In a temporary injunction, Supreme Court Justice Luis Roberto Barroso suspended a provisional measure (MP 886) issued by President Jair Bolsonaro (PSL) that returned to the Ministry of Agriculture the power to demarcate indigenous land. Congress had barred the Ministry of Agriculture from demarcating indigenous territory.
The decision was made after three parties—the Sustainability network, PT and PDT—filed lawsuits in the Supreme Court that question the constitutionality of MP 886. The parties argue that the government cannot re-issue provisional measures with the same content that was rejected by Congress during the same legislature. This is a new defeat to the government, which had already lost in Congress.
The Supreme Court, composed of 11 justices, will judge the injunction but there is no date set yet.
In a statement, the Federal Attorney General's office said that it awaited this assessment "urgently." The head of the organ, André Mendonça, said that the lawsuits "have priority in the list of court judgments."
"The jurisprudence of the Federal Supreme Court on the matter is peaceful, recognizing the impossibility of such a reprint," Barroso wrote.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon