A historic moment. The Federal Supreme Court (STF) resumes, from 2 pm this Wednesday (30), the judgment of the process that deals with the constitutionality of the time frame, a legal thesis that states that indigenous peoples would only have the right to claim lands occupied in 1988 , when the Constitution was promulgated.
Having been called the “trial of the century” for the indigenous people, the case returns to the agenda three months after a request for a review presented by Minister André Mendonça. Despite the expectation for the vote to conclude this Wednesday, another request for review, which could postpone the decision for longer, is not ruled out. There is an expectation, however, that Minister Rosa Weber, who retires in October, will cast her vote.
Until the present moment, the score is 2 to 1 against the timeframe (that is, in favor of the claim of the original peoples). The rapporteur of the process, Minister Edson Fachin, voted against, and was followed by Alexandre de Moraes. Minister Nunes Marques, appointed by Jair Bolsonaro to the Court, voted in favor of the thesis defended by ruralists.
Moraes’ vote, however, is seen with concern, because he proposed the payment of compensation to people who acquired “in good faith” property titles issued by the State. The vote has come to be called the “middle ground thesis”, and could lead to new legal battles and further delay in land demarcation.
“Indigenous peoples will be at the mercy of compensation to be paid to the farmer to have their territory. We know that we have a budget problem. And this ‘middle ground thesis’ disregards the original rights of indigenous peoples, disregards any injury that indigenous peoples suffered, and will reward land invaders, people who acquired this area in good faith or not”, says the lawyer and executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), Dinamam Tuxá.
The mobilizations against the approval of the time frame, which have spread across the country in recent years, will be intensified this decisive Wednesday. In the morning, indigenous people from different parts of the country began a concentration in Brasília. On social media, supporters of the cause have shared the hashtags #MarcoTemporalNão, #VidasIndigenasImportam, #EmergenciaIndigena and #DireitoOriginário to draw attention to the case.
“We do trust that the Brazilian Judiciary, and that one day the National Congress, can recognize our rights. We resisted for 523 years and we will resist for another 523 years. Our history will pass from generation to generation, We are a people of great resistance”, says the vice-coordinator of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (Coiab), Alcebias Constantino Sapará.
understand the judgment
The timeframe thesis is analyzed by the STF through Extraordinary Appeal (RE) 1017365, which evaluates the case of the indigenous people of the Xokleng people, from Santa Catarina. Among other points, ruralists argue that the framework would be a way of regulating article 231 of the Federal Constitution. The excerpt from the Magna Carta points out that “the Indians are recognized for their social organization, customs, languages, beliefs and traditions, and the original rights over the lands they traditionally occupy, and it is incumbent upon the Union to demarcate them, protect and ensure respect for all their assets. “.
“This argument is associated with a possible greater guarantee of legal certainty (for landowners) in the demarcation of indigenous lands. In our point of view, legal certainty also needs to be interpreted along with the original rights to indigenous lands”, opposes the legal adviser Pedro Martins, from the organization Terra de Direitos, who monitors the progress of the process in the STF.
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
