Explaining Brazil #259: Erasing indigenous land claims

Explaining Brazil #259: Erasing indigenous land claims

Euan Marshall
Aug 30, 2023 9:49 3 min read

During his inauguration in January, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva climbed the ramp of the Planalto Palace holding hands with representatives of Brazil's traditionally marginalized communities - including one of the country's most important and globally renowned indigenous leaders, Raoni Metuktire.

The optics here were obvious. This was going to be a government that would fight for marginalized groups, in stark contrast to the previous administration of Jair Bolsonaro, who, before being elected, proudly claimed that minorities had to stay quiet and bow to the majority.

Regarding indigenous rights, there was hope that Lula's return to the presidency would spark a flurry of new indigenous land demarcations. But, eight months into his government, Brazil's traditional communities are calling the president out for excessive delays in these crucial land rights processes.

And now, Congress and the Supreme Court are discussing a legal argument that, if turned into law or declared constitutional by justices, could well halt Brazilian indigenous land claims forever.

This week, the Supreme Court resumes its trial on a legal argument referred to in Brazil as the "marco temporal" - probably best translated as the "cut-off point argument." The trial is currently 2 - 1 against the legal thesis, but there are eight justices left to vote - and it's anyone's guess as to the outcome.

In general terms, the cut-off point argument is seen as overwhelmingly bad for Brazil's indigenous people, and good for those seeking to own land on ancestral territories. But what exactly does it suggest? And what's really at stake here?

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In this episode:

Adriana Ramos is a communicator and expert in environmental policy. She currently works as a political advisor at environmental NGO Instituto Socioambiental.

Background reading:

In May, we covered the "race" between Congress and the Supreme Court to rule on the cut-off point argument for indigenous land rights. The court's case was adjourned in June.
Mr. Bolsonaro oversaw an environmental policy marred by widespread forest destruction, reduced oversight, and incentive for environmental crime, which gave new meaning to the term "scorched earth."
The Lula government promised to ratify 14 indigenous lands this year with the stroke of a pen, but agribusiness pressures have kept the administration from coming good on its promise.

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https://brazilian.report/podcast/2023/08/30/indigenous-land-claims-podc…