Senate approves urgency to vote on time frame project

The Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ) of the Senate approved this Wednesday (27) the bill for the so-called time frame for the demarcation of indigenous lands, a thesis overturned by the STF (Supreme Federal Court) less than a week ago.

The project was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in May with the support of the ruralist bench and the president of the House, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), as part of Congress’s offensive against the STF.

The proposal was approved by the CCJ by 16 votes to 10. The bill must be voted on by the Senate plenary this Wednesday. About three hours after approval by the CCJ, the senators approved the urgency regime (an instrument that speeds up the process) by 41 votes to 20.

The project’s rapporteur in the Senate, Marcos Rogério (PL-RO), maintained the text approved by the Chamber of Deputies and rejected all suggestions for change. He defended that points that go beyond the thesis — such as contact with isolated peoples — be vetoed by President Lula (PT).

“If we make any substantial changes here, this matter will return to the Chamber. And that’s a political choice. And we are facing an environment of insecurity, restlessness, unrest throughout Brazil”, she explained.

In recent weeks, senators opposed to the time frame recognized that it would be difficult to block the approval of the text at a time when the Senate is trying to face ongoing discussions in the STF — not only on this topic, but also in relation to drugs, abortion and union taxes .

This Tuesday (26), the government leader in the Senate, Jaques Wagner (PT-BA), said that the discussion was contaminated by ideologies, and he did not want to risk the result of the plenary. “I don’t know how to measure this thing [no plenário] because this discussion has become very ideologized”, he told journalists.

Privately, members of the government base state that, if approved, Lula should streamline the bill —eliminating the so-called “tortoises”— and preserve only the section that establishes the time frame.

In this Wednesday’s session, Jaques said that Lula “will do what his conscience tells him”. The senator also stated that “there is not enough money” for possible compensation from the Union for rural producers who regularly acquired indigenous lands.

“There is not enough money to pay compensation for the fiscal crisis that we dream of getting out of. Will everything become precatory? What will everything turn around? I don’t know. I’m just trying to draw attention to the fact that we are not on the path to a solution.”

The report was read by Rogério last week — hours before the trial was resumed by the STF. In August, the bill was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee by 13 votes to 3, with a favorable opinion from the rapporteur, Soraya Thronicke (Podemos-MS).

“This is where decisions are made, not in the Supreme Court”said senator Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA), who presided over the CCJ at the time. “If we do it right in legislative practice, this is resolved here and there is no need to take it there [STF] our debate.”

The time frame thesis determines that indigenous lands must be restricted to the area occupied by the people when the Constitution was promulgated, on October 5, 1988. Thus, indigenous people who were not on their lands until that date would not have the right to claim them.

On Thursday (21), the thesis was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court by 9 votes to 2. Indigenous movements argue that, in 1988, their territories had already been the target of centuries of violence and destruction, and that areas of people’s rights should not be defined only by a date.

On the other hand, ruralists argue that such a determination would serve to resolve land disputes and provide legal and economic security. The position was endorsed in the STF by ministers Kassio Nunes Marques and André Mendonça.

Even senators in favor of the bill recognize that the text approved by the CCJ goes beyond the thesis. One of the articles endorses contact with isolated peoples to “provide medical assistance or to mediate state action of public benefit”.

On another controversial point, the proposal opens a loophole for demarcated lands to be taken back by the Union, “due to changes in the cultural traits of the community or other factors caused by the passage of time”.

The text also allows compensation to the former owner of demarcated lands (which does not occur today), prohibits the expansion of territories already delimited and says that even ongoing processes must consider the area occupied in 1988.

Non-governmental entities criticized the approval of the text. A note signed by institutions such as the Arns Commission, Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib) and others stated that the landmark thesis “is frankly incompatible with the constitutional guarantee of the right to land of Brazilian original peoples”.

The Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) published a technical note arguing that the approval of the time frame “it could make demarcations of indigenous lands unfeasible and constitutes one of the most serious threats to indigenous peoples today”.

“Without well-preserved indigenous territories, it will be impossible to avoid the point of no return for the Amazon Forest, and this will have severe consequences for the entire Brazilian society in the coming decades,”

stated WWF in a statement.

The Agricultural Parliamentary Front celebrated the approval of the project. “The project brings peace and justice and, now, injustices can be resolved”said Senator Tereza Cristina (PP-MS).

*With information from Folha de S.Paulo

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