Yet another indigenous prayer house burns down in Mato Grosso do Sul

A prayer house in the Aty Guasu village in the Tekoha Yta’i Kagurusu indigenous territory in Douradina Mato Grosso do Sul state, was set on fire in the early hours of December 29. Elderly people and teenagers who were sleeping there managed to get out unharmed. The case is being investigated by the city’s Civil Police.

As in previous occasions, there’s a strong suspicion that the crime was motivated by religious intolerance. A witness reported having smelled gasoline and heard the sound of gunshots. According to the report of the General Assembly of the Kaiowá and Guarani People (Aty Guasu), which recorded the fire in a video posted on social networks, death threats and threats of arson against the oga pysy (as the prayer houses are called) are frequent. The leaders ask the Federal Police (PF) and the Federal Public Prosecution (MPF) to investigate the fact.

In a December 14 report, UOL TAB investigated how the growing presence of evangelical churches and political disputes in indigenous territories are related to the recurring manifestations of religious intolerance against the Guarani Kaiowá population.