On the eve of the Amazon Synod, people in the Amazon region are in a bad mood. A mural in the city of Sinop (MT) 500 km from the capitalof Cuiabá, depicting Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, 16, criticized by city council members, was defaced on Tuesday, October 1. On her face was written, “Lula is in jail, you fool!” According to City Hall, the street art, created to reflect environmental issues, will be erased.

The mural was done by artist Matias Souza during a graffiti event to revitalize the São Cristóvão overpass. The painting was defaced three days after completion.

Also attacked was a mural on Chief Raoni Metuktire, done by the Amazonian Raiz Campos. Raoni, seen as one of the main indigenous leaders in Brazil, has come under criticism from President Jair Bolsonaro.

The murals displeased regional politicians and agribusiness representatives. During a session at the Sinop Town Hall the day before yesterday, city council members criticized the two murals. Councilman Hedvaldo Costa (PR) said the graffiti was an attempt by artists to brand the region’s rural producers as “destroyers of Indians and nature.” “Whoever works in agriculture is complying with the law,” he said.

“We have decided that her image will be replaced by a macaw or matrinxã, which is a typical fish of the region,” said Sinop Culture Director Daniel Coutinho. As for Raoni’s graffiti, he said there is no decision yet as to whether they will erase it.

“If event organizers understand that it is better to delete it as well, they may do so,” he said. For Coutinho, the images do not fit the bill. “They were meant to reproduce the fauna and flora of the region,” he says.

Source: O Tempo

Translated by the staff of Pan-Amazon Synod-Watch.

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