Photo: Joédson Alves/Agência Brasil
After postponing the conciliation hearing on the demarcation of indigenous lands until February of this year, this Friday (21), the minister of the Federal Supreme Court, STF, Gilmar Mendes, decided to suspend for another 30 days the discussions on the unconstitutional thesis of the temporal framework. The meetings began on August 5 and were scheduled to end on December 18, 2024. The PL establishing the temporal framework was approved by Congress in December 2023, contradicting the constitutional principles that guided the STF decision that ruled in favor of the Xokleng people, from José Boiteux-SC, against the state of Santa Catarina, which requested the reinstatement of an indigenous area. By 9x2, the STF, in September 2023, had already buried the idea of the temporal framework by establishing a case law favorable to the native peoples. With the suspension of the debate on the demarcation of indigenous lands, the work will only resume on March 26. The debates must be concluded by April 2, the deadline for the closure of the commission.
Following criticism from the indigenous movement against the proposal that allows mining on indigenous lands and the exclusion of federal deputy Célia Xakriabá from the conciliation table, the debate on the demarcation of indigenous lands was suspended for 30 days. The decision complied with the request of the Attorney General's Office, AGU, which wanted to analyze the proposals already presented to the committee for longer. Created by Minister Gilmar Mendes, the conciliation chamber brings together representatives of the Union, the National Congress, state and municipal governments, civil society and indigenous communities, with the aim of seeking an understanding between the parties involved in the processes of demarcation of indigenous lands in Brazil. On the other hand, this is not the first time that this discussion has been postponed. This time, the work was interrupted when the committee began analyzing a legislative proposal based on the information obtained during the debates. Among the measures under discussion, the one that caused the most controversy and indignation among the native peoples was the legalization of mining on indigenous lands.
Gilmar Mendes decided to suspend the conciliation hearing on the demarcation of indigenous lands until March 26 – Photo: Carlos Moura/ TSE
There was no agreement in the discussions at the last conciliation meeting. On the contrary, indigenous leaders said they were surprised by the inclusion of mineral exploration as a possibility after the demarcation of indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI) and the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) were against the inclusion of the topic in the debate. The draft, prepared by the office of Minister Gilmar Mendes, was made based on the seven suggestions presented during the hearing on February 7.
Among the 7 suggestions for changes to the law on the demarcation of indigenous lands sent to the Supreme Federal Court, 5 proposals are favorable to indigenous peoples, as they reinforce indigenous territorial rights, reject the temporal framework and defend a demarcation based on traditional occupation and original rights guaranteed by the Constitution. These suggestions were presented by the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), by Congresswoman Célia Xakriabá (PSOL) of the Chamber of Deputies, by the Democratic Labor Party (PDT), by the Workers' Party (PT), the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) and the Green Party (PV), and by the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL).
Conciliation meeting this Monday (17), at the STF – Photo: Rosinei Coutinho/STF
On the other hand, two proposals are unfavorable to indigenous peoples, as they seek to limit the creation of new indigenous lands, apply the time frame and allow the economic exploitation of indigenous lands. These suggestions were presented by the Progressives, and by the Liberal Party (PL) and Republican Party (PR).
In his decision, Minister Gilmar Mendes stated that more time is needed for the members of the committee to reach an agreement on the points discussed. He assured that the suspension will not change the progress of the work, which will continue to focus on improving the draft presented at the meeting on February 17. However, while this slow process remains uncertain, indigenous people from all over the country are placed in a vulnerable situation, since gunmen take advantage of the justification of the time frame and believe they have the right to fight for lands with violence against the native peoples.
Photo: Lohana Chaves/Funai
Indigenous lives depend on urgent demarcation
The attacks that occurred in January of this year, in the Tekoha Guasu Guavirá Indigenous Land, located between the municipalities of Guaíra and Terra Roxa, in western Paraná, for example, were motivated by the lack of demarcation of lands in the area, due to the awaiting of a final decision by the Court, in which the STF discusses the demarcation of indigenous lands, even after the STF itself declared the unconstitutionality of the temporal framework in 2023. After the delimitation by Funai, the demarcation process was interrupted by an action by the city governments of Guaíra and Terra Roxa, which was accepted in the first instance by the Federal Court. The continuation of the regularization of the territory now depends on a final decision by the Court in the higher courts.
However, this decision is on hold until the Supreme Federal Court rules on the time frame. This thesis argues that only lands occupied by indigenous peoples up until October 5, 1988, the date of the promulgation of the Constitution, can be demarcated. While indigenous peoples await recognition of their rights and their original lands, the villages remain under constant threat and with lives at risk, since gunmen do not spare even indigenous children, as occurred in this latest attack in Paraná.
Indigenous children from Paraná demonstrate against the time frame – Photo: Cacique Fernando Lopes, Tekoha Pyahu
This demonstrates how damaging is the inconsistency of a thesis that has been discussed for years, and that should have already been concluded with the STF's definition in 2023. This slow process directly affects Brazilian indigenous people who claim their original and rightful lands, ancestral territories occupied long before 1500, when colonizers arrived in Brazil.
In recent months, the Supreme Court's decisions have been divided between those that are beneficial and those that are detrimental to indigenous peoples. However, the latest conciliation meetings have caused anguish for villages across the country, as they have given rise to absurd proposals such as the authorization of mining on indigenous lands, the exclusion of a deputy who is publicly in favor of indigenous peoples from the conciliation table, and now the suspension of debates for another month. Even after the violent attacks on the villages and the urgency of this decision having been highlighted by the United Nations, the UN, it continues to be ignored.
