September 16, 2021

07:09

Cassandra Castro – from Cenarium

BRASILIA – A request for access to the case records made on Wednesday, 15, by the minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) resulted in the new suspension of the trial of the Temporal Mark thesis, which has general repercussion in all processes related to the demarcation of indigenous lands in Brazil. The outcome of the trial has been awaited since August of this year by the indigenous people who see in the Temporal Mark thesis a mortal threat to the rights guaranteed to them by the Federal Constitution (CF).

The session was conducted by the vice-president of the STF, minister Rosa Weber, who opened the work alluding to the International Day of Democracy, celebrated today. Even without making explicit references to indigenous people, the minister spoke about the importance of broad debate in a democratic regime. “In democracy there must be respect for minorities and good coexistence between opposites, because this brings the plurality so necessary to democracy. In a democratic regime, oppression, intolerance, exclusion and discrimination do not fit”, said Weber.

Continuation of the votes

The beginning of the vote of the justices occurred last week, with the manifestation made by the reporter of the matter in the STF, Minister Edson Fachin, who placed himself against the Temporal Mark and in favor of the demands of indigenous people. The judgment was accompanied by participants of the II Indigenous Women’s March, a mobilization held from September 7th to 11th in Brasilia. The reporter’s vote was received with celebration and relief by representatives of the indigenous people present at the camp set up in the federal capital.

Today, Minister Kassio Nunes Marques was the first to cast his vote. The magistrate made a speech with various historical references, recalling occurrences of conflicts involving indigenous and non-indigenous people in northeastern Brazil, citing newspaper reports of the time. He talked about what happened in the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina with the cases of “Xokleng Indians who were slaughtered and expelled from the lands assigned by the federal government to German and Italian immigrants.”

Then, the minister cited the use of the Temporal Mark Thesis in the case of the demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land, in Roraima, recalled the safeguards defined in the process and finally, presented his position as favorable to the thesis defended by sectors of agribusiness and ruralists.

Nunes Marques’ Vote

The lawyers Samara Pataxó and Eloy Terena, from the legal coordination of the Articulation of the Indigenous People of Brazil (Apib) followed the STF session and said that the vote of Minister Nunes Marques was not a surprise. “The vote did not innovate at all, it used the same argument as the ruralists. He disregards Indigenato, alleging that the thesis is outdated and brings legal insecurity. It was a vote that didn’t surprise us, but that shake us”, said Samara Pataxó.

In the opinion of Eloy Terena, the minister’s vote was retrograde and he said that it rescued a position already adopted by some ministers since the Raposa Serra do Sol Indigenous Land case. “He brought a very restrictive vote in relation to the usufruct of indigenous people and diverges from Fachin’s vote regarding the constitutional protection of the Environment. The vote is the highest expression of the interests of agribusiness and shows the alignment with President Jair Bolsonaro”.

With the request for more time to study the case made by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, there is still no timetable for the matter to return to the Supreme Court’s voting agenda. With today’s vote, the score of the Temporal Mark is tied at 1-1.