The China Mail - Brazil's top court strikes down law blocking Indigenous land claims

Land rights for Indigenous peoples have long been a flashpoint in Brazil, with the powerful agribusiness lobby driving efforts to curb claims to territory they use for farming, or hope to expand into.

Indigenous people are considered important stewards of biodiversity and rainforest protection in areas such as the Amazon, which is crucial in the fight against the climate crisis.

Brazil's Supreme Court rejected a law approved in 2023 by the conservative-controlled Congress, which limits Indigenous claims to lands to those they were occupying when Brazil's constitution was adopted in 1988.

Indigenous activists say the time limit ignores centuries of persecution during which their people were expelled from their territories -- including during the 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

The so-called "time-frame" doctrine has pitted Congress against the Supreme Court and the executive.

The 2023 law was passed after Congress overturned a veto by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and ignored an earlier Supreme Court ruling declaring it unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court reacted by beginning a process of conciliation between all parties involved.

Over the past few months, around twenty hearings have been held with Indigenous organizations and those in favor of the time-frame doctrine.

Brazil's Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, told AFP on the sidelines of COP30 that the time-frame law represented a "legal obstacle" hindering the demarcation of lands allocated to indigenous peoples.

Brazil is home to 1.7 million Indigenous people, out of a total population of over 200 million.

Lula made the demarcation of Indigenous lands a campaign promise and has approved around 20 territories since he returned to office in 2023.

While the STF has rejected the law, the battle is far from over.

Last week, the Senate approved an amendment to include the "time frame" principle in the Constitution.

The proposal must now be approved by the Chamber of Deputies.

C.Smith--ThChM