President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has fulfilled his campaign promise to reverse the policy set by his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, by formally recognizing six Indigenous reservations of nearly 800 square miles (161,500 hectares).
This announcement is a significant step towards protecting the rights and lands of Brazil’s Indigenous communities. Of the six ancestral lands recognized by Lula, the two largest are in the Amazon rainforest. While the land will remain under the federal government’s jurisdiction, the announcement grants Indigenous communities the exclusive right to use it in their traditional manner.
This recognition is crucial because Indigenous traditions act as a protection against the deforestation of the Amazon. Scientists have estimated that Indigenous territories account for around 40% of the Amazon’s intact forests. The recognition of Indigenous lands is, therefore, an essential step in safeguarding the Amazon’s future.
On the recognized lands, mining will be prohibited while commercial farming and logging require special permits. Individuals who are not Indigenous will be prohibited from engaging in any commercial activities on the land. This move is critical to preserving the land and its resources for future generations.
The announcement was made during the annual meeting in Brasilia of representatives of Brazil’s one million Indigenous people. The so-called Free Land Camp featured music, dance and food in tents set up on the grass esplanade of Brazil’s capital for five days. Indigenous leaders had called on the president to speed up the classification of some 300 Indigenous territories that are currently not formally recognized. While they were happy with the recognition of six lands, they showed some frustration that Lula’s actions were limited in size after his government had pledged to create 14 new territories.
Lula’s actions towards protecting Indigenous lands and rights have been significant since his first day in office. He created a Ministry of Indigenous People and announced Sonia Guajajara, the leader of the main Indigenous umbrella organization APIB, to head it. This move shows the importance that Lula places on the recognition and protection of Indigenous peoples in Brazil.
Former President Jair Bolsonaro had made it clear that he would not give “one more centimetre” of land to reservations, stating that Indigenous people had too much land for the size of their population. Bolsonaro was backed by the powerful farm lobby and the country’s agricultural sector. Indigenous demarcation had been halted in 2018 after Bolsonaro gave a promise to the agribusiness sector.
Farm sector representatives in Congress are calling for the implementation of a new law that would enable a cut-off date for reservations that were not inhabited at the time of Brazil’s current constitution being enacted in 1988. Tens of thousands of Indigenous would be left without the protection of official reservation land should the deadline be enforced. The country’s Supreme Court is set to rule on the new legislation in July.
Without the state’s protection, the danger of invasions by illegal loggers and wildcat gold miners, which surged under Bolsonaro, will increase for Indigenous communities. It is crucial that we continue to support Indigenous peoples and protect their lands to ensure their cultural and ecological survival.
