Avá‑Guarani remain displaced

Avá-Guarani families uprooted by the Itaipu dam in the 1970s and 1980s are still living without full recognition or land restitution on the Paraguay-Brazil border, five decades later. (theguardian.com) The Itaipu hydroelectric dam flooded traditional Avá-Guarani territory along the Paraná River after Brazil and Paraguay built the project as a joint venture in the 1970s and 1980s. Itaipu is one of the world’s largest hydroelectric plants, and Indigenous groups have long said its reservoir erased villages, farmland and burial sites. (amnesty.org ) (theguardian.com) In Brazil, the dispute moved in March 2025 when the Supreme Federal Court endorsed a settlement for Itaipu Binacional to finance the purchase of 3,000 hectares for Avá-Guarani communities in western Paraná. The agreement set a funding cap of 240 million reais and covered communities in Tekoha Guasu Guavirá and Tekoha Guasu Okoy Jakutinga. (stf.jus.br) (gov.br) That deal did not settle the wider cross-border claim. Amnesty International said in April 2025 that the land purchase in Brazil was only a partial remedy and that “integral reparation” remained pending for Avá Guaraní Paranaense communities, especially on the Paraguayan side. (amnesty.org) The timing is sharper now because even the Brazilian settlement is moving slowly. Brazil’s public broadcaster reported on April 8, 2026, that Itaipu had acquired 709 of the promised 3,000 hectares, or less than one quarter, and that 182 families were living on the purchased land. (agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br) The same report said Itaipu, the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples, and Avá-Guarani communities blamed bureaucracy and resistance from landowners for the delays. Community leaders in Missal and Terra Roxa said families still lacked basics including water, electricity and road access after moving. (agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br) Paraguay has not matched Brazil’s court-backed process with an equivalent restitution plan, according to Amnesty International and The Guardian. The Guardian reported that displaced families there say state agencies used narrow criteria to deny them official Indigenous recognition and the rights tied to it. (amnesty.org) (theguardian.com) Brazilian officials have publicly acknowledged the historical harm. At the March 24, 2025 ceremony in Itaipulândia, Indigenous Peoples Minister Sonia Guajajara called the accord a partial reparation and said negotiations would continue so Avá-Guarani people could regain access to their “traditional sacred territory.” (gov.br) For the families still in limbo, the gap is concrete: Brazil has a court-approved plan that is behind schedule, while communities across the border in Paraguay are still fighting to be officially recognized as Indigenous people displaced by the same dam. (stf.jus.br) (agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br) (theguardian.com)