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Project September 19, 2022

'Not an Inch': Bolsonaro Ignores Obligation To Demarcate Indigenous Lands

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Jair Bolsonaro promised in the 2018 electoral contest and announced shortly before taking office as President of Brazil: "You will not have a demarcated square centimeter."

At the end of his four years in office, the president kept his promise not to demarcate any Indigenous lands. The promise was renewed for the race in 2022, where he seeks reelection.

To defy the Brazilian constitution, which requires demarcation, Bolsonaro also defied the courts.

A survey by the PGR (Attorney General's Office) reveals the existence of 54 decisions of the Federal Court compelling the demarcation of Indigenous lands. The decisions were issued before Bolsonaro became president. The government is acting to postpone orders from judges.

Folha de São Paulo reporters Vinicius Sassine and Lalo de Almeida go to the traditional territories in the Amazon that should be demarcated—by court decision—and are still not recognized by the Brazilian State—by political and electoral decision of the president.

The journalistic work reveals the consequences of Bolsonaro's political decision, with the explosion of illegal mining, deforestation, logging, and acts of violence in these territories