On March 29, the bounds of the À‘ande Ru Marangatu indigenous land, located in the municipality of Antônio João, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, were officially confirmed.
The demarcation decree signed by the President of the Republic ensures the Guarani-Kaiowá the right to remain in their traditional territory.
The federal administration will now have to remove farmers who invaded the indigenous land from it, so that these indigenous people may live in their land.
The í‘ande Ru Marangatu land was demarcated in October 2004, and it comprises 9,316 hectares. In the same month, the Guarani-Kaiowá of the region, who until then lived in a 26- hectare area, reoccupied about 500 hectares of their traditional lands.
Refusing to accept the recognition of the lands as traditionally occupied by indigenous people, some farmers filed a suit to evict the indigenous people from their demarcated lands.
In the reoccupied land, the Guarani-Kaiowá of the í‘ande Ru Marangatu area could once again grow manioc, beans, corn, potatoes, rice, and banana for their own subsistence.
The legal dispute involving the í‘ande Ru Marangatu area is based on the same arguments against indigenous rights which are being used in other lawsuits involving land areas in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, such as the Buriti land of the Terena people, located in the municipalities of Dois Irmãos do Buriti and Sidrolândia. A repossession order issued by a court was to be complied with as of March 31.
Indigenous leaders who were attending the Regional Conference on Indigenous Policies in Mato Grosso do Sul, on March 30, blocked a road between the cities of Dourados and Ponta Porã and staged a demonstration to express their solidarity toward the Terena people and demand the official recognition of all indigenous lands in the state.
Cimi – Indianist Missionary Council
www.cimi.org.br