Bolsonaro Tries Again to Give Control Over Indigenous Land to Agriculture Ministry

By Xiu Ying

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro has issued a new Provisional Measure (MP) to shift responsibility for delimiting indigenous lands to the Ministry of Agriculture. The text was published in the Federal Gazette on Wednesday, June 19th, one day after the publication of the law changing the administrative structure of the federal government.

In January, a prior MP changing the ministerial structure had already shifted the responsibility for definng indigenous lands to the Agriculture portfolio. The proposal, however, was amended in Congress, assigning this role back to the National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI), linked to the Ministry of Justice.

Bolsonaro’s latest Provisional Measure is legally binding and becomes effective immediately. However, it needs to be ratified within 120 days by the Chamber and the Senate in order not to expire. If Congress fails to give its approval, the MP ceases to be law.

The new MP establishes that “the following fall within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply:

• “land reform, land tenure of rural areas, Legal Amazon, indigenous lands and quilombola landholdings”;

The MP’s text adds that “the jurisdiction referred to in item XIV of the heading [item above] includes the identification, acknowledgment, delimitation, demarcation, and ownership of lands occupied by the surviving quilombola communities and lands traditionally occupied by indigenous people.”

The prior MP, which was voted by Congress, sanctioned by Bolsonaro and published on Tuesday, June 18th as a law, had included within the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture duties related to land reform, land tenure of rural areas, Legal Amazon and quilombola landholdings, but did not name the delineation of indigenous lands.

Concerning “indigenous rights”, including health care initiatives for this population, the first text established that this field falls within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, as well as the National Council for Indigenous Policy, as also amended in Congress.

However, these passages were vetoed by Bolsonaro when sanctioning the provisional measure and re-included in the new MP. Now, “indigenous rights” and the National Council of Indigenous Policy should also fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Source: G1