Bolsonaro reiterates that further demand for indigenous lands threatens Brazilian agriculture

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, reiterated on Wednesday (15) that the “ancestral right” that the indigenous people claim over the lands could lead to “losing a Germany and a Spain together” and cause “a catastrophe” to the country’s agriculture.

The president insisted on the issue on the eve of the Supreme Court to continue a decision concerning the constitutionality of the so-called “temporary framework”, which only recognizes as indigenous land that which the native peoples occupied on October 5, 1988, when the current Brazilian Constitution was promulgated.

In contrast, the indigenous peoples maintain that this thesis puts an end to their “ancestral rights” and would also favor the legalization of areas illegally occupied before that date by powerful landowners who forcibly expelled their original inhabitants over decades.

Bolsonaro said in a public event held this Wednesday that a disregard of the “temporary framework” by the Supreme Court would put at risk “food security” that Brazil and “other countries” that “depend” on the production of national agriculture, one of the most powerful in the world, have today.

“Out of every five plates of food consumed in the world, one comes from Brazil,” said the ruler, who assured that an eventual decision of the Supreme Court in favor of the Indians “would be a hard blow to agriculture, it would be catastrophic and would have an impact” on many other food-importing countries.

Bolsonaro said that, according to government estimates, if the vision contrary to the “temporary framework” is imposed, new indigenous reserves equivalent to “14% of the territory” of Brazil will have to be delimited, a percentage equal to that already legally occupied by native peoples.

“That is equal to Germany and Spain together”, declared the leader of the Brazilian right, who warned that a ruling in favor of the indigenous peoples “would cause the price of food to skyrocket” and could even produce “shortages” both in Brazil and “in the world”.

INDIGENOUS TERRITORY

In Brazil, an indigenous territory (TI) or land is inhabited and exclusively possessed by indigenous people. Article 231 of the Brazilian Constitution recognizes the inalienable right of indigenous peoples to lands they “traditionally occupy” and automatically confers them permanent possession of these lands.

In practice, however, a formal multi-stage demarcation process is required for a TI to gain full protection, which has often entailed protracted legal battles. Even after demarcation, TIs are frequently subject to illegal invasions by settlers and mining and logging companies.

There are 724 proposed or approved indigenous territories in Brazil, covering about 13% of the country’s land area. Critics of the system say that this is out of proportion with the number of indigenous people in Brazil, about 0.41% of the population; they argue that the amount of land reserved as TIs undermines its economic development and national security.