Brazil's Top Court Stops Intrusion Into Indigenous Land

Indigenous people have celebrated after Brazil's Supreme Court ruled to enshrine their land rights, removing the imminent threat that these protections could be rolled back, as reported by the Associated Press (AP).

The justices had been reviewing a lawsuit brought by Santa Catarina state, backed by farmers, seeking to block an Indigenous group from expanding the size of its territorial claim. I Photo: Zanellenha Wikimedia Commons

The justices had been reviewing a lawsuit brought by Santa Catarina state, backed by farmers, seeking to block an Indigenous group from expanding the size of its territorial claim.

Nearly all of the high court's justices voted to support the Indigenous group, and this has far-reaching implications for territories nationwide.

In the case before the court, Santa Catarina state argued a legal theory being pushed by opponents of further land allocations for Indigenous groups.

It asserted that the date Brazil's Constitution was promulgated—October 5, 1988—should be the deadline for when Indigenous peoples should have already either physically occupied land or be legally fighting to reoccupy territory.

They also claimed it would provide legal certainty for landholders. However, nine of the court's 11 justices rejected that argument.

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