Despite Lula’s politics

Although the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is aiming for a more indigenous-friendly policy, there are still ongoing attacks on the rights of indigenous peoples from inside the parliament of the South American state. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) warns against a current legislative initiative that would significantly weaken the newly founded Ministry of Indigenous Affairs. “We must not be fooled: It is true that the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, promised to strengthen indigenous rights and to turn more indigenous territories into protected areas – but the agriculture lobby in the country is still very strong, and it is still looking for ways to claim indigenous land to cultivate soy and to raise cattle,” stated Dr. Eliane Fernandez, STP expert on indigenous peoples, on Thursday. This is illustrated by the setbacks the government was confronted with in the congress on May 24, 2023. A majority of the delegates voted in favor of a reorganization of the government ministries. “The aim is to strip the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs of its responsibility for territorial delineations, and to put the Ministry of Justice in charge instead. The initiative is aimed at putting the legislative body, not the government, in charge of demarcations of indigenous territories – as that is where, in the Brazilian parliament, the former representatives of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro and the agriculture lobby can be found,” Fernandez criticized.

The Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Sonia Guajajara, expressed frustration about the fact that President Lula da Silva was not even present at the important debate last Wednesday. One aspect of the anti-indigenous policy under former President Bolsonaro was the so-called “Marco Temporal”, a controversial legal hypothesis that the large landowners interpreted in such a way that indigenous peoples could only claim land on which they had already been living before the constitution of 1988 came into force. However, many indigenous people had already been driven out of their traditional settlement areas long before that – and they had no chance to fight for their rights under the military dictatorship, which had ruled the country before. This policy could lead to a subsequent legalization of the land grab. Now, the “Marco Temporal” is to be discussed urgently in parliament.

Before taking office in December, Lula had promised to do away with Bolsonaro’s policies – stating that he would fight for the protection of the indigenous communities and for the preservation of the rainforest. Also, he had spoken out against the “Marco Temporal”.