The legal Time frame thesis which is being voted on by the Federal Supreme Court, could threaten the possession of indigenous peoples over at least 36% of the territories occupied by them.
The area of 275 properties corresponds to 10.4 million hectares, more or less the equivalent of the state of Pernambuco. Neither organizations linked to indigenous rights nor Funai (National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples) have a consolidated number regarding impacted lands in view of an eventual approval of the Time frame This thesis defines that indigenous peoples have the right to occupy only lands they inhabited or disputed on October 5, 1988, the date of the Constitution.
With the votes of ministers Cristiano Zanin and Luís Roberto Barroso, the score is 4-2 against the Time frame. The trial will resume on Wednesday (6).
Folha's analysis based on Funai's database shows that 275 indigenous lands have some pending evidence with the institution. Of 27 federative units, 12 could lose half or all of their indigenous lands if the Time frame thesis is approved. Ceará, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe and Mato Grosso do Sul would lose from 49% to 80% of the territories. The Federal District, Piauí, and Rio Grande do Norte would disappear from the map of indigenous lands —all three have only one territory each.
Translated by Cassy Dias