Kayapo and Panará block the BR-163

On Friday, September 25, Kayapo and Panará leaders gathered along the BR-163 highway in Novo Progresso, Pará. They had one clear demand for Via Brasil, the company that runs the highway: keep your commitments to the communities whose land this road cuts through.

The peaceful protest was organized by three Indigenous organizations: Instituto Kabu, Associação Iakiô and Associação Indígena Mantinó. With emergency protection measures set to expire on September 30, they say time is running out.

The BR-163 runs from Mato Grosso in the south to the Amazon River near Santarém in the north. It’s the main route for moving soy, corn and other grain out to overseas markets, and hundreds, sometimes thousands, of trucks pass through Novo Progresso on it every day.

Because the highway affects the Panará, Baú and Menkragnoti Indigenous Territories, the concessionaire is required to fund measures that reduce its impacts. These fall under the Indigenous Component of the Basic Environmental Plan (PBA-CI). Until the final plan is approved, a series of emergency measures funds the teams, infrastructure and territorial protection work the communities depend on.

The third cycle of those measures ends on September 30. Without a fourth cycle in place, all of that work could stop.

In August 2026, after a thorough process of consulting their communities, the three organizations sent their proposals for the next cycle to Via Brasil and the Federal Court. The company’s reply came on September 4, and the associations say it fell short. Via Brasil asked for more time for technical analysis and questioned the amounts, but it did not dispute any of the proposed measures individually.

The emergency measures were only ever meant to be temporary. They were supposed to be replaced by the final PBA-CI, but that plan has faced repeated delays.

In a filing to the Federal Court on August 31, 2026, the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai) noted that the agreed timeline hadn’t been met. The plan was due in January but was only filed on May 29, after a series of extension requests. Funai also found no evidence that the Indigenous organizations had been consulted about the changes to the timeline. Key pieces are still missing, including architectural and engineering designs and a work plan for maintaining and repairing the access roads to the villages.

For the organizations, repeated emergency cycles that don’t cover the communities’ real needs can’t replace the plan they were promised.

The stakes go well beyond paperwork. According to data from the Rede Xingu+ network cited by the organizations, illegal gold mining and other illicit activities are pushing into the borders of Indigenous lands. There are signs that the BR-163 itself and access roads near the villages are being used as logistics routes for these activities.

That’s why leaders see the PBA-CI’s surveillance and territorial protection measures as essential. Without them, the communities lose key tools for defending their land.

The courts have started to respond. On September 2, the judge of the Federal Civil and Criminal Court of Altamira ordered Funai, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and Via Brasil to respond on the immediate payment of minimum amounts. That payment would keep the emergency measures running while the full proposals are reviewed.

The current cycle ends on September 30. The communities are asking for answers before then.

This highway cuts through Kayapo and Panará territory and profits from it every day. The least the company can do is honor what it owes.