The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples (Apib), the main entity that works in the defense of indigenous people, decided to withdraw from the conciliation hearing of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) that deals with the time frame for the demarcation of indigenous lands.
According to the temporal framework thesis, indigenous people only have the right to lands that were in their possession on October 5, 1988, the date of the promulgation of the Federal Constitution, or that were under legal dispute at the time.
The decision to leave the hearing was announced at the opening of the meeting held on Wednesday (28). At the beginning of the session, the indigenous representatives read a manifesto and informed Judge Diego Viegas, assistant to Minister Gilmar Mendes, of their withdrawal from the meeting.
With Apib’s decision, the hearings will be held even without the presence of indigenous representatives and other entities may be invited.
The desire to leave the negotiating table determined by Gilmar Mendes was demonstrated by the indigenous people earlier this monthwhen the first hearing was held.
At the time, the association threatened to leave the commission because it understood that its rights were non-negotiable and there was no parity in the debate.
Conciliation
The hearing was called by Minister Gilmar Mendes, rapporteur of the actions filed by the PL, PP and Republican parties to maintain the validity of the bill that recognized the milestone and of processes in which entities representing indigenous people and government parties contest the constitutionality of the thesis.
In addition to taking the case to conciliation, Mendes denied a request from entities to suspend the Congressional decision that validated the framework, a decision that displeased the indigenous people. The meetings are scheduled to continue until December 18 of this year.
In practice, holding the hearing prevents the Court from making a new decision on the issue and allows Congress to gain time to approve a Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) to confirm the landmark thesis in the Constitution.
In December of last year, the National Congress overturned the veto of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the bill that validated the framework. In September, before the parliamentarians’ decision, the Supreme Court ruled against the framework. The Court’s decision was taken into account by the legal team at the Planalto Palace to justify the presidential veto.
