Thousands of indigenous people marched this Wednesday through Brasilia to the Supreme Court, which began to analyze a key case about the rights to their ancestral lands. The organizers claim that it is the largest indigenous mobilization in the history of Brazil, with six thousand participants from 170 different ethnic groups camping since sunday in the central region of the capital, seat of the three powers.
Specific, the Brazilian Court must resolve the ruling of an appeals court in relation to a territory of the state of Santa Catarina vindicated by the Xokleng, Guaranà and Kaingang peoples. The new legislation that is put to the vote as of Wednesday aims to adopt the criterion of “temporal framework” for the demarcation of indigenous lands, recognizing as ancestral lands only those that were occupied by them when the 1988 Constitution was promulgated.
“Systematic persecution”
Under the slogan “Fight for life”, the indigenous movements marched towards the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in the afternoon, when the Court opened the session in which it began to address a case that will have repercussions in dozens of litigation over its natural reserves. Wearing typical costumes, to the sound of songs and traditional instruments, on Tuesday they had carried out a night vigil with thousands of candles arranged in the Plaza de los Tres Poderes, surrounded by the buildings of the Presidency, Congress and the STF.
The indigenous people are protesting against what they consider a “systematic persecution” by the far-right government of Jair Bolsonaro since he came to power in 2019. “This government is attacking indigenous peoples”said the chief Syrata Pataxo, of the Pataxo indigenous people, originally from Bahia (northeast). “All humanity today cries out for the protection of the Amazon. But this government wants the jungle, the lung of our planet, to be replaced by soy and mining”added the 32-year-old leader.
Ancestral lands
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), which organizes the protests, considers that what is in the hands of the highest court is “the most important process of the century” for the 900,000 indigenous people currently living in the country (0.5 percent of the population) and whose reserves occupy 13 percent of the vast national territory.
The case revolves around the right of indigenous people to occupy and preserve their ancestral lands, which was guaranteed to them in the Brazilian Constitution of 1988.. The agribusiness lobby defends that only those lands that were occupied by them when the Magna Carta was promulgated should be recognized as indigenous lands.
But the defenders of indigenous peoples maintain that the Constitution does not provide such a “time frame” and that indigenous people were displaced from their territories throughout history, especially during the military dictatorship (1964-1985).
“All of Brazil is indigenous land. We never left this land, we were always here”, Held Tai kariri, 28-year-old leader of the town with the same name from the state of Paraiba (northeast). The decision, which could require more than one session and not even air this week, It is on a reserve in the southern state of Santa Catarina, but it will have a general impact and may affect numerous other disputed lands.
“If the Supreme Court accepts the time frame, it will be able to legitimize violence against indigenous peoples and stimulate conflicts in the Amazon rainforest and other regions.”said in a statement Francisco Cali Tzay, UN Special Rapporteur for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The court “will have indigenous blood on its hands” if you support that thesis, said the indigenous leader Alexandra munduruku.
President Jair Bolsonaro warned Tuesday that rejecting the time-frame argument could lead to “chaos”. Far from being attentive to the needs of indigenous peoples, Bolsonaro promotes a law to legalize mining and agribusiness within indigenous lands.
Since the far-right president came to power, the indigenous people have multiplied their complaints about invasions of their lands and acts of violence. They also question the omissions of the government in the prevention and care of indigenous peoples against coronavirus that has left 1,166 dead and more than 58 thousand infected in their communities, according to figures from Apib.
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