Issuing title deeds to slave descendants’ land in Brazil sluggish

Territories lack legal protection and are prone to conflicts

Published on 29/05/2018 - 20:13 By Débora Brito - Brasília

Less than 7% of the territories recognized as quilombola have been granted official status under the law in Brazil. “Quilombola” is a term used to refer to the descendants of black slaves who escaped slavery and founded communities known as quilombos.

Over the last 15 years, 206 quilombola areas—home to some 13 thousand families—have been granted a title deed by the National Institute for Colonization and Field Reform, the Brazilian agency tasked with issuing the deeds to identified and recognized land.

Since 1988, approximately 3.2 thousand quilombola communities have been acknowledged. Nearly 80% of them were identified after 2003, when a decree brought forth regulations on territories occupied by quilombola communities.

Without proper official status under the law, such areas are unable to benefit from basic public policies and can become vulnerable to conflicts.

In the view of quilombola leaders, the decree proved successful in the recognition of the existing communities in the country and in the guarantee that the families have their rights enforced. Nonetheless, activist go on to argue, having the title deed issued—the final stage—is a rather sluggish process.

“The decree brought along important advancements in theory. In practice, it’s just a tool. It depends on how the state machine operates in order for this tool to become really effective. And that’s when we come to understand that institution racism prevails to this day,” said Ronaldo dos Santos, of the National Coordination for Quilombola Communities (CONAQ).

Constitutional

In February this year, the country’s Supreme Court confirmed the decree as constitutional, and established that quilombola territories did not necessarily have to be occupied when the 1988 Constitution took effect in order to be recognized as such.

Difficulties

Communities lacking title deeds face a number of difficulties linked to access to basic health care, education, and transport. Energy and water are also scarce and may spark conflicts between traditional peoples and landowners and executives using the same water resources in their enterprises.

“Some policies reach us, some don’t. As for school, for a long time we’ve only had elementary education. We had to leave the community in order to attend high school. This year a school was inaugurated which had been under construction for six years,” quilombola Valéria recounts.

Translation: Fabrício Ferreira -  Edition: Lílian Beraldo / Mariana Branco

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