Court orders review of boundaries of Xavante Indigenous Land in Mato Grosso

Davi Vittorazzi – From Cenarium

CUIABÁ (MT) – The Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) has ordered a review of the boundaries of the Sangradouro/Volta Grande Indigenous Land, located in Primavera do Leste (234 kilometers from Cuiabá). The decision, handed down on the 1st of this month, sets a deadline of two years for the review.

The lawsuit was filed by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) in 2003 against the Federal Government, the National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI), the Primavera do Leste Producers’ Association and the Primavera do Leste Rural Union, among other defendants.

According to federal judge Ciro José de Andrade Arapiraca, who signed the decision, Funai and the Union must conclude the administrative process of reviewing the boundaries of the TI within the deadline, under penalty of a fine of R$ 500,000 in the event of non-compliance, to be reverted in favor of the Xavante Community.

The indigenous land covers an area of 100,000 hectares and is inhabited by 1,817 indigenous people from the Boe (Bororo) and Xavante peoples. The judge also ruled that the other defendants, the producers’ association, the rural union and other interveners are prohibited from hindering the work to re-demarcate the Sangradouro/Volta Grande Indigenous Land, under penalty of a daily fine of R$ 10,000 for non-compliance.

The MPF argues in the lawsuit that the revision of the demarcation of the Sangradouro/Volta Grande Indigenous Land is necessary because the original demarcation process did not take into account all the demands of the indigenous community. In addition, the agency states that the delay in concluding the review process, which began more than 20 years ago, violates the indigenous people’s right to a reasonable duration of the process and to the usufruct of the lands traditionally occupied by them.

The agency also points out that the indigenous community considers the area in question to be indispensable, and that the lack of a review of the demarcation could jeopardize the socio-cultural reproduction of the Xavante people.

Read more: Xavante leader denounces omission by Mato Grosso government

Territory

In the decision, the magistrate understands the need for a review, which is justified by flaws in the original demarcation process, which did not consider all of the indigenous community’s claims. Another argument is Funai’s excessive delay in concluding the demarcation review process. This delay violates the principle of the reasonable duration of the process and justifies the intervention of the Judiciary.

The anthropological report showed that the Xavante indigenous occupation of the Sangradouro/Volta Grande Indigenous Land and its surroundings predates the promulgation of the Federal Constitution. The study pointed out that the Xavante had occupied the area since the first decades of the 20th century, having been gradually displaced by colonization companies and farmers, especially since the 1960s.

“From all of the above, it can be inferred that the community considers the area now postulated to be essential for the Xavante Nation, which can only be analyzed and studied after the process of re-demarcation, with the collection of the necessary data, starting with the anthropological identification studies and proceeding to the complementary studies of an ethnohistorical, sociological, legal, cartographic, environmental nature and the land survey necessary for delimitation, under the terms of Decree no. 1.775/96”, justifies the petition. 1.775/96,” said federal judge José de Andrade Arapiraca.

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Edited by Adrisa De Góes
Translated by Bruno Sena