“We left here hopeful, but attentive and vigilant”, said Dinamam Tuxá, executive coordinator of the organization; meeting with the president and ministers took place during the 20th ATL march
Indigenous people in the 20th ATL criticize the decision of Minister Gilmar Mendes, who proposed negotiation to debate the demarcation of Indigenous Lands, a constitutional right of indigenous peoples | Lucas Landau/ISA
In a meeting this Thursday (25/04) with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, indigenous leaders from all regions of the country presented the letter with 25 demands from the indigenous movement to the Three Powers, with 19 demands directed to the Executive. The indigenous people asked for progress in the demarcation of Indigenous Lands, the strengthening of indigenous bodies and greater commitment from the Executive to contain the anti-indigenous agenda in the National Congress.
The meeting took place while a large mobilization march by Acampamento Terra Livre (ATL) traveled through the streets of Brasília to the Palácio do Planalto. More than 9 thousand indigenous people from different peoples and territories demonstrated for the demarcation of Indigenous Lands and against the ruralist thesis of the Marco Temporal.
On the posters, there were messages criticizing the decision by the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Gilmar Mendes, which suspended actions that questioned Law 14.701/2023 and proposed negotiation to debate the demarcation of Indigenous Lands. (read more about the march below)
“We left with concrete recommendations”, Dinamam Tuxá, executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), told the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA). Tuxá said that the president was committed to the issue of demarcations, especially the Indigenous Lands (TIs) Morro dos Cavalos and Toldo Imbu, which have actions in the Supreme Court.
“We took the opportunity to reinforce for him [President Lula] to actually discuss, with Gilmar Mendes, the entire demarcation policy and the Supreme Court’s understanding of the issue. We left here hopeful, however, attentive and vigilant”, said Dinamam.
The meeting with the president was attended by the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, Minister Márcio Macêdo, from the General Secretariat of the Presidency, and the president of the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai), Joenia Wapichana.
Homologation task force
President Lula ordered the creation, within two weeks, of a government task force to resolve “legal and political” problems related to the demarcation of Indigenous Lands. The team will be led by the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI) and composed of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, the Attorney General of the Union (AGU) and the Ministries of Justice (MJ) and Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA).
The priority is the four Indigenous Lands listed for approval but which were not signed on April 18 due to problems with the occupation of non-indigenous people in some of the areas, according to the government.
They are: Xukuru-Kariri, of the people Xukuru-Kariri, in Palmeira dos Índios (AL); Horse Hill, of the people Guarani Mbya e Guarani Nhandeva, in Palhoça (SC); Imbu Awning, of the people kaingang, in Abelardo Luz (SC); It is Potiguara de Monte-Mor, of the people Potiguara, in Marcação (PB) and Rio Tinto (PB).
Regarding the other 247 TIs that are still awaiting the completion of the demarcation procedure, Minister Macêdo stated that the task force will begin a “dialogue process” led by Minister Sonia Guajajara and the Minister of Justice, Ricardo Lewandowski, to discuss and address the problems of each case.
Dinamam Tuxá, from Apib, highlighted that this was a demand from the indigenous movement to “unlock” the demarcations, “not just of the four lands, not just of the 25 lands that have the declaratory ordinance to be declared, but rather that there be a force -task so that, once and for all, we can overcome the policy of demarcating Indigenous Lands in the country”, he emphasized.
As an immediate action, Macêdo informed that the group intends to talk to minister Gilmar Mendes about the demarcations of the ILs of Santa Catarina and with the governors of Paraíba and Alagoas about the Xukuru-Kariri and Potiguara de Monte-Mor TIs, occupied by non- indigenous people. According to Macêdo, the objective is “to establish what has to be done to resolve the four approvals”.
Asked about the deadline to complete this process, the minister stated that it cannot be established. “The president’s decision is to face and resolve, both in the legal and political spheres. Our role is to fulfill the president's determination on these two fronts. Time is what practice will tell. I hope it happens as quickly as possible”, he said.
Dinamam Tuxá, from Apib, told ISA that the organization understands that the government needs to comply with the constitutional rite of demarcations, which already provides for a phase for contestation by interested parties, and there is, therefore, no need to promote consultations or mediations with governors .
“President Lula assumed here that these are in fact not legal problems, they are political problems that also need to be faced”, pondered the Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara. “the approvals cannot be signed disregarding all non-indigenous occupation that currently exists within this territory”. The minister said that the MDA will be responsible for the resettlement of occupants of these areas.
Joenia Wapichana, president of Funai, reinforced that the municipality will remain committed to executing indigenous policies. “We are here to protect and to provide all the subsidies and arguments so that these processes can be defended in any instance [...] because this is a responsibility of the government, of the Brazilian State towards the indigenous peoples”, he stressed.
Indigenous march occupies Brasília
With more than 9 thousand indigenous people from different parts of the country, the second ATL march was marked by songs, dances and also protests in reference to the main attacks on the rights of indigenous peoples, such as the Marco Temporal, the invasions of territories and the threats to leadership.
Alessandra Munduruku, indigenous leader from the Médio Tapajós region, in western Pará, marched to Palácio do Planalto during the 20th Acampamento Terra Livre (ATL)|Lucas Landau/ISA
Also present in the protesters' demands were criticisms of Minister Gilmar Mendes' recent decision, which in essence provides for the negotiation of constitutional rights of indigenous peoples.
“We are demanding the demarcation of our territories,” said Maria Leusa Kaba Munduruku, leader of the Wakoborun Women’s Association, from Mundurucu Indigenous Land – approved in 2004. She mentioned the Sawré Maybu Indigenous Land, in Pará, one of the most threatened by illegal mining and which is still awaiting a declaratory order from the Ministry of Justice (MJ).
✊🏾🏹 Maria Leusa Kaba Munduruku, leader of the Wakoborun Women's Association, takes the struggle of Munduruku women to the second march of the #ATL2024! pic.twitter.com/P4OCen4B5L
— socioenvironmental (@socioambiental) April 25, 2024
Produced with the support of Denilson Baniwa, from Alto Rio Negro (AM) for the visual identity of ATL, a large “time snake” crawled through the march, crowded by dozens of people. The artistic intervention celebrated the 20th anniversary of Acampamento Terra Livre, celebrated in this edition.
During the night after the march, the delegation of the Guarani people from the South and Southeast regions held a vigil in front of the STF and then published an open letter warning the Court about the risks of Law 14.701/2023 and criticizing Gilmar's decision Mendes.
Repair now!
Also on this Thursday, the people Ava Guarani carried out an occupation of the Itaipu Binacional office premises, in Brasília, demanding reparations for the lands flooded by the plant in the 1980s.
The act intended to seek compromise with the ongoing dialogue in the Conciliation Chamber of the Attorney General's Office (CCAF/AGU), as determined by the STF in the judgment of Original Civil Action (ACO) 3.555.
For a month, the communities have been waiting for a position from the management of Itaipu Binacional in relation to the proposal presented, which deals with a territorial claim built collectively with all the villages in the western region of Paraná.
After a few hours of occupation, the Ava Guarani leaders obtained a commitment from company representatives to participate in the conciliation meetings and listen to the communities' proposals, thus ensuring progress in the process of dialogue and reparation for the rights violations suffered by the Ava Guarani.
(With information from Guarani Yvyrupa Commission)