Apib coordinator says that fulfillment of promises is “very slow” and that the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples seems symbolic
Representatives of indigenous ethnicities who came to Brasília for the ATL (Acampamento Terra Livre) held this Tuesday (23.Apr.2024) a march on the Esplanada dos Ministérios to demand the president's government Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for the commitments it made during the campaign, especially the demarcation of land.
Acampamento Terra Livre, which reaches its 20th edition in 2024, started on Monday (Apr 22) and ends on Friday (Apr 26). A Apib (National Articulation of Indigenous Peoples) estimates that there are 7,000 indigenous people in the camp.
For the coordinator of Apib, Norivaldo Mendes, from the Guarani Kaiowá ethnic group, the fulfillment of Lula's promises is “very slowly”. Said that “not even 20% is being fulfilled” of commitments. As an example, he highlighted that the president “Prometheus” 30 declaratory ordinances and 14 land demarcations. Lula, however, stated on Thursday (18 April) that he would only demarcate two indigenous lands during his government.
Norivaldo also declared to the Power360 that the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples It is useless without the structure and autonomy to deal with land demarcation. According to him, the ministry led by Sonia Guajajara it is being more symbolic than effective. The coordinator stated that he hopes that the indigenous leaders will be received by the president at Palácio do Planalto during ATL week.
The expected audience for the “#IndigenousEmergencyMarch: Our Rights cannot be negotiated” was 3,000 indigenous people. But, according to PMDF (Military Police of the Federal District), this number was not reached. The PMDF also reported that around 500 indigenous people entered the National Congress for the solemn session in honor of the Terra Livre Camp.
Lula was not invited to this year's edition of the camp. The PT member was in previous editions of the event, in 2022 and 2023.
LULA AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Since the presidential campaign in 2022, Lula has defended demands from indigenous peoples, such as the creation of a ministry focused on the population, the demarcation of lands and the overturning of the PL (bill) that establishes the thesis of the time frame for demarcation of indigenous lands.
However, since the beginning of his government, indigenous leaders have criticized Lula's actions in the area. In 2023, the PT government failed to try to prevent the National Congress from approving the PL for the time frame (2,903/2023).
The text deals with the demarcation of indigenous lands traditionally occupied on October 5, 1988, the date of the promulgation of the Constitution. This time frame establishes that indigenous populations can only claim lands occupied until that date.
After approval, Lula partially vetoed the project. The overthrow took place in parts of article 4 of the PL, which established that indigenous people would only have the right to land that was in their possession on October 5, 1988. Read more about the subject here.
Furthermore, indigenous people have also complained about the lack of land demarcation. In 2023, the head of the Executive touched on the subject, but, for representatives of the country's indigenous population, such as the chief Raoni Metuktire, Lula “didn’t deliver on what he promised”.
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