Apyterewa Mission: In a Joint Action, Supreme Federal Court, National Council of Justice, and the Presidency of the Republic Confirm Success of Indigenous Land Reclamation in Pará

In a joint action carried out in early February, from Friday (2/2) to Monday (5/2), representatives of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), the National Council of Justice (CNJ), and the Presidency of the Republic physically assessed the efforts of the Apyterewa Indigenous Land Reclamation Operation, ordered within the scope of the Fundamental Precept Non-Compliance Claim (ADPF) 709 by the Court's president, Justice Luís Roberto Barroso.

Acting in harmony, members of the official delegation that went to the municipality of São Félix do Xingu, in the State of Pará, inspected locations and spoke with residents, who expressed gratitude for the reclamation process. "I want to thank the president of the STF for this effort, his fight was a success and firmly demonstrated the trust we have in him. Thank you. Nature is also grateful." The message came from indigenous leader Wenatoa Parakanã, vice-president of the association created by the traditional people of recent contact.

Reports indicate that the Parakanã people, who live in 22 villages scattered across the Apyterewa Indigenous Land (TI), no longer hear the sound of saws. Trees have stopped falling, and trucks carrying huge logs of native Amazon forest wood no longer travel through the sacred territory of the traditional Amazon people. Illegal mining sites no longer dig into the bed of the Xingu River, nor contaminate the water resources with mercury and mining waste. All intruders, including cattle raised in pastures opened by deforestation, have also been removed from the region.

Abandoned houses, buildings, and farms destroyed. Despite some areas presenting a scene of devastated land, the prospect of viewing these areas free from criminal actions committed by land grabbers, cattle ranchers, loggers, and illegal miners, as well as other invaders, is very positive for the preservation of the Amazon biome. The Parakanã people share a feeling of relief, given the preservation of the part of the territory that is still intact and with the retaking of the invaded area.

The mission was organized by the Presidency of the STF and also involved CNJ's auxiliary judges and staff, as well as advisors from the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, the Attorney General's Office (AGU), and the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI). On-site, judicial police officers from the Court's Security Secretariat ensured the delegation's work, with support from teams of the Federal Police (PF), the National Public Security Force (FNSP), agents of the 8th Region's Labor Justice, and the Brazilian Army.

"The technical visit requested by Justice Barroso in the context of ADPF 709 aimed to verify progress in the reclamation process, evaluate the potential effectiveness of the proposed solutions for the sustainability of the eviction after the departure of the security forces, and identify possible points to be worked on for the improvement of indigenous health," explains Marcelo Varella, special advisor to the Presidency of the STF.

Reclamation
This is the third, and only successful, attempt to remove intruders from the TI Apyterewa, ratified by the federal government in 2007. This time, the action plan ordered by the STF involved the participation of 14 federal and state agencies. To illustrate the complexity of the situation, the total area of the municipality of São Félix do Xingu (PA), the 6th largest in Brazil, is more than 84,000 square kilometers. Despite the vast territorial extension, equivalent to the combined territories of the states of Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Espírito Santo (ES), the population is only 65,000 people, with about 2,500 indigenous individuals. This population disproportion has caused, over the years, a social conflict that led to the expulsion of traditional communities to an area of about 30% of TI Apyterewa, whose territorial extension is 7,700 km2.

According to the Funai Remote Monitoring Center, the TI Apyterewa region was the most deforested area of the Amazon forest between 2019 and 2022. The poor road network and difficult access routes, which require many hours of land travel between locations, are factors that hinder the monitoring of environmental crimes. Often, the use of aircraft becomes a necessity for public authorities involved in the reclamation operation. Territorial disputes date back to the 1980s when the first invaders settled in the indigenous land. Over the years, the lack of supervision allowed the invaders to deforest about 70% of TI Apyterewa.

Nilton Tubino, the coordinator of the reclamation operation and advisor to the SG-PR, assesses that the set of efforts involved enabled the success of the operation. "The phase of removing people and cattle from the region was completed on December 22 last year. What Funai and the National Force are now doing, with support from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama), is to patrol the areas involved in the process of consolidating the reclamation, dismantling structures that still remain on site. Even with the departure of the invaders from the TI, we still have problems with sabotage, such as the destruction of bridges and obstruction of branches, hindering the monitoring actions by the agents involved in the operation," pointed out Nilton Tubino.

During the mission, the official delegation monitored critical local points, with a military helicopter flyover of areas with mining sites, deforestation, pastures, operational bases, and properties around the TI, including an inspection of the former Vila Renascer, to verify compliance with the reclamation. The village was built by illegal occupants of TI Apyterewa. At the height of the invasion, about 200 dwellings were erected there. Today, only the ruins of the buildings remain. There was also a set of dialogues to listen to the indigenous populations and the actors involved in the reclamation actions.

A scene verified in the locality moved many members of the delegation. About 150 pets, including dogs and cats, were abandoned by the illegal occupants. Although many of them were placed in specific facilities of the former village, and there are no longer residents in the place, some animals still occupy the rubble of the destroyed homes, as if they were still waiting for the return of their guardians. Ibama officials said the situation is concerning because many animals need specific care and the conditions of the place are precarious. Most have been neutered, and recently, a campaign was created to facilitate the adoption of those left behind.

ADPF 709

ADPF 709 is a lawsuit filed at the STF by the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib). Upon reviewing the case, the president of the Court ordered the Union not only to devise a plan for the removal of invaders but also another action plan to improve the Indigenous Health Care Subsystem (SasiSUS). In the decision, Justice Barroso summoned the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP), the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI), and the Ministry of Defense (MD) to execute the plan for the expulsion of invaders from the TI under the coordination of the SG-PR. The improvement of SasiSUS was assigned to the Ministry of Health (MS), and the monitoring of the plan's execution was designated to the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU).

On the occasion, Justice Barroso reported that the Supreme Court, when granting a preliminary injunction in ADPF 709, ordered the Brazilian State to adopt three fundamental measures to safeguard the indigenous population: through the protection of those in isolation and of recent contact; the containment and isolation of the invaders of indigenous lands in general; and the provision of health services to indigenous peoples. According to the Justice, for the protection of indigenous communities to be lasting, government intervention focused on medium and long-term measures is necessary, preventing the invaders from returning to the lands.

Regarding the monitoring of the current situation, the special advisor to the Presidency of the STF, Matheus Casimiro, emphasized that the images captured during the mission are essential for ADPF 709. "During the reclamation, many narratives were created about what was happening in that locality, with reports and petitions presented to halt the activities. But one thing is what is in the process, and another is the STF being in the place of the problem and recording the reality. The records made during the mission demonstrate that the region is free of invaders, allowing not only the perception of other aspects related to the lives of the people living there but also the impacts of the reclamation on each of them," he pointed out.

Apyterewa Village

Last Saturday (3), the official delegation visited the Apyterewa Village. The working group was received with a celebration by the Parakanã people. Hundreds of indigenous individuals, including adults and children, gathered to celebrate the arrival of the guests with a warm reception, including songs and dances typical of the ethnicity, as well as gifts to the visitors. After the reception, an extensive agenda of topics of interest to the community was presented by the indigenous leaders. In addition to support in security for monitoring the territory, preventing the return of the invaders, they said there is a scarcity of drinking water and requested help for health and basic sanitation issues in the villages of the region. Another point discussed was the destination of the cattle and goods seized in the reclamation of the TI.

"Now, the thinking of the Parakanã people is to reoccupy the territory so that things improve. The plan is to establish seven more villages in the area, preventing the invaders from returning," said the chief of the Apyterewa Village, Tyé Parakanã. He claims that the main problem of the community was the presence of invaders in the TI, and that the indigenous people were hopeless regarding the departure of the invaders. "With a lot of struggle, we made it! There are many politicians involved in the issue, and if it weren't for the support of Justice Barroso and the federal government, we wouldn't have managed to protect our land. The reclamation has freed us. We are thanking for the work that was done, but we still have many serious problems around here," says Chief Tyé.

Participating in the debates in the village was the auxiliary judge of the CNJ, Fabiane Pieruccini. After the meeting, the judge reinforced the importance of the legacy of the operation, and discussed how this experience can contribute to the pacification of other conflicts in the country. "I work with territorial issues and, within them, with the collective constructions of solutions for areas of land conflicts. I think this initiative by the Supreme Court is unprecedented, and that the focus is not only on the formal solution but also on the material resolution of the issue. The role of the Judiciary is not only to resolve processes but to make their sustainability viable. In this specific case, various institutions are acting, all imbued with the same scope to give effectiveness to a judicial decision. Indeed, it is a modern action, and it tends to resolve the conflict. The process was resolved, and now, we need to apply the necessary means to ensure the decision is effectively complied with."

Moreover, according to the auxiliary judge of the CNJ, the participation of the community in the construction of decisions is fundamental for their sustainability and maintenance over time. "It's not an imposed decision, nor are measures executed by the involved agencies without consulting the main interested party, who, in this case, are the indigenous communities. There is concern for those leaving the area, and this concern is valid. But the most important is those who stay. It is for the indigenous population in the TI that this decision is intended, and who must have their rights guaranteed. I can say that it was very moving to listen to the community, encouraging participation and valuing the culture of the people who are there," concludes Fabiane Pieruccini.

Check out the photos of the Apyterewa mission on the STF's Flickr.

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