Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Source in Yemeni Ministry of Defense to SABA: Yemeni "missiles will not cease targeting the criminal Zionist entity until the aggression is halted and the siege on our people in Gaza is lifted"
Source in Yemeni Ministry of Defense to SABA: Our missiles are designed to fragment if intercepted, hitting more targets
Source in Yemeni Ministry of Defense calls on investors, companies operating in the Israeli entity to leave immediately: SABA
Iranian foreign minister: The Omani Foreign Minister made a short visit to Tehran and delivered the US proposal to us, which we will respond to in a manner that guarantees the interests of our people
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: The points stipulate a willingness to hand over the administration of Gaza to the Community Support Committee and the occupation's withdrawal to the pre-March 2 borders
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: The clauses also stipulate a demand for a five-year truce
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: The clauses agreed upon by the factions include sending aid into Gaza in accordance with the humanitarian protocol agreed upon on January 17
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: We agreed to release 10 captives in separate batches in exchange for a number of our prisoners to be agreed upon through mediators
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: The [Palestinian] factions agreed on points that stipulated obtaining American guarantees for a complete cessation of the war and the full entry of aid
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: We agreed to release 10 captives in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners to be agreed upon through mediators

Brazil's Indigenous communities secure historic land rights victory

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 22 Sep 2023 12:40
  • 1 Shares
5 Min Read

Brazil's Supreme Court blocks law pushed by agribusinesses to take away lands belonging to Indigenous communities that were not inhabitant by the groups in 1988.

  • x
  • sd
    Arara indigenous children walk at the Arado tribal camp, in Arara indigenous land in Para state, Brazil, on March 13, 2019. (AFP)

The Brazilian Supreme Court has delivered a landmark victory for Indigenous communities, thwarting attempts to significantly erode their land rights, which activists hailed as a historic triumph for the country's original inhabitants.

Nine out of the Supreme Court's 11 justices voted against what advocacy groups had dubbed the "time limit trick," a move backed by agribusiness interests to prevent Indigenous communities from claiming land they did not physically inhabit in 1988.

In front of the Supreme Court's main office in Brasilia, a surge of powerful emotions was witnessed on Thursday, as most of the justices delivered a verdict in favor of Indigenous rights. Among the activists present, some were moved to tears of happiness, while others marked the occasion with exuberant dancing.

Read more: The battle to save Yanomami's Amazon territory turns deadly

Eloy Terena, an Indigenous attorney holding a senior position within Brazil's recently established Ministry for Indigenous Peoples, shared his elation on X/Twitter, declaring, "Long live Indigenous resistance."

Comparable scenes of celebration and joy resonated throughout the Amazon region, which serves as the residence for approximately half of Brazil's 1.7 million Indigenous inhabitants.

Indigenous congresswoman Celia Xakriaba took to X/Twitter, declaring, "[This is a] victory for struggle, a victory for rights, a victory for our history. [All of] Brazil is Indigenous territory and the future is ancestral."

Carmen Lúcia e Fux acompanham relator! Esse é o placar de sete que queremos: contra o Marco Temporal e a favor dos povos indígenas.

Vitória da luta, vitória dos direitos, vitória da nossa história. O Brasil é terra indígena e o futuro é ancestral!

— Célia Xakriabá (@celiaxakriaba) September 21, 2023

Sania Guajajara, Brazil's minister for Indigenous peoples, celebrated the ruling as a significant achievement resulting from years of dedicated struggle and protest.

Bolsonaro-appointed justices supported agrobusiness

In stark contrast, only two Supreme Court justices supported the "marco temporal" (time marker) thesis, which aimed to limit Indigenous land claims. Both of these justices, Kassio Nunes Marques and Andre Mendonca, were appointed by the former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.

Related News

Jair Bolsonaro faces coup trial in Brazil’s supreme court

Brazil's Bolsonaro says rushed trial aims to block his reelection bid

Read more: Brazil's Lula promises indigenous tribes to reverse Bolsonaro measures

Activists accused Bolsonaro of orchestrating a historic assault on Indigenous territories by dismantling protection agencies and promoting anti-Indigenous and anti-environmental rhetoric. Before joining the court, Mendonca served as Bolsonaro's justice minister.

Survival International, an Indigenous rights group, marked the defeat of what they characterized as an attempt “to legalize the theft of huge areas of Indigenous lands.” They warned that the success of such efforts could have led to the eradication of dozens of uncontacted tribes.

Read more: Saving the Amazon: Lula to host South American summit, fulfill promise

Fiona Watson, Survival's research and advocacy director, lauded the court's decision as a momentous historic victory for Brazil's Indigenous peoples and a substantial setback for the agribusiness lobby.

“This is a momentous, historic victory for Brazil’s Indigenous peoples and a massive defeat for the agribusiness lobby,” said Watson, adding that the the time limit trick had been part of a “devastating assault” on Indigenous communities and the Amazon.

“So this rejection of it is hugely important – not only for Indigenous peoples, but for the global fight against climate change too.”

Operation Eraha Tapiro

Earlier this month, the Brazilian government launched its biggest operation to remove thousands of cattle owned by illegal land grabbers from indigenous territory in the rainforest.

"Operation Eraha Tapiro," named after the Assurini Indigenous people's language, aims to restore government authority over the Ituna-Itata Indigenous Territory, which has suffered severe deforestation and incursions during Bolsonaro's tenure.

"The deforestation of Ituna-Itatá was planned and executed by a gang that had great political power. Making this operation successful demonstrates our ability to fight crime in the Amazon, which is increasingly organized," said the operation commander Givanildo Lima, an agent for the government’s main environmental protection agency.

Of blood

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accused earlier this year Bolsonaro’s far-right administration of committing genocide against the Yanomami people of the Amazon. Lula da Silva also held the former president responsible for abandoning Indigenous communities and encouraging thousands of miners to flood the Yanomami enclave during his 2019-2022 government.

A police investigation into a "genocide" against the Yanomami people was launched after it emerged that nearly a hundred children from the Indigenous group lost their lives. The probe came after a governmental report revealed that 99 Yanomami children living on Brazil's largest Indigenous reservation -- all under the age of five -- died last year from malnutrition, pneumonia, in addition to malaria. 

In December, the Yanomami leader Junior Hekurari told The Guardian that Bolsonaro's government was that "of blood".

  • Jair Bolsonaro
  • Lula da Silva
  • indigenous people
  • Brazil
  • Amazon Rainforest

Most Read

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump tensions

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump pressures

  • US & Canada
  • 25 May 2025
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)

Rift widens: Trump, Netanyahu clash in heated phone call over Iran

  • Politics
  • 26 May 2025
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 29, 2025 (AP)

Hamas rejects Witkoff ceasefire plan, says alters terms

  • Politics
  • 29 May 2025
Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announces a new operation against Ben Gurion Airport on May 29, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen announces successful hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion

  • Politics
  • 30 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Doctors weigh a Palestinian baby at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic in Muwasi, near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (AP)
Health

US-Israeli Gaza aid plan is catastrophic, inhumane: MSF

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Latakia governorate on May 30, 2025 (Social media)
Politics

Israeli airstrikes hit military targets across western Syria

An Iranian security official in protective clothing walks through part of the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the Iranian city of Isfahan, March 30, 2005. (AP)
Politics

US, E3 to push IAEA to declare Iran in breach of nuclear commitments

A Syrian soldier closes the gate of a military base on the outskirts of Harasta, near Damascus, Syria, Saturday, May 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Syrians expel Israeli patrol in Quneitra amid rising tensions

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS