Brazil: MEPs limit demarcation of indigenous lands, setback for Lula and the Amazon

In the midst of the climate crisis, the right-wing and far-right majority in Brazil's Lower House adopted a law on Tuesday (May 30th) that limits the demarcation of indigenous lands to the areas they occupied when the current Constitution, i.e. 1988, was promulgated. A measure criticized by indigenous associations and authorities who stress that they have suffered intensive evictions and killings, especially under the 20 years of dictatorship. The Amazon could be strongly impacted, in what is also a serious setback for the Brazilian president.

Indigenous organizations protested against the proposed law, which reverses a decades-long trend of territorial demarcation, here in Brasilia, May 30, 2023. © Gustavo Moreno / AP

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A decision against the will of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Since his return to power in January, the president has pledged to make the protection of indigenous peoples and the preservation of the Amazon a top priority: in April, his government recognized six new indigenous territories.

With 283 votes to 155, the members of the House adopted this text which will limit indigenous lands to those they occupied at the time of the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution. But the indigenous people argue that they did not occupy certain lands in 1988 because they had been driven out over the centuries, especially during the military dictatorship (1964-1985), where they were hunted down and killed intensively.

If this decision is a setback for the president, it can also be for the preservation of the Amazon rainforest. According to scientists, this method is particularly effective in protecting the largest tropical forest in the world, because it effectively prohibits mining, intensive agriculture and deforestation of the territories concerned.

Jair Bolsonaro left Brasilia, but his supporters remain strong

With an active preservation policy, President Lula's measures have been widely welcomed by the international community. Because during the four years under his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, the lung of the planet that is the Amazon had experienced record deforestation.

But if Jair Bolsonaro no longer directs Brazil's destiny, the right, close to the agri-food industry, is stronger than ever in Parliament. The bill limiting the demarcation, which still needs to be submitted to the Senate before coming into force, has been promoted by pro-food deputies and other opposition groups.

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It is a genocide against indigenous peoples but also an attack on the environment " said Brazilian Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sonia Guajajara, a post created by Lula da Silva whose prerogatives are also likely to be curtailed by the opposition in the coming days.

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The Chamber of Deputies has sent a message to the country and the world: Bolsonaro is gone, but the extermination continues (...) The Senate has an obligation to reverse the approved nonsense," the environmental organization Observatorio do Clima said in a statement.

The deputies adopted the bill under an urgent procedure, under which it could be voted directly in plenary, without first going through committees.

Brazil has a total of 764 indigenous peoples' territories, but about a third of them have not yet been demarcated, according to figures from the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI).

Parliament could strip departments of their powers

Brazil's parliament could inflict another defeat on Lula later this week, if it approves a plan to change the responsibilities of several ministries, including those of Environment and Indigenous Peoples.

The text provides, inter alia, for the withdrawal from the Ministry of the Environment of competences over the cadastre of rural lands and the management of water resources. As for the Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sonia Guajarara, whose portfolio was created by Lula, she would lose responsibility for the demarcation of new indigenous reserves, which would fall to the Minister of Justice.

Protesters took to the streets of São Paulo and Brasilia against the proposed law, some holding signs like "Climate emergency: the answer is us," here in Brasilia on May 30, 2023. © Gustavo Moreno / AP

(With AFP)

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Brazil
  • Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
  • Climate
  • Climate change
  • Amazonia
  • Jair Bolsonaro
  • Environment