Day 238 - 22 Apr 96 - Page 13


     
     1        ancestral lands through Courts which are slow and
     2        bureaucratic"?
     3        A.   I would just like to add here that the whole question
     4        of land tenure in this State and in Brazil as a whole is a
     5        very complex issue.  Brazil has one of the most unequal
     6        distributions of land in the world with roughly 1 percent
     7        of the population owning approximately 50 percent of the
     8        territory of the country.
     9
    10        In Mato Grosso do Sul you have, as in other States, what
    11        are called latifundistas which are large extensions of land
    12        which are owned by one person or one family.  The whole
    13        question of the latifundia is very closely linked to the
    14        political situation, so I think it is important, when
    15        considering what is happening in Mato Grosso do Sul, is
    16        that the ranching industry is a very powerful industry
    17        which has very strong political connections.
    18
    19        Over the Century, progressively indigenous lands have been
    20        taken over by the ranching industry as a whole, so now when
    21        you look at the map of indigenous reserves they do not
    22        necessarily correspond to what are recognised in the
    23        Brazilian Constitution as original rights and, at the
    24        moment, there is a huge amount of conflict and one of the
    25        tasks that the Courts and the Federal Government Agency,
    26        which is in charge of indigenous lands, has to do is to
    27        determine the extent of occupation and the original rights
    28        of the indigenous peoples.  So even though on the map which
    29        has been circulated, the areas which are demarcated, or
    30        officially recognised, do not necessarily correspond to the
    31        original rights of historic occupation of the land.
    32
    33   Q.   So this map here, which is the other map with all the black
    34        around the border, Mato Grosso do Sul, what is that from
    35        again?
    36        A.  That is from the CEDI, the CEDI Book, which is about
    37        indigenous peoples.  It is a compilation on ----
    38
    39   Q.   This is the situation now?
    40        A.   Yes.
    41
    42   Q.   And the circles on that map, they are the designated
    43        official reserves?
    44        A.  Yes.  There may be other areas where indigenous people
    45        live which are not necessarily designated on that map and
    46        those areas, some of them have not been officially
    47        recognised.  They are either in the process of being
    48        recognised or in the process of being identified, so, as I
    49        said, some may not appear on the map.
    50 
    51   Q.   Continuing to read: 
    52 
    53        "In the last decade there has been much conflict as many
    54        of the remaining Indian lands are increasingly under threat
    55        from cattle ranchers, farmers, settlors and loggers.
    56        Powerful local political and economic interests often
    57        prevent the Indians from inhabiting and using their lands.
    58        Much land has already been devastated by the impact of
    59        (Cultural Survival Quarterly 1994).  Indian areas which
    60        have not been appropriated or invaded are often too small

Prev Next Index