SQUATTERS hoping to gain legal ownership of tracts of Brazil鈥檚 Amazon rainforest were thwarted last week by the country鈥檚 president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. At the last minute, Lula used his powers to veto parts of a controversial bill that would have allowed the land grab.
The original purpose of the bill had been to grant land rights to indigenous inhabitants, but amendments as it passed through Congress would have given legal backing to a ploy by companies and landowners to acquire ownership of plots of forest by putting squatters on them. Once acquired, such land is often deforested.
Despite the veto, campaigners for the rights of indigenous Amazonian people say more clarity is needed on . They say the law still allows land to be donated or sold at a quick profit for less than it is worth, and that it legitimises all land grabs before December 2004. They also claim that uncertainties in the law remain, and that this encourages squatters who hope they may eventually be rewarded.
Advertisement
鈥淭he veto was positive,鈥� says Brenda Brito, executive director of , which campaigns for sustainable use of Amazonia鈥檚 resources. But to avoid another race for property, the government should pre-empt land grabs by creating new protected areas for conservation, and by recognising indigenous people鈥檚 land before issuing title deeds to private parties, Brito says.