At the time of the Portuguese arrival, there were approximately 6 million indigenous people, in 1,400 different groups, living in Brazil. Today, there are only 300,000 indigenous people left, in 200 different groups, speaking 170 languages. Roads were driven directly through Indian reserves, spreading disease and introducing prostitution and alcohol. Indigenous groups are fighting to get their communal territories officially marked, but the encroachment and invasion continues. Loggers and gold prospectors have murdered Ticuna and Yanomami Indians.
River pollution leads to further deaths, through food poisoning, and malnutrition.
Cases of violence against Indians have increased in recent years. Members of the indigenous community are marching in force towards Porto Seguro, the centrepiece of the celebrations, where the Portuguese landed 500 years ago. In Porto Seguro, which is part of the indigenous Pataxo land, the Brazilian government has placed a 12-metre steel cross, a museum, shopping complex and landscaped pathways. This month, the military police invaded the Pataxo reservation to destroy an alternative monument created by the Indians. Although Brazil, which is the size of Europe, is underpopulated, there are 20 million landless peasants.