Indigenous protest Brazil bill that could weaken land claims

Hundreds of Indigenous people gathered outside Brazil's Congress on Wednesday to push for rejection of a bill that could loosen protections for their lands — a proposal that has already prompted clashes with police.

Indigenous groups have been staging protests for days in the capital. Dressed in traditional clothes and carrying bows, they marched to Congress, where they sang and danced. A group of women gave roses to police officers standing guard. The prior day, police used tear gas to disperse the protesters, who shot arrows; one pierced an officer’s leg.

The bill before the lower house's Constitution and Justice Committee would require Indigenous people seeking full protection of their territories to have been occupying the land in 1988, the year Brazil’s constitution was signed after the nation’s return to democracy. If approved in committee, it will go to the floor for a vote.

Riot police fire tear gas at Indigenous protesters outside Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Indigenous who are camping in the capital to oppose a proposed bill they say would limit recognition of reservation lands clashed with police blocking them from entering Congress. (AP PhotoEraldo Peres)

Indigenous rights activists say the cut-off date ignores the fact many had been forcibly expelled from their ancestral lands, particularly during the military dictatorship, or may not have formal means to prove possession.

There are currently 237 such requests for full protection of territories, most small and located outside the Amazon rainforest in Brazil's north region, according to Juliana Batista, a lawyer at the nonprofit Socioenvironmental Insititute.

“It is a big conflict because they’re in areas within contexts of real estate speculation, cities, and very much pressured by economic interests,” Batista said by phone. “If they can’t prove they were in possession, they could lose their lands.”

An Indigenous leader protests outside Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Indigenous activists have traveled to the capital to demand government action to halt illegal mining and logging on their reservations and oppose a proposed bill they say would limit recognition of tribal lands. (AP PhotoRicardo Mazalan)

The bill's backers argue it would provide legal certainty to agricultural producers, a key constituency of Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. He has said Indigenous people control far too much territory relative to their population – their territories cover 14% of Brazil, most in the Amazon – and he has been outspoken about his desire to promote development.

“Brazil has enormous potential within that 14%, that enormous area of our Indigenous brothers,” he said in a broadcast on social media in April, while highlighting the country’s multitude of agricultural crops.

“We want to integrate the Indian into society,” he added. “The Indian wants to integrate into society, and we won’t do anything beyond what our Indian brothers want to do.”

Indigenous armed with bows and arrows clash with police during a protest opposing a proposed bill the Indigenous protesters say would limit recognition of reservation land, outside Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. (AP PhotoEraldo Peres)

Indigenous demonstrators in Brasilia strove to show they were indeed opposed to any changes that could strip them of their rights.

The bill also would allow the government to appropriate so-called Indigenous reserves demarcated prior to 1988 if the groups’ cultural features have changed. That could potentially apply to more than 60 areas totaling roughly 400,000 hectares (about 1,500 square miles), which are home to around 70,000 people, according to the institute.

“The bill attacks lands already approved and demarcated and opens space for illegal mining and deforestation if it’s approved,” Kretã Kaingang, an Indigenous leader from Brazil's southern region, said in an interview. “It attacks all of our rights.”

Indigenous clashing with police walk through clouds of tear gas outside Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Indigenous who are camping in the capital to oppose a proposed bill they say would limit recognition of reservation lands clash with police who blocked them from entering Congress. (AP PhotoEraldo Peres)

Indigenous demonstrators on Wednesday circled around a giant speaker to listen to the congressional committee's proceedings. They said clashes on Tuesday began when they tried to move out of the blasting sun and into a shaded area.

“For decades we have faced ... miners’ invasions, violence, leaders being killed,” said Dinamã Tuxá, an Indigenous leader from northeastern Bahia state. “And then we arrive to denounce precisely what is going on inside our territories and we face the same situation.”

The country’s Supreme Court in the past has ruled against efforts to open Indigenous territories to business interests, ruling the reserves are off limits to commercial development.

Indigenous with bamboo shields line up outside Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Indigenous are camping in the capital to oppose a proposed bill they say would limit recognition of reservation lands. (AP PhotoEraldo Peres)

An Indigenous woman stands in front of a formation of riot police blocking a road, outside Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Indigenous are camping in the capital to oppose a proposed bill they say would limit recognition of reservation lands. (AP PhotoEraldo Peres)

Security officers retrieve arrows shot at police by Indigenous protesters outside Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Indigenous who are camping in the capital to oppose a proposed bill they say would limit recognition of reservation lands clashed with police preventing them from entering Congress. (AP PhotoEraldo Peres)

SAO PAULO (AP) — President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday announced the creation of two new Indigenous territories for Brazil, bringing the total number of new reserves during this term to 10.

The Cacique Fontoura reserve will be in Mato Grosso state and the Aldeia Velha territory will be in Bahia state. They will cover a combined total area of almost 132 square miles (342 square kilometers).

Speaking at a ceremony in Brasilia, Lula's said Indigenous peoples should be patient as he seeks to fulfill his pledge of creating 14 new territories.

Lula's predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, had encouraged widespread development of the Amazon — both legal and illegal — and made good on his pledge to not demarcate a single centimeter of additional Indigenous land.

Lula took office in 2023 pledging to change that, but Indigenous rights activists hoped he would move faster. Last year, he demarcated six territories in April and two more in September.

The Brazilian president said during his speech that the latest two new territories would not be enough. He cited legal issues for the delay in setting aside additional lands.

“I know you have some concern because you were expecting six Indigenous lands. We decided to authorize two, and that frustrated some of our friends,” Lula said, standing next to his Indigenous peoples minister, Sônia Guajajara, who wore a traditional yellow feather headdress. “I did this so I wouldn't lie to you. It is better to solve the problems instead of just authorizing it.”

The four envisioned Indigenous territories that were not authorized are occupied by farmers who have ownership rights to those lands, Brazil's government said.

Indigenous leader Dinamam Tuxá told journalists he was “partially happy.”

“Every new Indigenous territory is a victory,” Tuxá said.

Last year, Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled to enshrine Indigenous land rights in a case brought by farmers seeking to block Indigenous peoples from expanding the size of their territorial claims.

The court rejected a legal theory arguing the date that Brazil's constitution was promulgated — Oct. 5, 1988 — should be the deadline for when Indigenous peoples had to have already either physically occupied land or be legally fighting to reoccupy it.

Several lawmakers in Brazil's Congress are still pushing to revive that theory and fit it into legislation.

Indigenous rights groups argued the concept of the deadline is unfair, saying it does not account for expulsions and forced displacements of Indigenous populations, particularly during Brazil’s two-decade military dictatorship.

An Indigenous representative takes a photo with his cell phone as he waits for the start of the closing ceremony of the 1st Ordinary Meeting of the National Council for Indigenous Policy, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, April 18, 2024. The council, dissolved in 2019, was revived in 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the closing ceremony of the 1st Ordinary Meeting of the National Council for Indigenous Policy, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, April 18, 2024. The council, dissolved in 2019, was revived in 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Minister of Indigenous Peoples Sonia Guajajara arrive to the closing ceremony of the 1st Ordinary Meeting of the National Council for Indigenous Policy, in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, April 18, 2024. The council, dissolved in 2019, was revived in 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)