At their annual protest encampment in Brasilia from April 24-6, some 4,500 indigenous people from across Brazil marched on the Supreme Court building to oppose a recent ruling that could negatively impact demarcation of indigenous territory. The case concerned Provisional Measure 870 [9], signed by President Jair Bolsonaro [10] on his first day in office Jan. 1, shifting responsibility for indigenous reserve demarcation from FUNAI [11], Brazil’s indigenous agency, to the Agriculture Ministry [12]. MP 870 was challenged as unconstitutional, but on April 24 Supreme Court Justice Roberto Barroso rejected that challenge—although he did agree that if the Agriculture Ministry failed to carry through with demarcation in future, further legal action could go forward at that time. During the three-day encampment, indigenous groups also protested Bolsonaro’s plan to open indigenous reserves to mining [13] and agribusiness. The Free Land Encampment [14] has been held in Brasilia every year since 2017. (Mongabay [7], April 26)
