BILL WHICH CHANGES THE PROCEDURE FOR DEMARCATING INDIGENOUS LANDS IS INCLUDED ON THE VOTING AGENDA OF THE SENATE

     

Today, December 9, a Bill aimed at changing the whole administrative procedure for demarcating indigenous lands, bill PLS 188/2004, was included on the voting agenda of the Senate. Submitted by a temporary committee created by the Senate, this bill proposes a set of changes which have been advocated for a long time by anti-indigenous sectors. According to it, the demarcation of indigenous lands should be subject to the approval of the Federal Senate and the National Defense Council should be convoked to deliberate on the demarcation of indigenous lands when they are located in border areas.

 

According to Dr. Deborah Duprat, deputy attorney general and coordinator of the 6th Coordination and Review Chamber of the Federal Prosecution Service, the bill conflicts with the multiethnic state concept, with Convention 169 of the International Labour Organisation, and with the Federal Constitution. “All the provisions of this Bill are completely unconstitutional because their purpose is to identify indigenous lands based on external criteria using different means. It creates a political jurisdiction for decisions on indigenous lands by involving the Senate.”

 

Because it conditions the demarcation of indigenous lands to an authorization from the Federal Senate, the Bill conditions administrative acts of the Executive Branch to a validation from another Branch of the Republic, the Legislative Branch, which runs counter to the constitutional principle of the separation of the Branches.

 

The Bill also proposes that if indigenous lands are located in a border area (an imaginary 150-km wide area along all the terrestrial borders of Brazil), the President of the Republic must convoke the National Defense Council (CDN) before officially confirming their demarcated bounds. The CDN is a consultation body of the President of the Republic. “The National Congress cannot impose an obligation on the President to call a meeting of such consultation body,” said Paulo Machado, legal advisor to Cimi.

 

The Bill Project determines that “all demarcation procedures under way be annulled” on the date of its publication. It also intends to prevent reoccupied land areas (“which may be the object of trespass or invasion motivated by indigenous conflicts of a collective character”) from being the object of demarcation procedures for a period of two years or twice that period in the case of contumacy. This article has a similar effect to that of a provisional measure issued by Fernando Henrique Cardoso (2,183/01), which excluded all lands occupied by land reform movements from expropriation processes for land reform purposes.

 

“This Bill was designed to repress legitimate movements of indigenous peoples who occupy their traditional territories peacefully. It is not in tune with history, because most indigenous lands only had their demarcation procedure concluded after indigenous people occupied them through peaceful and legal actions,” says Saulo Done, vice president of the Indianist Missionary Council (Cimi). In Cimi’s opinion, the Bill inverts the precepts provided for in the Federal Constitution of 1988.

 

The Bill was submitted to the Senate in June of this year and was read in a Plenary session right away before being evaluated by its Permanent Technical committees, such as the Constitution, Citizenship Rights and Justice Committee, which check the constitutionality of bills.

 

Bill 188 was proposed by a temporary committee of the Senate called Special External Committee of the Federal Senate, which was created in 2004 for the purpose of “visiting the states of Roraima, Santa Catarina, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Rondônia, Rio Grande do Sul and Pará to become acquainted with land issues in those states and submit a detailed report of the mission to the Senate.” The Bill, which was submitted as the conclusion of a partial report of the committee prepared for the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, was read in a plenary session in June of this year.

 

The committee is made up senators Mozarildo Cavalcanti (Socialist Popular Party-state of Roraima), Jefferson Peres (Democratic Labor Party-state of Amazonas), João Ribeiro (Liberal Front Party-state of Tocantins), Romero Jucá (Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement – state of Roraima), and Delcídio Amaral (Workers’ Party-state of Mato Grosso do Sul), who was the rapporteur of the Bill.

 

“This bill is clearly aimed at hindering and postponing procedures for demarcating indigenous lands, which the indigenous movement and organizations which support them have been fighting to speed up for years. The Bill creates new decision-making jurisdictions and creates a subterfuge with the sole purpose of meeting the interests of invaders of indigenous lands,” Done added.

 

 

XUKURU PEOPLE IS AWARDED PRIZE FOR THEIR SOCIAL ORGANIZATION AND POLICY

 

The social organization and forms of governance adopted by the Xukuru people, from the state of Pernambuco, were awarded a prize yesterday night (the 8th) by the Public Management and Citizenship Rights Program of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation after competing with 1,191 projects from all regions of Brazil.

 

The organization model adopted by the Xukuru was defined as they were reoccupying their lands and it was designed to promote their reorganization and enhance their appreciation of their indigenous identity based on their struggle to reoccupy their traditional territory, on the historical memory preserved by their elderly, and on their relationship with the sacred nature, which make feasible the cultural, social, economic, environmental, and political development of their community.

 

“Our social organization strengthens our ethnic identity. Early in the process, many indigenous people did not identify themselves as members of the Xukuru people. This organization model played an important role in enabling indigenous people to recognize themselves as such and to come down from the mountain range wearing their traditional necklaces and bracelets,” said chief Marcos Xukuru, who is in Rio de Janeiro, where he received the prize together with representatives of 4 other selected projects.

 

The Sociopolitical Organization of the Xukuru people is divided into the following levels: there is a Chief, who is responsible for the political affairs and connections of the group, by appointment of Sacred Nature. The Shaman, who has a life tenure and carries out sacred rituals. There is also a Vice-Chief. The Internal Xukuru Assembly is a space for political participation where the Future of the People is planned.  The Xukuru Indigenous Association is in charge of the legal aspects of community development projects. The Council of Leaders, which is made up of representatives of the 24 villages, is in charge of solving problems and represent their villages in Assemblies and meetings held inside and outside the Xukuru territory.

 

There are also groups in charge of making decision on education and health-related issues: the Indigenous Xukuru Health Council of Ororubá (CISXO) defines the health policy of the people and includes the participation of their leaders. The Council of Xukuru Teachers (COPIXO) is responsible for implementing specific and differentiated education programs in the villages.

 

The Xukuru people live in the Ororubá mountain range, which is located in the municipality of Pesqueira, 215 kilometers from Recife, and their population amounts to approximately 9,000 indigenous people distributed in 24 villages. Their organization with a view to reoccupying their lands became more intense since 1986 through a process of returning to their lands and a long struggle to rekindle their indigenous identity in opposition to repeated cases of prejudice and violence from people with an interest in Xukuru lands.

 

Since 1996, the Public Management and Citizenship Rights Program of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation has been awarding prizes and disseminating innovative experiences of local and regional governments with the aim of promoting citizenship rights and improving the quality of life of the population. Every year, 20 experiences are awarded a prize, with special emphasis on five of them. Different states, municipalities, legislative and judiciary branches, and indigenous organizations (which for the Program have the same status as that of public institutions) compete for the Prize.

 

Brasília, 9 December 2004