A recent vote in the Supreme Court of Brazil recognized the protection of the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands in Raposa Serra do Sol. Amnesty International hails this as a milestone victory for all indigenous peoples in Brazil. The spacious reservation, which has been decreed by President Lula in 2005, is situated on the frontier between Brazil and Guyana/Venezuela and is home to 20,000 indigenous people, the majority of which are members of the Macuxi tribe.

However the recent vote has received a lukewarm response from Brazil’s military establishment which views the 1.7 million hectare reservation as a threat to the nation’s sovereignty. Moreover a final decision on the demarcation of the Raposa Serra borders has been postponed following stiff resistance from the state government. The latter has been condoning the establishment of illegal settlements and other illegitimate activities of rice farmers. 

Eight out of 11 judges in the Supreme Court voted to preserve the current borders of the Raposa Serra reservation. A final decision is yet to be made on this matter.

Amnesty International remarks that the delay in issuing a final ruling means that eviction proceedings against the rice farmers and other illegal settlers cannot be initiated in the meantime. This leaves the indigenous people especially vulnerable to attacks perpetrated by nearby farmers who do not recognise the rights of the native inhabitants. Several reports describe incidents of men approaching the reservation and firing shots into the air. In response, Patrick Wilcken, campaigner on the Brazil team at Amnesty International, calls for “full protection” to be afforded to these Indigenous Peoples pending the final decision of the Supreme Court.