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Brazil's President Lula da Silva: First public (video) appearance since his hip surgery at the end of September

Photo: EVARISTO SA / AFP

Brazilian President Lula da Silva vetoed a law that threatened to undermine the protection of the land rights of indigenous peoples. The bill proposed to make the date of promulgation of the current Brazilian Constitution the deadline for determining which land claims of indigenous peoples would have to be taken into account. Accordingly, an indigenous people claiming a territory would have had to prove that they had already lived there before 5 October 1988 or had attempted to claim the territory through legal means.

Brazil's Supreme Court had already rejected this in September, but the Senate approved the request anyway. Conservative senators, who are said to be close to Brazil's powerful agricultural lobby, approved the bill with 43 votes in favor and 21 against. Lula had until Friday to use a presidential veto to block all or part of the law. He did so "at the last minute": Lula da Silva had undergone hip surgery on September 28 and had not appeared in public since.

Agricultural lobbyists claim that the law is necessary to limit the alleged "expansion of indigenous territories." Representatives of indigenous peoples see it the other way around: they see their settlement area under pressure from industrial interests. The concept of the "cut-off date" set for 1988 ignores the fact that indigenous people were affected by expulsions and forced resettlements, especially during the two decades of Brazil's military dictatorship (1964 to 1985). Many originally indigenous territories were not inhabited by indigenous people at that time because they had been deported.

No outright rejection of the law

Lula's veto refers only to parts of the bill that directly relate to this cut-off date or are considered harmful to the rights of indigenous peoples. This also includes licensing regulations for mining projects or the cultivation of genetically modified seeds.

The news was largely received positively by indigenous representatives. The veto is "a great victory," said Sonia Guajajara, acting minister for indigenous peoples. Others reacted somewhat more cautiously, as indigenous groups had demanded a rejection of the entire law. The president's failure to veto the parts that he believes are in line with indigenous policies since 1988 still poses "very serious problems for indigenous peoples," said Célia Xakriabá, a parliamentarian from the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. We will continue to mobilize to secure our rights," she added via text message on a social media network.

Lula's partial veto is probably to be understood strategically: the president does not have a majority in Congress that could override his veto. Lula may hope that this would be more difficult to implement in the event of only a partial rejection.

Since taking office in January 2023, Lula has, among other things, recognized eight new indigenous territories, and his policies are also considered significantly more environmentally oriented than those of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. On Friday, Germany announced that aid payments to protect the rainforest in the Amazon, which were suspended under Bolsonaro, would be resumed.

Bolsonaro is now under growing legal pressure. On Thursday, a parliamentary committee called for the ex-president and 60 of his supporters to be indicted on charges including attempted coup, political violence and criminal conspiracy.

Bolsonaro's supporters had tried to storm Congress after losing the election and prevent the transfer of power – apparently following the example of Donald Trump's supporters in the US. However, Bolsonaro is accused of numerous other offenses. On Friday, two intelligence officers were arrested on charges of illegal surveillance practices.

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