Thousands of indigenous people marched from Acampamento Terra Livre (ATL) to the National Congress, where a solemn session condemned the threat to the rights of indigenous peoples
Thousands of indigenous people from different peoples camped in ATL 2024 marched to the National Congress demanding the demarcation of their territories | Lucas Landau/ISA
“Today, here, is a time to register another milestone. There are 20 years of history. The Terra Livre camp [ATL] is no longer the largest indigenous mobilization in Brazil. Acampamento Terra Livre has already become the largest indigenous mobilization in the world! And I am very proud to be here today speaking as indigenous minister of the Brazilian State”.
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☀️ Good morning from #ATL2024!
— socioenvironmental (@socioambiental) April 23, 2024
Thousands of indigenous people mobilized in the Camp are now walking to the National Congress during the “March #IndigenousEmergency: Our Rights cannot be negotiated”.@walela15, leadership and climate activist, talks about expectations with the act. pic.twitter.com/V4pzV58v6D
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The Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, celebrated the 20th anniversary of the ATL during a solemn session in Congress, which brought together, this Tuesday (23/4), hundreds of indigenous leaders and parliamentarians allied with the indigenous cause.
Tribute to the 20th anniversary of Camp Terra Livre, in the Chamber of Deputies! An honor to participate in the Solemn Session called by the deputy @celiaxakriaba, which brought together more than 500 indigenous people, as well as parliamentarians who are on the side of indigenous peoples. pic.twitter.com/XzD4AG0bCX
— Sonia Guajajara (@GuajajaraSonia) April 23, 2024
the ceremony, led by federal deputy Célia Xakriabá (PSOL-MG), took place right after a march, which left the camp, at the Ibero-American Cultural Axis (Complexo Cultural Funarte), and ended at the legislative headquarters.
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Inside and outside Congress, the indigenous movement reinforced the camp's main demands, expressed in the Manifesto Letter released the day before: the demarcations of Indigenous Lands and the end of the Marco Temporal thesis and the anti-indigenous agenda in Congress.
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Arrival at the National Congress: ATL 2024 participants from different territories came together to repudiate the ruralist thesis of Marco Temporal | Lucas Landau/ISA
“The Temporal Framework thesis does not stand up, but even so it continues to be supported by the interests of those who have no commitment other than their own profit at the expense of the destruction of the planet. What we are experiencing is a profound war in the territories”, denounced deputy Célia Xakriabá in a press conference before the session.
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“Never again a Brazil without us!”, declared in her speech in the plenary the president of the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai), Joenia Wapichana, who welcomed the 20 years of the ATL and recalled that, in the first camp in 2004, the first The demand that indigenous peoples brought to Brasília was also the demarcation of Indigenous Lands.
“We are Brazilian men and women, holders of social rights, citizenship. But, above all, they deserve respect. Today, we came to say no to negotiating rights. The priority is to tear down every barrier that prevents the demarcation of Indigenous Lands. May we never forget why we are here,” he said.
Demarcation now! Indigenous people and parliamentarians present at the solemn session at the National Congress that celebrated the 20th anniversary of the ATL | Ester Cezar/ISA
Part of the speeches addressed yesterday's decision by the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Gilmar Mendes, which determined the establishment of a conciliation process in the set of actions it reports and which question the constitutionality of the Marco Temporal, an anti-indigenous thesis overturned in the STF, in September, but which, shortly afterwards, became law enacted by Congress.
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Plenary on Temporal Framework
In the afternoon, the plenary session “The challenges faced by indigenous peoples in the face of the approval of the Temporal Framework Law” brought the position of members of the indigenous movement and indigenous organizations on the ruralist thesis. Representatives of public authorities were also present.
Mauricio Terena, legal coordinator at Apib, celebrated the presence of indigenous lawyers in ATL, “who are today dedicating their professional careers to defending and strengthening organizations”. He highlighted that the moment is delicate for the indigenous struggle: “we have to celebrate, but I think this year's Terra Livre Camp is for us to rethink our fighting strategies”.
According to him, the Federal Supreme Court has become an arena for disputes over indigenous rights. “The 1988 constitutional text is being mischaracterized, the original rights of indigenous peoples are being mischaracterized,” he stated.
Diego Bruno Martins, regional Human Rights defender in Alagoas, reinforced in his speech that the Temporal Framework is unconstitutional and promised to stand side by side with indigenous peoples “to further defeat this attempt to weaken the rights of indigenous peoples”.
The lawyer at the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) Juliana de Paula Batista said that there is a crisis between the Judiciary and the Legislature that has been generated and caused by the ruralist bench. “I hope that it is not the indigenous agenda that satiates the hunger of termites [...] It is an important moment of unity for us to say that these rights are non-negotiable”, she assessed.
Read article by Juliana de Paula Batista: Time frame: naturalization of a state of indigence for indigenous peoples