interrupt the routine in Bracui on the eve of the election.
Small groups of Guarani gathered around the hamlet's dirt football pitch, teens listening to music or using their cell phones, children running around barefoot, the players immersed in the national game.
Nearby, young people took turns at two arcade games set up inside a hut.
Others played on laptops or cell phones -- a 21st-century generation speaking Guarani.
Anderson Silveira, a 23-year-old who recently finished high school and was on his way to a party, said he was planning to vote for Neves.
"The truth is I don't know why. I just think it's time for a change," he said.
Many community members were reluctant to talk politics. But it was clear neither candidate had swept them off their feet.
"Nobody talks about indigenous people. We'll see what they end up doing," said Taendy.
At 102 years old, retired Guarani chief Joao Vera Mirim may be voting for the last time as he casts his ballot in Brazil’s presidential run-off, hoping this time will be different.
His shallow wrinkles belying his more than 10 decades, the indigenous leader greeted fellow voters with a contagious smile as he descended from his small village in the hills to the seaside town of Angra dos Reis to vote in Sunday’s election.
But behind his smile lay deep frustration with the failure of Brazilian politics to address the concerns of the sprawling South American country’s indigenous people.
“Almost no candidate remembers the indigenous, what we suffer, what we’re going through,” he said after casting his ballot for incumbent Dilma Rousseff.
He said his choice was more a vote against center-right challenger Aecio Neves than a vote for the incumbent or her Workers’ Party, which has now governed for 12 years — four under Rousseff and eight under her mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“I’ve supported Dilma, I’ve supported Lula and I’m still waiting for an answer,” said Vera Mirim, who dressed up in a striped blue shirt, navy dress pants and a cowboy hat to go to the polls.
“We need healthcare, healthcare, healthcare,” he told AFP outside his polling station in Angra dos Reis, a beach town about a two-hour drive west of Rio de Janeiro.
Rousseff has vowed to strengthen government programs for indigenous communities, as well as healthcare and education.
But Vera Mirim, who has voted in every election since the return to democracy at the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship in 1985, said he was doubtful.
His nephew Domingos Taendy, 63, who took over as local chief when Vera Mirim retired, said he also felt abandoned by politicians and plans to run for the state legislature himself in the next elections, in 2018.
“A lot of presidents promise a lot and do nothing,” he said.
“The government doesn’t give us anything. We get by selling crafts. But it’s hard because the earth here isn’t fertile, and we have to buy our food at the market.”
– Indigenous protests –
There are almost 900,000 indigenous people in Brazil, from 305 different ethnic groups, or about 0.4 percent of the population.
In Bracui, the hamlet in the hills above Angra dos Reis where Taendy is cacique, or chief, 87 families live in rustic wood houses with thatched roofs.
Of the 435 people who live in the community, 182 are registered voters. Many of them do not speak Portuguese, the national language.
The rainforest enclave has stunning views over the island-dotted bay below, but seems a world apart from the luxury condominiums on the coast.
Vera Mirim managed to get the government to grant the community formal title to its ancestral lands 24 years ago — a battle many indigenous groups are still fighting, fending off encroaching farmers and a powerful agrobusiness lobby.
Indigenous groups have protested against Rousseff’s government, accusing it of holding up the process.
The protests have sometimes turned violent, with indigenous leaders decked out in traditional feather headdress firing arrows at police.
– ‘Time for change’ –
Politics didn’t interrupt the routine in Bracui on the eve of the election.
Small groups of Guarani gathered around the hamlet’s dirt football pitch, teens listening to music or using their cell phones, children running around barefoot, the players immersed in the national game.
Nearby, young people took turns at two arcade games set up inside a hut.
Others played on laptops or cell phones — a 21st-century generation speaking Guarani.
Anderson Silveira, a 23-year-old who recently finished high school and was on his way to a party, said he was planning to vote for Neves.
“The truth is I don’t know why. I just think it’s time for a change,” he said.
Many community members were reluctant to talk politics. But it was clear neither candidate had swept them off their feet.
“Nobody talks about indigenous people. We’ll see what they end up doing,” said Taendy.
