CIMI, the Brazilian Church agency for indigenous affairs, publicly
repudiates the change to Decree 22/91, announced in the early evening
of 8 January by the presidential spokesperson, Sergio Amaral. CIMI
considers this action an attack on the constitutional rights of
Brazil's indigenous peoples and a violent act of disregard for
protests by indigenous peoples, public figures, and individuals and
organisations who support the indigenous communities. Throughout 1995
messages have come from all over Brazil and from abroad opposing the
change. The change to Decree 22/91 includes the introduction of the
right of challenge to the declaration of an indigenous reserve, which
benefits the invaders of indigenous areas, and also provides for the
review of the boundaries of some areas.
On 5 January President Fernando Henrique Cardoso suspended the
announcement of the package of indigenous measures and ask for the
measures to be announced gradually. As a result, the Brazilian
Official Gazette of 8 January appeared merely with the annoucment of
the confirmation of protected status (homologation) for 17 indigenous
areas in various parts of Brazil. The Brazilian press says that the
President's decision reflected the problems the measures are likely to
cause among the Brazilian military and international bodies.
The only indigenous areas whose boundaries are now immune from review
are those homologated and registered in the relevant land registries,
247 of the total of 554 indigenous territories in Brazil.
In interviews throughout 8 January, CIMI reaffirmed its opposition to
the new decree. It stressed in particular that the list of areas whose
protcted status is confirmed excludes a number which are the object of
political pressure, such as Raposa/Serra do Sol in Roraima. CIMI also
draws attention to the danger that the resources provided by the G7
countries for the demarcation of indigenous territories will now be
used instead to review their boundaries.
The staff of the Brazilian government indigenous agency, FUNAI, is
inadequate to deal with the volume of work the new decree will cause.
The Land Division, which deals with all processes involving the review
of areas, has onoy six anthropologists, and FUNAI's team of lawyers is
also inadequate.
In CIMI's view the direction given to indigenous policy by President
Cardoso's government violates the commitment the President gave to
indgenous leaders and organisations and anthropologists from all over
Brazil, to whom he made a promise to guarantee the rights of Brazil's
indigenous peoples and so redeem one of the Brazilian state's historic
obligations.