A historic decision occurred in the courts on Sept. 21, 2023 in Brazil. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Indigenous rights in a landmark case that weighed the constitutionality of establishing a time limit for making claims to ancestral territory. Without this ruling, the idea of “marco temporal” was in place, which would have forced Indigenous groups to prove they were on the land in question in 1988, when Brazil’s current constitution was ratified, in order to assert a right to the territory. That idea has faced severe criticism from Indigenous people, human rights organizations and even experts at the United Nations who argued it could “legalize theft of Indigenous lands”. This connects to what we discussed in class, as human right organizations were involved in advocating for this decision, and that it allowed indigenous people and communities to have more rights over their land. This decision is remarkable as Brazil is home to 1.6 million Indigenous people, according to its latest census, and ancestral lands form an essential part of their culture and livelihood. This decision alone is allowing for more rights granted to indigenous communities and their land which is wonderful for Brazil and their indigenous residents.
Brazil has a strong sense of culture and is seemingly very proud of it and wants to show it off. This court decision allows for an essential part of their culture and livelihood to continue to thrive. It seems as though many Brazilians do have the idea that their culture is above others. However, the cultures of the indigenous Indians, Africans, and Portuguese have together formed the modern Brazilian way of life. Portuguese culture is by far the dominant of these influences; from it Brazilians acquired their language, their main religion, and most of their customs. Therefore, it seems Brazil may still suffer from ethnocentric views but also seems open to other cultures and to evolve their culture when they see new ways/ideas that they like.
Blog post by Charlotte Arnswald
