Constitution will have 1st official translation in indigenous language – 07/17/2023 – Power

The first official translation of the Federal Constitution in an indigenous language will be released on Wednesday (19), in São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), in an event that will have the participation of the president of the STF (Federal Supreme Court), Rosa Weber, and by Minister Carmen Lúcia.

The translation into the Nheengatu language, known as modern Tupi, was done by bilingual indigenous people from the Upper Rio Negro and Middle Tapajós regions, according to the Supreme Court.

Since the beginning of the year, Rosa had already committed to publishing a version of the Constitution in an indigenous language.

In a note, she said that the 1988 Constitution expresses “the yearnings of Brazilian society, in its plurality and diversity, formed over the centuries by social groups of the most varied ethnic origins, which managed to resist coloniality and slavery”.

“By translating our Major Law into the Nheengatu language, preserved by countless communities throughout the Amazon Region, we seek to implement equality in a substantive sense, ensuring access to information and justice and allowing indigenous peoples to know the rights, duties and the ethical and political foundations that support our democratic rule of law,” said Rosa.

The translation was carried out in partnership with the Court of Justice of Amazonas and the state Superior School of Magistratura. Rosa will also participate in the sanctioning of the state law for the co-officialization of indigenous languages ​​and the institution of the state policy for the protection of indigenous languages ​​in the Amazon.

Rosa has treated issues related to indigenous peoples as a priority since he assumed the presidency of the Supreme Court, in September of last year.

She committed, for example, to guide the action on the time frame of indigenous lands, which is not addressed in the legislation.

The thesis states that the demarcation of indigenous territories must respect the area occupied by the peoples until the enactment of the Federal Constitution, in October 1988.

According to the criterion, indigenous people who were not on their lands until that date would not have the right to claim them.

This thesis is criticized by lawyers specializing in the rights of indigenous peoples, as it would validate and legalize invasions and violence committed against indigenous people prior to that date.

Ruralists, on the other hand, argue that the determination would serve to resolve disputes over land and would provide legal and economic security for investments in the countryside.

In June, Minister Alexandre de Moraes voted against the timeframe thesis, but proposed changes in relation to the compensation that must be paid by the Union to landowners in places traditionally occupied by indigenous peoples.

Then, Minister André Mendonça asked for a review (more time for analysis) and suspended the trial of the process. Moraes had previously suspended the process, in 2021.

The case may return to plenary before the end of Rosa’s presidency. The minister turns 75 in October and will have to retire.

The trial took place amid indigenous protests across the country and also at the Esplanada dos Ministérios against the landmark. Representatives of 21 indigenous ethnic groups accompanied the Supreme Court session in plenary. The Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sônia Guajajara, was also on site.