The ceremony for the repatriation of the Tupinambá cloak was marked by debates between indigenous leaders and President Lula this Thursday (12) at the National Museum in Rio, where the piece will be displayed.

The president responded to a manifesto signed by 23 villages in Bahia regarding the dissatisfaction of indigenous peoples with the handling of the indigenous agenda by the federal government. The text also contains criticisms of the National Congress and the Judiciary, for the approval of the time frame law.

"We have today the worst Congress in history, an egocentric and partial Judiciary, and a weakened government, chained to alliances and deals to stay in power. They do not respect the laws or international treaties and conventions. We live in a distorted democracy," said Yakuy Tupinambá, an elder and indigenous leader.

"If I had the power she [Yakuy] thinks I have, I wouldn't be here celebrating a cloak. I would be celebrating the lives of millions of indigenous people who died in this country, enslaved by the European colonizer," Lula responded. "Here, there is no subservience to stay in power. I don't need that."