Buenos Aires, 22 September 2023 (dpa/MIA) - The Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) on Thursday ruled against an attempt to restrict the recognition of new indigenous reservations.

The court in Brasília declared the law - which stipulates that only land occupied by indigenous peoples on the day the constitution was promulgated on October 5, 1988 can be designated as a protected area - unconstitutional by a 9-2 vote.

Brazil's constitution guarantees indigenous peoples the preservation of their social organizations, customs, languages, beliefs and traditions, as well as the right to the land they traditionally occupy, said Judge Cármen Lúcia before casting her vote.

Land ownership cannot be separated from other guaranteed fundamental rights, she said.

Numerous indigenous people celebrated the decision outside the courthouse, as they watched on television. "I am relieved that we are getting our land back. We have been through a lot, I can't describe what I feel," said Jaciara Priprá of the Xokleng people.

Critics of the law complained that indigenous peoples would no longer be able to get back tribal areas from which they had previously been expelled. It could also give a legal basis for contacting isolated indigenous peoples for example to "enforce state measures of public benefit."

Next week, the judges plan to hear what this means for the more than 260 cases in which private individuals or companies have illegally acquired indigenous land under the law now in force. Despite the STF's decision in favour of indigenous land rights, landowners could be entitled to compensation should they have to return their property.

Photo: MIA archive