The nightmare that Brazilian natives have feared most in recent years came true last Tuesday night when the conservative-majority Chamber of Deputies passed by a large majority a bill that makes it very difficult in practice for the state to continue to recognize the natives as legitimate owners of the land they claim. This is an unprecedented blow to the indigenous cause and a major setback for the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, which came to power pledging to resume land delimitation that Jair Bolsonaro had crippled and even to create an unprecedented ministry for indigenous peoples the state of becoming something merely symbolic.
The law is known in Brazil as the “Temporary Framework” because it states that indigenous peoples can only claim the land they were on on October 5, 1988, the date the current constitution was passed. In practice, this means that tribal peoples who cannot prove that they were in a certain area before 1988 will not be given a demarcation. The indigenous people claim that this ignores the fact that many communities were expelled from their original territories, which was indeed very common during the military dictatorship (1964-1985).
Supporters, linked to the powerful agriculture and livestock sector, defend that the law will end legal uncertainty and territorial disputes and bring peace to the countryside. For tribal peoples and ecologists it is a death sentence. And it is that the law not only establishes this temporary boundary, but also prevents the expansion of already recognized protected areas, it allows mining and cultivation of transgenics on these areas, and it prevents infrastructure works from being carried out without consulting the peoples concerned. In addition, the policy of prohibiting contact with indigenous peoples who remain in voluntary isolation will be made more flexible.
The 427 indigenous reserves that currently exist in Brazil, representing nearly 14% of its territory, are the areas where nature is best preserved and where deforestation rates are lowest. They are usually green islands in the middle of a sea of large properties, which is why the legal delimitation of these areas is also crucial in the fight to save the Amazon and fight climate change. There are dozens of indigenous countries whose lawsuits are waiting in the drawer until the state finally recognizes them. Indigenous organizations had high hopes for Lula, expecting him to sign the first documents within the first few months. This only happened in April, when it recognized six small territories. At the time, he promised that there would be no spare reserves by the end of his term in 2026, which he is struggling to deliver.
The “temporary framework” law had been in the planning for 16 years, and not even in the four years that Bolsonaro has been with a like-minded president has it succeeded. The strength of the right and rural lobby in Parliament (which is even more conservative than last term) made it possible. Three centrist parties that support Lula and have ministries also voted in favor, contrary to government guidelines. The bill has yet to go through the Senate, although indigenous people are more confident in the Supreme Court, which will rule on the constitutionality of the “temporary framework” on June 7. However, the judges have opened and closed the debate multiple times, it is not clear if there will be a final decision that day.
Passing this bill is the second major defeat that lawmakers have inflicted on Lula in a short period of time. Last week they questioned the design of the ministries set up by the president and stripped the ministries of environment and indigenous peoples of their powers. The first, in the hands of Marina Silva, was unable to manage the Rural Environment Register, a document vital to combating deforestation. The Chamber transferred that responsibility to the Administration Ministry, where it is expected to find less hostile terrain. The recently created Ministry of Indigenous Peoples has been left without its main function, which is solely concerned with demarcating the areas now in question, which will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice. The government did little to prevent these changes and further anger the Chamber.
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Indigenous Peoples Minister Sonia Guajajara did not hide her dissatisfaction, expressing “some frustration” with Lula, particularly because she believes he could have been more involved. It’s a charge some allies are beginning to make in secret. The administration’s difficulties in Congress are palpable, but so far Lula has preferred to prioritize his international agenda rather than deal with internal challenges. According to a tally by the O Globo newspaper, since January he has met 30 foreign leaders (not counting all the South American presidents he received in Brasilia this week), instead holding meetings with just nine allied parliamentarians.
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