Brazil: Restrictions On Indigenous Land Claims, Lula Has The Floor

Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected a proposal to limit the recognition of indigenous lands, the so-called Marco temporal, a “temporary restriction.” But just a week later, the Brazilian Congress spoke in favor of the agricultural lobby, which on September 27 managed to quickly approve the bill aimed at opposing the decision that would remove any temporary restrictions on native land claims.

Land conflicts have increased exponentially in recent years, as Brazil’s agricultural frontier has expanded into the Amazon region. Across the country, indigenous communities are laying claim to lands that were colonized and used by farmers for decades.

Marco Temporal was developed by the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro and supported by the powerful agribusiness lobby. The document aims to limit possible claims to the former lands of indigenous peoples to those that were actually occupied by them at the time the constitution came into force, that is, 1988.

The law is considered discriminatory against indigenous people. However, failure to set the exact deadlines for filing claims creates too much uncertainty for farmers: without time limits, a claim can be filed at any time.

The ball now goes to President Inacio Lula da Silva, who will be able to veto it. Lula himself also promised to legalize 300 reservations in order to circumvent the problem. Congress has the power to overrule once again Lula’s possible veto, returning the case to the Supreme Court. For this reason, opposition parliamentarians have introduced a proposal to amend the Constitution, which would establish compensation for farmers forced to leave the lands on which they settled more than 70 years ago.