Bolsonaro visits indigenous reservations in Amazon for first time

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro listens to national anthem next to an indigenous person at the Yanomami tribe reservation bordering Venezuela in Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas state, Brazil, May 27, 2021. Marcos Correa/Handout via REUTERS

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro visited two indigenous reservations in the Amazon on Thursday for the first time as head of state, despite protests from some tribal leaders against his drive to open up their protected lands to commercial mining.

Bolsonaro, flanked by army officers and a Tukano chieftain with feather head-dress, watched the local community perform a ritual dance at the Balaio reservation, where he inaugurated a bridge.