President Lula da Silva’s veto didn’t help: the Brazilian Congress passed a controversial law – with far-reaching consequences for the indigenous population.
A controversial law that restricts the rights of indigenous people in Brazil has come into force. With the new law, indigenous peoples can only claim land that they physically owned until 1988, reports the Guardian. That year the current Brazilian constitution came into force.
However – critics complain – many indigenous people were expelled before 1988, especially during the Brazilian military dictatorship between 1964 and 1985. Their claims expire under the law.
Lula was against the law
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva opposed the curtailment of indigenous rights and vetoed the Senate’s decision. However, Congress was able to overrule him with a majority. The law has been in force since Thursday. “The passage is an attack on indigenous communities and the environment,” wrote indigenous congresswoman Célia Xakriabá on X, formerly Twitter. “The law will have a negative impact on the protection of forests, the fight against climate change and the future of future generations.”
With the new law, road construction, mining and agriculture can be expanded in the former indigenous areas. Three out of four points that President Lula vetoed have survived the vote in Congress: Among other things, isolated indigenous people are not allowed to be taken into the areas and genetically modified plants are not allowed to be grown. The indigenous people and left-wing parties still want to sue against the law.
