2023-05-31 19:19:30
Brazilian deputies voted on Tuesday May 30 a bill limiting the demarcation of indigenous lands. This text establishes that the natives are only entitled to the lands they occupied at the time of the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution.
A limitation rejected by the indigenouswho recall that they did not occupy certain lands in 1988 because they had been expelled from them over the centuries, in particular during the military dictatorship which prevailed between 1964 and 1985.
In Brazil live about 800,000 indigenous people, divided into 305 indigenous peoples, speaking nearly 274 languages, according to data from the Missionary Indigenous Council (Cimi). They live in 1,299 indigenous territories, of which more than 800 are still being demarcated.
Indeed, if the demarcation of the lands of the indigenous peoples of Brazil has been a recognized right since 1988, it remains unfinished, according to the National Foundation of the Indigenous Peoples (Funai), the public body in charge of protecting the rights of the indigenous peoples.
► Inalienable lands
Indigenous lands are according to Brazilian law “inalienable and unavailable, and therefore without any possibility of negotiation or consideration of economic interests (whether they are mining or logging companies, gold panners, large landowners or small farmers) or policies”.
The ban on subjugating the land to economic interests is the reason why the powerful Brazilian agrifood industry grows through the agricultural branch, the rural benchfrom the parliamentary lobby BBB (Beef, Bullets, Bible), to the grabbing of indigenous lands.
“The BBB is directly opposed to indigenous rights, for not only economic but also ideological reasons.explains Angèle Proust, geographer and doctoral student on agriculture in Brazil at the Panthéon Sorbonne University. According to its members, the land must be used for progress and the production of wealth. It cannot be left to the natives”.
In this context, the exploitation of the land, whether for intensive agriculture, commercial activities or gold panning, is the subject of struggles and covetousness. “We regularly talk about urban violence in Brazil. However, violence in rural areas should not be forgotten. There, the violence is concentrated against the natives to seize their land.says the researcher.
► Fight against deforestation
The inviolable and sanctuarized nature of indigenous lands makes them an essential barrier against deforestation of the Amazon, the largest rainforest in the world. Thus, 70% of deforestation in the last three decades has been concentrated on land belonging to private owners, compared to 1.6% for indigenous territories.
In total, Brazil lost 69 million hectares of native vegetation over this period, but only 1.1 million hectares in indigenous reserves, which occupy 13.9% of the national territory, according to a report by MapBiomas , a soil monitoring project set up by a group of NGOs and universities.
“In Brazil, each plot has a legal reserve, that is to say a percentage of land that must not be deforested. However, there are many bypasses. But they are much more difficult once the land is declared an indigenous reserve”says Angèle Proust.
If the demarcation of indigenous lands makes it possible to stem deforestation, it does not however guarantee full protection of the environment, nuances the researcher. “Indeed, with the demographic growth and the increased sedentarization of the indigenous population, there has appeared a westernization of the indigenous way of life. Practices capable of depleting resources more quickly have developed. “The demarcated indigenous lands are better protected, of course, but it is not enough”concludes the geographer.
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