{"id":28711,"date":"2023-09-23T13:00:12","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T20:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=28711"},"modified":"2023-09-23T13:00:14","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T20:00:14","slug":"brazilian-supreme-court-delivers-historic-victory-to-indigenous-peoples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/23\/brazilian-supreme-court-delivers-historic-victory-to-indigenous-peoples\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazilian Supreme Court Delivers ‘Historic Victory’ to Indigenous Peoples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Four<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Indigenous people react as they watch a broadcast of the ‘Temporal Framework’ trial on a screen installed in front of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in Brasilia, Brazil, on September 21, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Mateus Bonomi\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court ruled against the Big Ag-backed “time limit trick,” which would have only recognized Indigenous land claims if the group could prove they were living in a given territory on October 5, 1988.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

OLIVIA ROSANE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sep 22, 2023 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a major victory for Indigenous rights, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court rejected an argument Thursday that could have forced hundreds of thousands from their ancestral lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The so-called “time limit trick,” backed by the nation’s powerful agricultural interests, would have only recognized Indigenous land claims if the group could prove they were living in a given territory on October 5, 1988, the day the current Brazilian constitution was signed, as Survival International explained<\/a>. The proposed rule ignored the fact that Brazil’s military dictatorship displaced many Indigenous groups before it finally ended in 1985, The Guardian<\/em>pointed out<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m shaking,” J\u00e9ssica Nghe Mum Pripr\u00e1 of the Xokleng-Laklano Indigenous group told<\/a>The Associated Press<\/em> while celebrating the news. “It took a while, but we did it. It’s a very beautiful and strong feeling. Our ancestors are present\u2014no doubt about it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Supreme Court has shown that it cares about our lives and that it’s against genocide.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The particular case the nation’s highest court heard Thursday involved a land dispute in the state of Santa Catarina, Reuters <\/em>reported<\/a>. The Xokleng people were driven from much of their traditional lands in the state during the 1950s, when Brazil sold the land to tobacco farmers, the outlet explained<\/a> in 2021. Santa Catarina then used the 1988 time limit to push more members of the Xokleng group out of a national park, prompting the current dispute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Before they killed us with guns, now they kill us with the stroke of a pen,” former chief Jo\u00e3o Pat\u00e9 told Reuters <\/em>in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the court on Thursday ruled<\/a> 9-2 in favor of the Xokleng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Areas occupied by Indigenous people and areas that are linked to the ancestry and tradition of Indigenous peoples have constitutional protection, even if they are not demarcated,” Justice Luiz Fux said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only two dissenting judges were appointed by right-wing former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro<\/a>, who supported extractive industries at the expense of Indigenous rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court also said that the decision had “general repercussion” status, meaning it would apply to other rulings involving Indigenous land claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This is a momentous, historic victory for Brazil’s Indigenous peoples, and a massive defeat for the agribusiness lobby,” Survival International research and advocacy director Fiona Watson said in a statement, adding that a broad application of the time limit trick would have threatened many Indigenous groups in the country, among them the uncontacted Kawahiva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was all part of a devastating assault on Brazil’s Indigenous peoples and the Amazon rainforest, so this rejection of it is hugely important, not only for Indigenous peoples, but for the global fight against climate change too,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Momentous victory after years of struggle! \u270a

The Indigenous peoples of Brazil and their allies around the world are celebrating a historic victory: the genocidal and catastrophic Time Limit Trick has been rejected by the Supreme Court!#MarcoTemporalN\u00e3o<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ri7yovTxCQ<\/a><\/p>— Survival International (@Survival) September 21, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>