Sônia Guajajara

Sônia Bone Guajajara OMC (born 6 March 1974) is a Brazilian environmental and indigenous activist and politician.

Sônia Guajajara
Born	6 March 1974 Maranhão, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian

Biography

Sônia Guajajara was born among the Guajajara people in a village in the Amazonian rainforest in Maranhão.[1] She studied at an agricultural college in Minas Gerais and continued studies in education at the Federal University of Maranhão.[2]

She was Socialism and Liberty Party candidate for the vice-presidency of Brazil in the 2018 general elections as Guilherme Boulos' running mate. Guajajara was the first indigenous person to run for a federal executive office in Brazil.[3][1] She has organized a number of demonstrations in support of indigenous rights in Brazil and facilitated a meeting of indigenous leaders with then President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff in 2013.[4]

Guajajara is the leader of Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil), an organization that represents around 300 indigenous ethnic groups in Brazil.[1]

In 2015, she was named to the Brazilian Ordem do Mérito Cultural.[1] She was also awarded a medal by Maranhão state.

In 2020, she has been calling for urgent environmental action amid the existential threat posed by the coronavirus.[5]

References

1. "Sônia Guajajara". Green Cross International.
2. "Coordenadora da APIB, indígena Sonia Guajajara é cotada como vice de Boulos". Combate Racismo Ambiental (in Portuguese).
3. "Conheça Sônia Guajajara, primeira indígena em uma pré-candidatura presidencial" (in Portuguese). Partido Socialismo e Liberdade. 2018-03-14.
4. "Sônia Guajajara" (in French). Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale.
5. "For Brazil's indigenous people, COVID-19 is only the latest battle". Huck Magazine. 2020-04-28. Retrieved 2020-06-27.