The Marco Temporal or “Time Limit” legal thesis trial, set to shape the future of Indigenous land demarcation in Brazil, will resume by Brazil’s Supreme Court on September 20. The thesis would curtail the rights of Indigenous peoples to lands they occupied or claimed prior to October 5, 1988, when the Brazilian Constitution was enacted. Its decision will immediately apply to 217 judicial cases pending in the courts and, in the case of the thesis’s approval, may also enable mining projects in at least 77 non-ratified territories, according to a recent report by the organization Ekō.
The analysis highlights an alarming fact: of the 120 Indigenous territories awaiting so-called demarcation, or government recognition, 77 are being eyed for 736 mining requests registered with Brazil’s National Mining Agency. Just let that number sink in for a moment.
We stand on the edge of a decision that will significantly impact Indigenous peoples’ lands, their lives, and our collective future. If approved, it’s not just a win for mining magnates like Vale and Anglo American. It’s an irreversible loss for Indigenous rights, the Amazon rainforest, and for 77 yet-to-be-recognized Indigenous territories.
If enacted the Marco Temporal thesis will erase the history of violence and displacement suffered by Indigenous groups and block legal means of redress. It will also put at risk all territories that have already been recognized, since demarcation processes would be reopened and demands made to prove Indigenous presence in 1988. And this doesn’t just affect land claims; it bears direct consequences on the very lives and cultural identity of these Indigenous communities.
The disproportionate political and economic power wielded by mining companies is disturbing. Their involvement in this debate starkly contrasts the rights of the original peoples. This is much more than a David and Goliath battle.
Take, for example, the territories of Sawré Ba’pim and Sawré Muybu Indigenous Lands, inhabited by the Munduruku people. These lands are not just sought after for their rich mineral reserves but also bear the scars of illegal mining activities. The Munduruku took matters into their own hands in 2016, when, given the government’s delay in protecting their land rights, started to mark the boundaries of their own territories and to defend themselves against illegal invaders.
The “Man of the Hole” tale is another poignant example. He was the last isolated Indigenous survivor of his people, an unidentified ethnic group that was massacred in the 1990s and who lived alone in the Tanaru Indigenous Land in Rondônia state. Mining giant Vale has active mining requests in these lands.
Another example is the Canadian mining company Potássio do Brasil, which, since 2008, has been trying to implement a mining project that directly affects the territories of the Mura people. Contradictory reports and misleading information continue to downplay the project’s impact on Indigenous territories making us question: Who is benefiting here?
Indigenous territories like the Piripkura and Ituna-Itatá Indigenous Lands, home to isolated Indigenous communities, also find themselves in the crosshairs of mining conglomerates and cattle ranchers. Their rights, lives, and futures hang in the balance.
Mining on Indigenous lands is currently illegal in Brazil and the deforestation impacts on these territories would be devastating.
In response to the critical debate surrounding the impacts of the Marco Temporal thesis, Amazon Watch has collaborated with the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous People(APIB), the Racial Justice and Law Center of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), Arns Commission, and the Climate and Society Institute (ICS) to release a report entitled, Risks and Rights Violations Associated with the Marco Temporal thesis: An Interdisciplinary Analysis from Law, Economics, Anthropology, and Climate Science.
The report underscores the significant economic repercussions the Marco Temporal will impose upon the Amazon region. This legal framework amplifies land insecurity and spurs land grabbing, deterring genuine investors. The region requires effective territorial planning and robust governance, which ensures both environmental conservation and avenues for sustainable development for the Amazon’s residents and Brazil as a whole, rather than additional deforested areas for agriculture.
Indigenous territories are pillars of deforestation prevention, biodiversity conservation, and providers of myriad ecosystem services for both Brazil and globally. The Amazon’s rain cycle, air quality, and species resilience against climate change are testaments to the profound relationship Indigenous communities share with their ancestral lands. Policies that jeopardize these land rights, which are enshrined in the Brazilian Constitution and in international treaties, imperil the planet’s habitability.
Furthermore, these lands stand as one of the last bulwarks against climate change. The Amazon’s Indigenous territories sequester vast amounts of greenhouse gases, playing a pivotal role in regional and global temperature and precipitation patterns. Solutions to combat global climate change necessitate the preservation of the Amazon forest and recognizing and protecting the rights of the Indigenous peoples residing within.
