Representatives of Brazil’s indigenous community have strongly warned Switzerland against ratifying the free-trade agreement with the Mercosur states. They say easier market access would come at the expense of the environment and the indigenous population. “Anyone who feels committed to the environment cannot support this free-trade agreement,” Sonia Guajajara, general-secretary of the indigenous umbrella organisation APIB, said at a press conference in Bern on Thursday. Together with eight other representatives of the Brazilian indigenous population, Guajajara is on a European tour in her fight against free-trade agreements. The deal between the Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and the EU and EFTA countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) are “primarily about the profits of companies and not about the well-being of people and the environment”, she said. Guajajara said she was very concerned about the policies of Brazilian ...
