Brazil - Legal actions against Indigenous communities increase threat of divestment

Threats of an international boycott of Brazilian agricultural products loom over the Bolsonaro administration.

Today’s newsletter is co-authored with Mariana Brazão.

Indigenous leaders and organizations engaged in a series of protests and clashes with Brazilian riot police in the federal capital of Brasilia over the past two months while voicing their opposition to bill PL 490/2007 and the outcome of the federal case Santa Catarina versus the Xokleng people. These two measures significantly impact Indigenous people’s rights and the protection of demarcated lands. 

On May 23, a conglomerate of 40 international grocery, food supply, and investment companies wrote an open letter to the Brazilian Congress with threats to boycott all Brazilian agricultural products if these measures go through. They write:

“If…measures that undermine these existing protections [of the Amazon] become law, we will have no choice but to reconsider our support and use of the Brazilian agricultural commodity supply chain.”

These divestment threats follow deliberate efforts by Bolsonaro to curb the protections of Indigenous rights and lands, on top of other decisions that have spurred an environmental crisis over the past few years. Earlier this year, a Canadian mining company, Belo Sun, received approval for consultation plans by the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) for their Volta Grande Project, which may lead to the construction of a gold mine in the Brazilian northeastern Para State. FUNAI is currently run by a supporter of President Bolsonaro and the mine will lead to contamination of the region’s rainforest and Xingu River.  

Divestment isn’t a new threat for the Bolsonaro administration. However, with these decisive cases coming to a head in August, boycott actions could be amped up and put into action quickly with repercussions for an economy that is already reeling from the impacts of the pandemic.   

Threats to Indigenous rights and lands

Introduced in 2007 by Brazil’s powerful agri-business lobby, PL 490/2007 would end Indigenous people’s right to be consulted on the use of their land by non-Indigenous peoples, resulting in unrestricted access to natural resources and the implementation of extractive activities. On June 23, the committee in the lower house of Brazilian parliament approved a draft of the bill which will now be put to a vote.

In addition, the Federal Supreme Court is about to begin trial for a landmark case regarding Indigenous land rights after a land repossession lawsuit was filed by the state government of Santa Catarina against the Xokleng people, concerning the Ibirama-Laklãnõ Indigenous land where the Guarani and Kaingang peoples live. The outcome could set the precedent for the “marco temporal” legal framework which uses October 5th, 1988, the date of the promulgation of the Brazilian constitution, as an arbitrary cut-off date in regard to Indigenous land demarcation. Under the marco temporal, if the land was not occupied by Indigenous peoples on that specific day then they have no right to their traditional territories.

In 2019, the Supreme Court gave the case the status of “general repercussion” meaning that its ruling would set precedent for a guideline of Brazilian federal government regarding demarcation procedures. The hearing was set to begin on June 30 but was delayed to August 25 after public backlash.

The international community is watching closely

These two major decisions will coincide with the International Day of Indigenous Peoples in the month of August. Protests are expected to ramp up again this coming month, as international business and organizations will be waiting for the outcomes of the legislation and legal ruling, ready to support boycotts of products associated with the destruction of Indigenous lands and cancellation of Indigenous people’s rights.

Indigenous issues are far from the top of voters’ minds going into the 2022 election and none of the major candidates are focused on this issue. However, if the rulings and subsequent international business decisions hit the economy, it adds one more negative mark to the growing popular perception of Bolsonaro’s mismanagement of the country.