Chaos prevailed at the venue of the 30th UN Climate Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil with hundreds protesters who were even holding poles to forcefully invade and clash with the security guards at the entrance.
Indigenous protesters tried to enter the venue where the summit is being held in Brazil, an extremely rare event at a UN climate meeting. Some waved flags with slogans or held signs reading “our land is not for sale”.
On Tuesday night (11.11.2025) indigenous peoples and their supporters completed a climate and health march and began dancing in front of the entrance to the COP30 venue in Belem, a city in the Brazilian Amazon forest. They then entered the venue, before being violently pushed back by security personnel.
An eyewitness told Reuters he saw a security guard being rushed into a wheelchair while holding his stomach. Another security guard said he was hit in the head by a barrel thrown by a protester and had a cut on his forehead. An indigenous leader from the Tupinaba community near the lower reaches of the Tapajos River in Brazil told Reuters residents were upset by continued development in the forest.
Security personnel then blocked entrances to the “blue zone”, the heart of the site where the UN meeting is being held, with tables and chairs.
URGENT
Indigenous people and protesters wearing PSOL shirts invaded the entrance to the blue zone at COP30. A security guard from an outsourced company was injured.
Protesters called for taxation of large-scale looting to cover financing against… pic.twitter.com/KZGB4FxTBt
— Rita Borges (@Kika_Presley) November 11, 2025
“The indigenous movement wanted to present their claims inside the blue zone, but they were not allowed to enter,” said Joao Santiago, a professor at the federal university in Para.
Is it war?
No, it’s Lula’s Flop 30Tupinambá indigenous people and protesters linked to the PSOL invade the COP 30 headquarters in Belém.
The protest is about taxing large fortunes to finance climate policies.
How low would it be, Brazil!!! pic.twitter.com/LPR4bpCDY2— Luli (@crisdemarchii) November 12, 2025
Security is the responsibility of the UN within the meeting premises. Police officers working for the international organization yesterday asked those still present to leave the site, which includes large air-conditioned tents in particular.
COP30 Brazil
When you go to Belém, in the hell of NGOs (more than 100 thousand identified), the epicenter of the Soros galaxy… pic.twitter.com/roohgnByN4
— Jaime Horta (@JaimeHorta17) November 11, 2025
Maria Clara, a protester and member of the collective Rede Sustentabilidade Bahia (“sustainability network in Bahia”), said that the demonstrators had taken part in a march and wanted to warn about the situation of “indigenous peoples”, but “their voices were ignored”.
“Arriving here, they entered the COP30 site to be able to emphasize that the session will end but the destruction will continue,” added the young woman.
The UN, contacted by AFP, did not provide any information or comment on the incidents.
The skirmishes and protestors’ discontent are in stark contrast to the Brazilian government’s desire for this session to be “the best” in terms of “indigenous participation,” as Brazilian indigenous affairs minister Sonia Guazazara told AFP last week.