The Federal Supreme Court (STF) will begin ruling on proceedings discussing the time frame for the demarcation of indigenous lands next Wednesday during an in-person session. The rapporteur, Minister Gilmar Mendes, chose to postpone the start of the analysis, which was previously scheduled for Friday, in a virtual format, at a time of tension between the court and the Federal Senate.
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The time frame is a thesis that limits the right to demarcate indigenous lands only to areas occupied at the date of the issuance of the 1988 Constitution.
Senate President Davy Alclombre (Uniao-AP) announced last Wednesday that the House of Representatives must move forward with the analysis of the proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC) for the time frame. The statement came after a unilateral decision by Gilmard to tighten the rules for the dismissal of STF ministers, deciding that the request to open the process would become exclusive to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PGR).
– I think we have discussed this topic a lot already, and it is time for us to determine the deliberations in the plenary session of the International Court of Justice. “I wanted to ask for a set of signatures from the party leaders, so that we can, with the approval of the chairman of the committee, if he deems it necessary, collect the signatures appropriate for us to draw up the calendar,” said the Colombre.
According to Valor Economico, Gilmar’s interlocutors claim that the change has nothing to do with Alcolombre. The change in trial date and format was intended to enable interested parties and third parties to present their oral arguments in person.
The STF had already deemed the time frame thesis unconstitutional, but it was considered again by the Court after Congress approved a draft on the subject. According to the text, the borders could only be demarcated if the indigenous people occupied the area on October 5, 1988, the date of the constitution’s publication.
The time frame law was approved by Congress a week after the STF deemed unconstitutional the thesis that indigenous peoples only have the right to lands they occupied when the constitution was promulgated, in November 1988. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva even vetoed part of the measure approved by parliamentarians. But the veto was overturned.
Since last year, the STF has held hearings to try to reach an agreement on the issue. On the one hand, indigenous people are demanding the repeal of this law, which, on the other hand, puts areas whose borders have already been demarcated at risk. On the other hand, landowners want to stay in places that are no longer inhabited after 1988.