Brazil backslides on land demarcation
The Brazilian army is driving indigenous people from their homes, destroying
houses, and intimidating communities at gunpoint in northern Brazil,
according to the Indian Council of Roraima. The government sent troops in
March, supposedly to protect and defend the rights of the Macuxi people.
The Indian Council reports the army has assumed "exclusive powers" over the
area, consistently siding with the thousands of gold miners and migrants who
have invaded the Macuxi homeland. The Indigenous Missionary Council says
these military actions are "clearly aimed at intimidating and discouraging
the struggle of the Indians for the demarcation of Raposa/Serra do Sol
Indian Area."
This violence, coupled with the Ministry of Justice's recent suspension of
all land titling throughout Brazil, signals a major backsliding in the
government's commitment to demarcate all indigenous territories.
Demarcation registers full legal title to indigenous peoples' traditional
homelands and protects them from incursions by migrants and developers. The
Brazilian Constitution of 1988 provides that all indigenous lands should
have been demarcated by October 1993.
The six-step bureaucratic process, however, is time-consuming. Only 39% of
the eligible land has been protected, and 332 indigenous territories are
still in jeopardy.
The Macuxi land was not even identified for legalization until 1993. The
federal Ministry of Justice is obstructing the Macuxi demarcation process,
due to pressure from the state government of Roraima, the military, and
farming and mining interests.
The need to demarcate Macuxi land is urgent. Some 11,000 Macuxi and 3,000
Ingariko live in the traditional rainforest homelands surrounding Mount
Roraima. Gold-mining activities have reportedly contaminated the rivers with
mercury, causing fish and other aquatic life to die off and posing a serious
threat to public health.
Pits of stagnant water left by miners have rapidly spread malaria, making it
the number-one cause of death among the Macuxi. Until they attain legal land
title, the Macuxi remain in a precarious position, restricted from defending
their territory and themselves against these invasions and dangers.
The Macuxi situation is part of a larger effort by the national government
to erode the indigenous territorial rights affirmed in the Constitution.
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso's administration has announced plans to
modify Decree 22 of the Constitution, which guarantees the demarcation of
indigenous lands.
A proposed amendment would allow ranchers, gold miners, and other parties
living or operating on indigenous lands to contest demarcation. This
provision would threaten the boundaries or very existence of hundreds of
indigenous homelands.
Brazilian human-rights and environmental activists feel that if the Macuxi
demarcation is successfully derailed, the door will be opened for powerful
government and economic interests to follow suit all over Brazil. "We must
not let the Macuxi case set a negative precedent," says Marcio Santilli of
the Instituto Socioambiental. "The Macuxi's rights must be upheld and their
lands demarcated."
Indigenous leader are increasingly fearful that their constitutional rights
are being rolled back. "We want the land to work, to avoid hunger and
misery," explains Macuxi leader Euclides Pereira Macuxi. "We do not want to
be expelled."
What you can do
Please contact President Cardoso immediately.
Sample letter:
Exmo. Sr. Dr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Presidente da Republica
Palacio do Planalto, 3 andar
CEP 70160-900
Brasilia, DF Brazil
Fax 011-55-61-226-7566
Fax c/o Embassy in D.C. 1-202-745-2827
Dear President Cardoso:
I am extremely concerned about the Macuxi
people's health and safety. Their lands have been
invaded by gold miners, and the army has been
present in the Raposa/Serra do Sol Area since
March. Please take immediate measures to remove
the invaders from the area and to expedite the
demarcation of the Macuxi's lands.
I also respectfully urge you to reject any
modifications to Decree 22 which provide for a
review of indigenous lands to be demarcated. It is
imperative that you uphold indigenous peoples'
right to full demarcation of their traditional
territories as affirmed in the Constitution of 1988.
Sincerely,
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From World Rainforest Report, July - September 1995
Copyright (C) 1995 Rainforest Action Network. Commercial
reproduction prohibited. Students, teachers, and
activists may copy articles for limited distribution.
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