NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR REGULARIZATION OF QUILOMBO LAND
QUILOMBOL@ www.cohre.org/quilombos
Editorial
No.8 october 2005
Quilombos
INCRA alters regulations for the titling For activists, technical assessors and civil society entities who are involved in the defense of Quilombo rights, now is a delicate moment. Care must be taken when predicting the future effects of the changes proposed by the INCRA in the processes of recognizing communities and judicial contestations of administrative procedures. The suspension of the effects of Document 19 from the Palmares Cultural Foundation and the questioning of the Technical Report on the recognition of the Silva family, together with the motion of unconstitutionality brought forth by the Brazilian political party PFL give an idea about the actual dimension of the conflicting interests that are involved in the recognition and regularization processes of Quilombo lands. In this scenario, COHRE shares information and broadens the analysis of the consequences of this new information in a dynamic process, subject to many contestations. It is an effort to intensify the ability to monitor civil society and social movements in order to achieve land regularization goals.
The land titling process for Quilombo communities now has new regulations. One of the changes included in the procedure is the necessity of an anthropological study of the area to be titled and the possibility of dispossession for the sake of social interests in cases where the title of ownership to the Quilombo territory is not invalid due to nullification, forfeiture, fines or proven disuse. Regulation no. 20, published by the INCRA in Official Diary no. 185 on 26/9/05, has replaced the old regulation (Regulation no. 16). Now that Regulation 16 has been revoked, all administrative titling actions that were in motion, regardless of the stage at which they were, are now to be governed according to the new regulation. Procedures that have already been completed and that comply with the new rules will be approved. Regulation no. 20 regulates the procedures for the identification, recognition, delimitation, demarcation, titling and registration of Quilombo territories. In compliance with the INCRA, after the edition of Decree 4,887/03 it was necessary to revise the internal procedures and regulations found in the various legislations dealing with private property dispossession and agrarian reform in order to find and adapt new ways to streamline the regularization process of Quilombo territories. For the new procedure, the Technical Report on Identification and Delimitation will be composed of seven documents: anthropological reports, descriptive maps and layouts, family registration, registration of presumed title holders, official research on former land titles, evaluation of overlays including conservation, national security, bordering lands, Navy properties and public, federal, state and city lands. The
report must also be technically conclusive. The anthropological study called for in the new regulation has an interdisciplinary nature and must analyze the anthropological, historical, economic and social characteristics of the areas. It must also identify the elements that define the territory of the communities, such as housing and religion, the lands necessary for physical, economical, social and cultural reproduction and the areas that contain indispensable natural resources for subsistence and preservation of customs, traditions, culture and leisure. The method of dispossession for the sake of social interest included in the new regulation is found in article 184 of the Federal Constitution for properties that do not fulfill their social function. In these cases, compensation for the land is paid with land titles from the agrarian debt, and for the benefactors it is paid with money. The Constitution also calls for dispossession in cases where there is the necessity to preserve Brazilian cultural sites, as stated in article 216, section 1. In the following editions, Quilombo@ COHRE will publish further commentary on the implications of Regulation 20/2005.
Quilombol@, october 2005
Alcântara
Military plans may cause new relocations
Community fears that the implantation of new military proposals might affect living and housing areas
The National Space Program (PNAE) is considered a strategic program for the autonomy of the country and for the development of sensory and telecommunication technology. The plan was created by the Brazilian Aeronautics and Space Agency (AEB), a department of the Minister of Science and Technology.
cargo transport and weather balloons, as well as the construction of launch vehicles. In compliance with the document, the Accord of 1996 which regulates commercial launches performed by the Ukraine will also be implemented with other interested countries.
Among the objectives that guide the spatial activities The content of the PNAE makes it clear that the are the “autonomy in the field of small satellites and allocation of sites for the activities of other countries launching vehicles” and the “sustainability of the in Brazil is the point of conflict with the Quilombo finance model for spatial activities through the communities that live in the ethnic territory of commercialization of spatial goods and services.” Alcântara. The location of these sites is the reason In relation to the already existing launch center in for the controversy between the federal Alcântara, which belongs to the Air Force, one of government and the communities, as its the primary actions of the plan is an increase in implementation will result in forced relocations from investments for the launch infrastructure at the center. lands they use for housing, subsistence and spiritual As to the new Alcântara Space Center (CEA), and cultural activities. which is a part of the Brazilian Space Agency, one The Movement for Those Affected by the Base of its primary objectives is the “promotion of the (MABE) and the Association of Rural Black commercialization of space access through the Quilombo Communities in Maranhão implementation of general infrastructure in the CEA, (ACONERUQ) have demanded that the sites be which includes commercial launch sites.” located exclusively inside the limits of the launch The investments in support infrastructure such as center area, which is currently underused, and not the construction of laboratories and launch centers, cause new relocations. construction of electrical grids, water and gas They also demand a share in the revenue generated networks, land and water transport, hospitals, by commercial space launch activities; the schools, residential housing, universities and power possibility of using the equipment and infrastructure plants will provide greater security and save fuel constructed in Alcântara; and the immediate titling during launches and will be constructed “using part of the area dispossessed by Decree 7,820 on of the Quilombo territory. September 12th, 1980 for the construction of the The PNAE defines the actions of the Brazilian launch center.” Space Program between 2005 and 2014 as having the objective of elevating Brazil to the same level In September, the president of the AEB was in as other space-faring countries. Among these Alcântara to propose the infrastructure project to actions are planned satellite missions, sub-orbital the Municipal Prefecture and to civil society.
Quilombol@, october 2005
Community
Sacopã - the life of a carioca quilombo Around 1860, a Quilombo was formed in the region known as Morro dos Cabritos, in Rio de Janeiro city. The nucleus was created by the Sacopã Quilombo, located in the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas neighborhood, an upper-class area in the Carioca capital. Jose Luis Pinto Junior, “Luis Sacopã”, tells us that the community was officially recognized as a Quilombo by the Palmares Cultural Foundation in November of 2004, but they are worried about the delay in the definitive titling of the area.
Ms. Nenem showing the kitchen sealed shut. She is the sister of Luis Sacopã.
“My grandparents came here as runaways from the region of Macaé, before the emancipation of the slaves. They came, settled and stayed here. They passed it on to my parents and who then passed it on to us. We have been resisting for five generations, now. They also resisted back then, but in a different way because (the area) wasn’t so wellknown or valuable. This is a noble place- Lagoa, Christ the redeemer, these things. Today, the pressure is greater. We continue to resist against all this pressure. With the coming of Minister Matilde Ribeiro, we tend to have a little more tranquility and peace of spirit to continue the fight. The usucaption (filed by the community) occurred around 1970, because in the 60’s and 70’s there were many evictions in the southern zones of Rio de Janeiro. We could feel that our time was coming. When they were
almost on top of us, we decided it was time to file the usucaption suit. They didn’t give it, they made it hard for us, they asked us to leave, they demanded that we leave. The city and the State were involved, and private parties too, to remove us from here. We are still here, today. We are resisting at great cost, but we are resisting and we are living. This, for me, is a victory. We have always lived on what we produced internally. Years ago, my father used to raise pigs, but they ended that when they sent the Public Health examiner here. You can’t have pigs nor chickens, because the roosters crow in the morning and wake the neighbors. The kitchen was a different story. We had a boarding house for almost 70 years. My mother cooked meals for the city construction workers that were building the streets here at that time. In the 80’s, they prohibited this type of
meal, claiming that we were polluting the area, which is environmentally protected, so we had to stop. The Court came and sealed shut our doors, they put chains on the doors. Our kitchen was a community kitchen where meals were prepared for all of the families. We were cut off, with no access to the kitchen. We were on the ‘scraps’, I mean, we were hungry. We got so hungry that we broke down the door, going against a judicial order. We aren’t allowed to do that and now we are in this vicious circle until today: they come and close it. We open it. They come and close it again and we open it again. We are resisting, keeping our heads above water. Sacopã was recognized as a Quilombo when we received the certificate from the Palmares Cultural Foundation, but this process has been going on since 1999. They have a certain ritual there, a certain bureaucracy. Besides self-identifying ourselves as Quilombolas, they come over here to look at the area to see if they have the right to call us that, then they send anthropologists to study us. Then the studies end and they give us a title of recognition. But this title doesn’t give us the land, so we aren’t safe yet. We will only be safe the day the federal government, mediated by the INCRA, gives us the property title with clear ownership of the land. Then we will be safe from the constant tension in which we live.”
The Report recognizing the Silva Quilombo is contested The supposed owners of the Silva family’s land presented a contestation against the Technical Report on the Identification, Delimitation and Legal and Occupational Registration of the Silva family Quilombo, which was completed by the INCRA. The report recognizes the Silva family Quilombo and became public through Document 19/2005 from the INCRA in Rio Grande do Sul, on June 21st, 2005. The contestation will be analyzed and judged by the Regional Decision Committee as established in the new Regulation no. 20/2005, which regulates the titling process of Quilombo lands. The final Technical Report will be submitted for the approval of the president of the INCRA. Should the validity and efficacy of the current private property titles be proven, for the sake of maintaining Brazilian culture, the supposed owners will be compensated according to social interest laws as stated in article 216, section 1 of the Federal Constitution, or even by simply buying the land from them. The Silva family occupies an area in one of the most upper-class neighborhoods in the Gaucho capital and were on the verge of being evicted in June of 2005. Their right to stay was guaranteed by the actions of social movements and a Maintenance of Possession suit filed by the Palmares Cultural Foundation and the INCRA in the Gaucho Federal Court. This decision also guaranteed tranquility for the Silva family during the implementation of the administrative titling procedure, coordinated by the Regional Superintendent of the INCRA.
Quilombol@, october 2005
Human Rights
COHRE takes Alcântara to the UN Brazil will be one the countries evaluated as Violations against the right to life, liberty, to its fulfillment of the International Covenant security, private housing and equality before on Civil and Political Rights, together with the law, took place during the violent forced Canada, Italy and Paraguay, during the 85th evictions of thousands of poor families session of the United Nations Human Rights which resulted in the loss of housing, land Committee which will take place between the and dignity. 17th of October and the 3rd of November, COHRE will ask the Human Rights in Geneva. Committee to recommend that the Brazilian COHRE and the NGO Land of Rights will government adopt preventative and present a report to the Committee with compensatory measures against forced information about violations committed by the evictions, as well as the approval of national Brazilian State against the human civil and legislation that regulates the processes of political rights of Quilombo communities in reintegration of possession and eviction and Alcântara; of homeless families in Municipality obeys the standards of international human of Curitiba and landless families in the State rights. of Pará. Publication - the COHRE Americas team has created and made available to anyone interested a publication called the “Right to Housing and Ethnic Territories - Legal protection and the violation of the rights of Quilombo communities in Brazil.” The project is a part of the National Campaign: “Social justice is the regularization of Quilombo territories,” which is being promoted by COHRE, CONAQ and ACONERUQ. The campaign aims to inform the public about the social and economic realities of the Quilombo communities in Brazil and their struggle for the right to housing and traditional lands, and to contribute in the effectiveness of social justice and the elimination of racial discrimination. In this publication, the territorial conflicts and verified forced evictions in the Quilombo communities of Alcântara (MA), the Silva family (RS) and Sapé do Norte (ES) are analyzed, as well as the national and international legislation related to the protection of Quilombo rights.
Inter(Actions)
Marambaia waits for the proposal from INCRA State representative Rodrigo Maia (PFL/RJ) solicited information on August 31st, 2005 from the Minister of Defense José Alencar on the effects of Decree 4,887/2003 on the activities of the armed forces, especially in the case of Alcântara (MA) and the island of Marambaia (RJ). As far as we know, the House of Representatives has not followed the discussions of the Inter-ministerial Executive Group on the titling of the ethnic territory in Alcântara, nor do they know the results of the agreements established between the MDA/ INCRA and the Minister of Defense in discussing the titling of Quilombo territory, the results of which have not yet been released publically. The Quilombos are also waiting for the presentation of a concrete proposal for the title of the territory, a task which has been assumed by the representatives of the MDA/INCRA together with the Association of Quilombos in Marambaia (ARQUIMAR) and was set for the 20th of September.
Staff Letícia Osório, Sebastian Tedeschi, Emily Walsh, Cíntia Beatriz Muller e Sinara Sandri If you have any comments, or wish to subscribe to the mailing list for Quilombol@, please contact : quilombo@cohre.org If you have more information about National Campaign for Promotion of Ownership Regularization of Quilombos Territories or about other programmes and activities of Cohre Americas, please contact cohreamericas@cohre.org
Center on Housing Rights and Evictions Demétrio Ribeiro 990 / 202 Porto Alegre (RS) Cep - 90.010-313 Tel (x) - (51) 3212.1904 This publication has been made possible with the support of :