The decision, taken on Thursday (19) by the Supreme Court (STF), which maintained the continuous demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Reserve, in Roraima, caused diverse reactions among the deputies.

For the deputy from Roraima, Eduardo Valverde (PT), the Supreme Court has taken the best decision. “The continuous demarcation of the best way to avoid conflicts between Indigenous people, since it prevents any interruption in the territorial room for the life of those people”, he argued.

The President of the Committee on Human Rights and Minorities, Luiz Couto (PT-PB), defends the idea that the land belongs initially to the Indians and that the measure aims at avoiding conflicts. “That land belongs to the Indigenous communities and that situation has to be faced, since the violence climate is still very strong in that region”, he assessed.

The ministers of Supreme Court decided that the exit of the rural producers who occupy the land should be immediate. The President of STF, Gilmar Mendes, added as a condition to the demarcation of the reserve, the recommendation that the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region supervises the removal of the non-Indians, to prevent “abuses”.

Rice producers
The former governor of Roraima, Neudo Campos (PP), disagreed with the continuous demarcation of the reserve, but said he abides by the decision of STF. For him, the challenge now is to seek a solution for the problem of the rice planters of that region. “If we take out the environmental areas, the national parks and the Indigenous reserves, we still have a lot of land. What we truly need is that that land is regulated and offered titles, so that the producers who settle there become their legitimate owners”, he defended.

According to Luciano Castro (PR-RR), the decision of the Supreme Court does not reflect the opinion of the inhabitants of that state. He expects that the removal of the non-Indians of the region is performed in a pacific way. “There was no politician in the state who agreed with the continuous demarcation. Not even the Indigenous majority who lives in that area agrees with that. But, anyway, the decision will be obeyed”, he said.

Sovereignty
The decision of Supreme Court – from the 11 ministers, 10 were favorable to the maintenance of the continuous demarcation of the reserve – confirmed the homologation which had been signed by the President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2005. At that occasion, the area of the Serra do Sol Reserve was demarcated in 1,700,000 hectares, the equivalent to 12 times the municipality of São Paulo. That territory hosts 194 Indigenous communities, with a population of around 19,000 Indians, most of them of macuxi ethnicity.

Since 2005, the demarcation of the reserve has been challenged, which postponed the removal of the non-Indians of that region, especially the rice producers, who have lived in that area since the 70es. One of the main arguments against the removal of those rice producers is the potential loss for the economy of the state. Another one is that the demarcation would threaten national sovereignty, since the Army would not be able to control the border with Venezuela.

In order to prevent that threatening, the condition imposed to the demarcation by the STF Minister Menezes Direito is that the Military have the guarantee to actuate in the region without the need of an authorization from the Indians or from the National Indian Foundation (Funai).

Direito also presented other suggestions, among which the prohibition of the exploitation of river resources and energetic and research potentials without the authorization of National Congress; the prohibition of mining by the Indians; the prohibition of charging for the traffic in the area of the reserve; and the prohibition of the lease of the land.

Report - Cristiane Bernardes e Paula Bittar
Editing - Rosalva Nunes
Translation - Positive Idiomas Ltda