Legislative Setbacks against Indigenous Peoples and the Environment
This content was originally published as a public statement by the APIB (Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil) website on May 29, 2023. APIB is one of the WBO affiliated organizations.
On Wednesday, May 24, the Chamber of Deputies [House of Representatives] approved an urgent request to approve Bill 490/07, which intends to transform the timeframe (marco temporal) for the demarcations of Indigenous lands into law. The provision states that Indigenous peoples would only have the right to the demarcation of lands if they were in their possession on October 5, 1988, the date of promulgation of the Federal Constitution. In addition, a joint committee, made up of congressional representatives and senators, also approved the text of Provisional Measure 1154 that removes the responsibility for the demarcation of Indigenous lands from the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI).
With its approval, the Provisional Measure, which must still be voted on in a session of the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate, returns the authority over the demarcations of ancestral territories to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. PL 490 will be voted in the House in its next session on May 30th. Leaders of the Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (Articulation of Indigenous Peoples, APIB) insist that the proposed law and the Provisional Measure represent a setback for the rights of indigenous peoples and for the preservation of Brazilian biomes.
“What we saw on the 24th is a shame for national politics. With PL 490 and the Provisional Measure, Congress wants to make the demarcation of indigenous lands unfeasible. This is a big setback for the rights of the original peoples and for the preservation of the environment, since we are the true guardians of the Brazilian biomes”, says Dinamam Tuxá, executive coordinator of APIB.
Tuxá and other indigenous leaders were in the Chamber of Deputies to follow the session of the joint committee commission, but were prevented from speaking by members of the session that debated MP 1154.
“These measures and the judgment in the STF can define the future of indigenous peoples in Brazil. Failing to demarcate indigenous lands, a right provided for in the Federal Constitution, is to put the lives of [our] relatives at stake. It is to legalize the violations that occurred in the past and encourage the extermination of original peoples”
A study published by the Mapbiomas Brasil Organization states that over the last 30 years indigenous lands have lost only 1% of all native vegetation, largely caused by the invasion of these territories by land grabbers, loggers, prospectors, and miners. In areas under private ownership, the loss of native vegetation was 20.6%11. Data from the United Nations also point out that traditional Indigenous territories cover 28% of the world's land surface, but are home to 80% of all planetary biodiversity.
Kleber Karipuna, another coordinator of APIB, points out that the rush to approve the measures in Congress is a retaliation for the resumption of the hearing by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) on the issue of a setting time frame, which is scheduled to take place on June 7th. “These measures and the judgment in the STF can define the future of indigenous peoples in Brazil. Failing to demarcate indigenous lands, a right provided for in the Federal Constitution, is to put the lives of [our] relatives at stake. It is to legalize the violations that occurred in the past and encourage the extermination of original peoples”.
Technical note No. 05/2023 from APIB's legal department points out, in addition to the issue of the timeframe for demarcations, other threats to Brazilian Indigenous people presented in PL 490. According to the document, the draft law provides for the authorization of the construction of highways, hydroelectric projects and other works on Indigenous lands without a prior free and informed consultation with the affected communities, violating international treaties to which Brazil is a signatory, such as Convention No. 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The draft bill also authorizes anyone to question demarcation procedures at all stages of the process (including the territories already approved), making the pro-Indigenous policy of not contacting Indigenous peoples in a situation of voluntary isolation more flexible and reformulating constitutional concepts of pro-Indigenous policy, such as the traditional occupation, original right, and exclusive use.
“Bill 490/07 is unconstitutional, as it violates the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples provided for in the Constitution. In addition, the right to land is an original right. Without territory, there is no health and no education for native peoples. This directly compromises the environmental services provided by Indigenous peoples in the conservation of native vegetation, which has consequences for the system of rainfall, for example,” says Maurício Terena, Indigenous lawyer and coordinator of APIB's legal department.
Timeframe at the Supreme Court
A judgment about the timeframe for demarcations has been paralyzed for almost two years in the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The judgment deals with the merits, with a repossession action (Extraordinary Appeal No. 1,017,365) involving the Xokleng Ibirama Laklaño Indigenous Land of the Xokleng, Kaingang and Guarani peoples and the state of Santa Catarina. Given its general repercussions, the decision taken in this case will serve as a guideline for all cases involving the demarcation of Indigenous lands in the country.
In 2021, the trial was suspended after a request for a review (providing more time to analyze the case) by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The suspension took place after the votes of Justice Nunes Marques, in favor of the anti-Indigenous provision, and of Justice Luiz Edson Fachin, who voted against the demarcation timeframe and in favor of indigenous rights.
The Articulação dos Povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB) has closely followed both PL 490 and the Supreme Court case. From June 5 to 8 Indigenous peoples will camp again in Brasília and encourage mobilizations against the timeframe throughout the country. “We are going to camp again in Brasilia and fight for Indigenous rights, but this can and should happen anywhere. Relatives, raise your banner and your maraca and let's fight together!” declared Val Eloy, executive coordinator of APIB for the Terena Council.
