The Minister of Strategic Affairs, Roberto Mangabeira Unger, asked deputies and senators of the Amazonian region to support the Provisional Measure 458/09, which addresses the agrarian regulation of Amazonia. The minister met on Wednesday (11) with the congresspeople at the Chamber.

Mangabeira Unger classified the MP as “revolutionary”, and declared that it will allow 80% of the land to be regulated in three years.

According to the MP, also published on Wednesday, the lots which belong to the Union and measure up to 100 hectares will be donated to their occupants; those which measure from 100 to 400 hectares will be sold with subsides; those from 400 to 1,500 hectares will be sold at their market price, but without a bidding process. For lots from 1,500 to 2,500 hectares, the requirement of a bid will be kept, and in the case of lots measuring more than 2,500 hectares, the authorization from the National Congress will be necessary.

According to the minister, when the “agrarian confusion is dissipated”, the large properties will be exposed and some lots will be repossessed by the Union.

The MP also regulates the situation of grantees of settlements by the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra), and of urban areas in the municipalities.

New laws
Mangabeira Unger informed that he intends to work in the reform of environmental laws in the future, since he considers the current legislation as inefficient. “It delegates almost unlimited discretionary powers to a set of small administrative potentates. Therefore, each new licensing is a pain. We need to get out of the dark to the light of Law.”

He affirmed that, in order to reduce the isolation of Amazonia, it is necessary to invest in the regional aviation and in the construction of a network of vicinal roads. In addition to that, he considers that it is important to debate the re-creation of the National Airway Fund, which would happen by means of the collection of a fee on air tickets all over the country.

The minister also defended the strengthening of extractivism and the recovering of degraded areas of the Cerrado (Brazilian Savannah), by using resources from constitutional funds.

Cooperative work
The Deputy Perpétua Almeida (PCdoB-AC) says a lot of cooperative work to issue personal documents before the agrarian regulation provided for in the MP is necessary. “There are complete families without even a birth certificate, ID or social security number”, she alerted.

The Deputy Nilson Mourão (PT-AC) asked how to do the regulation of a land which has an owner, but is occupied by settlers. Mangabeira Unger said that the issues presented to congresspeople can be answered by them in future opportunities, with states’ caucuses.

The minister received the support of most of the congresspeople in the meeting, including those from the opposition. The Deputy Sarney Filho (PV-MA), though, stood against the measure, because he believed that the region should first undergo an environmental and economic zoning.

Report - Sílvia Mugnatto
Edição - João Pitella Junior
Translation – Positive Idiomas Ltda