Indigenous leaders in Roraima are also reacting against
With pressure from the rural caucus, agribusiness, and Bolsonaro's base, the urgency of Bill No. 490/2007, which transfers the demarcation of indigenous lands from the Executive Branch to the National Congress, in addition to providing for the Temporal Framework thesis, was approved on Wednesday night, the 24th. There were 324 votes in favor, 131 against, and 1 abstention.
Of the eight parliamentarians from the Roraima delegation, five voted in favor: Stélio Dener (Republican), Gabriel Mota (Republican), Nicoletti (Union), Pastor Diniz (Union), and Zé Haroldo Cathedral (PSD).
The indigenous movement in Roraima reacted with outrage to the result. Indigenous leaders and organizations, such as the Indigenous Council of Roraima (Cir), protested against this outcome and vowed to keep the movement active to prevent the measure from being approved in the National Congress.
The general coordinator of CIR, Edinho Batista, speaking directly from the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous territory where he is participating in a regional assembly, repudiated the approval and stated that if the project is approved, it will be a tragedy. “I repudiate this approval, and if the project is approved, it will be a tragedy for the indigenous peoples,” he said, also asking parliamentarians for sensitivity to guarantee the lives of the peoples and the planet. “I ask this so that we can guarantee the continuity of life for our indigenous population, for the Brazilian people, and so that we can continue to provide quality of life for our planet.”
The legal advisor of CIR, member of the Indigenous Lawyers Network of Brazil and indigenous jurist, Ivo Makuxi, also spoke out against the approval and stated that the decision violates and destroys the rights and lives of indigenous peoples. "The indigenous peoples of Brazil are against the temporal framework because it attacks, violates, destroys and harms our rights to life and the right to land," he stated.
The chief of the Morcego community, from the Serra da Moça Indigenous Land, Murupu region, one of the regions with pending demarcation, also spoke out. “Bill 490 takes away all the rights we have gained so far, especially for those of us who live in a demarcated territory on the island. We have the right to live with dignity, and we will continue the fight, strong and firm, because our existence is the guarantee of our resistance,” she stated.
Another region that could be affected by the approval of Bill 490 is Alto Cauamé, with the request for the demarcation of the Arapuá indigenous land. The region's coordinator, Dorgival Caetano, said that the result generated outrage and sadness because the community has been waiting for the demarcation for over 30 years. "This generates outrage and sadness, because for more than thirty years residents of the Arapuá community have been waiting for the demarcation of their land," he stated, adding that they will be participating in the mobilization against its approval in the National Congress. "The bill will violate rights that have been won over a long time ago," he concluded.
The legal counsel of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples (APIB) published this morning a technical note on Bill No. 490/2007, and in its analysis, it also states that the attached bills "are blatantly unconstitutional, as they violate the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples, as well as numerous principles and provisions of the Federal Constitution, especially Article 231."
Roraima has 46% of its lands covered by indigenous peoples, more than 80,000 indigenous people, and a diversity of indigenous groups with different cultural contexts and realities. Thanks to the struggle and resistance of indigenous peoples for over 50 years, these ancestral territories have returned to their rightful owners, but this does not mean that everything is resolved, as there are historical issues, such as indigenous lands that were left out of the demarcation process, others needing recognition and study, and even those that need further study during the homologation process.
There are 36 indigenous lands in Roraima, 32 demarcated and officially recognized, 23 pending re-evaluation, and 4 awaiting demarcation, such as the following indigenous territories: Arapuá (Alto Cauamé), Lago da Praia and Anzol (Murupu), Pirititi (southern part of the state).
With the result in the Chamber, expectations also increase regarding the judgment of Extraordinary Appeal (RE) 1017365, with general repercussion, which discusses whether the date of the promulgation of the Federal Constitution, October 5, 1988, should be adopted as the temporal benchmark for defining the traditional occupation of land by indigenous peoples, scheduled for June 7 at the Supreme Federal Court (STF).