After recognizing and at the same time imploding the Soy Moratorium, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) took another decision that affects the climate and environmental agenda. The Court endorsed Minister Flávio Dino's injunction authorizing mining on lands belonging to the Cinta Larga People. The decision is provisional and refers only to Writ of Injunction 7,516, presented by the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Cinta Larga People (PATJAMAAJ). But it “opens the gate” to activity in other ITs.
STF authorizes mining in territory of the Cinta-Larga People
After recognizing and at the same time imploding the Soy Moratorium, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) took another decision that affects the climate and environmental agenda. The Court endorsed Minister Flávio Dino's injunction authorizing...
The decision is provisional and refers only to Writ of Injunction 7,516, presented by the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Cinta Larga People (PATJAMAAJ). But it “opens the gate” to activity in other ITs.
- This is because the STF still gave a deadline of up to two years for the National Congress to issue a law on mineral exploration in Indigenous Lands, Folha and Brasil de Fato report.
- According to the Court, there is a failure by the Union and Congress to regulate article 231 of the Constitution, which states that the use of water resources, research and mining of...
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This is because the STF still gave a deadline of up to two years for the National Congress to issue a law on mineral exploration in Indigenous Lands, Folha and Brasil de Fato report. According to the Court, there is a failure by the Union and Congress to regulate article 231 of the Constitution, which states that the use of water resources, research and mining of minerals in ITs can only be carried out with authorization from Congress. For the STF, the legislative omission will only be overcome with the approval and publication of the rule, highlights Jota.
Regarding mining in the Cinta Larga territory, the Court determined that indigenous people must be consulted and indigenous cooperatives will have priority in the activity, even if miners have already started exploration. If indigenous people do not exercise their right of priority, their status as land owners will be applied in their favor. Thus, the right to a 50% share of the total amount owed to states, municipalities and the Union as financial compensation for the exploration of mineral resources is guaranteed.
The STF decision also foresees the need for environmental impact studies, and exploration is restricted to 1% of the Cinta Larga area. It was also established that the federal government ensures the cessation of any illegal mining activity in the territory.
The Cinta Larga were divided over the regulation of mining on their lands. PATJAMAAJ's request goes against the position of other indigenous organizations, such as the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB). And on the eve of the trial, a report from the Vilhena Special Indigenous Health District (DSEI), obtained exclusively by Agência Pública, revealed the impact of mineral exploration in the territory, located between Rondônia and Mato Grosso.
The document records 133 cases of malaria in 2026 and shows that diabetes and hypertension have increased dozens of times since 2000. During the period, cases of diabetes among the Cinta Larga jumped from 2 to 107, while records of hypertension rose from 4 to 131. The increase affects a population of over 1600 indigenous people, distributed in 59 villages in the Roosevelt, Parque do Aripuanã and Serra Indigenous Lands. Morena and Aripuanã. In other words, 7% of Cinta Larga caught malaria, and 8% became hypertensive. The records appear both in villages and in areas identified as mining, including Ouro Preto, Laje Roosevelt, Flor do Prado and Madalena.
An indigenous Cinta Larga woman, interviewed on condition of anonymity, states that the recurrence of malaria cases can now be observed among children and adolescents. "Where there is malaria, we know there is mining. You arrive in the territory and it is already full of cases. So, we can no longer work with prevention, only with the treatment of the disease", he explains.
Revista Fórum, Valor, Vero Notícias, g1, Conjur and Rádio Itatiaia also echoed the STF's decision on mining in Indigenous Lands.
In time 1: The STF judgments involving Indigenous Peoples reveal the same logic: making the protection of territories depend on acts that the State delayed or failed to carry out, point out Dinamam Tuxá, executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), and Ricardo Terena and Ingrid Martins, legal coordinators of the entity. “The Supreme Court has the opportunity to affirm that state delay cannot reduce Rights, in light of the Constitution that it is responsible for guarding and the climate commitments made by Brazil to the world”, they highlight in O Globo.
In time 2: A joint letter from 34 religious entities from different faith traditions was sent to the STF making an ethical, moral and spiritual appeal for the Court to continue protecting the Constitution, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the right of Brazilians to an ecologically balanced environment and the instruments capable of preventing today's environmental destruction from becoming tomorrow's human tragedies, reports O Globo. The entities highlight the court's “Green Agenda” this month, which includes the judgment of the time frame and the Devastation Law. "There are times when defending life requires courage. This is one of those moments", concludes the document. If the STF is evaluated for its decisions on the Soy Moratorium and mining in Indigenous Lands, themes also included in the “Green Agenda”, the courage required to preserve life has gone a long way.