An influx of more than 500 people into the Ituna/Itatá Indigenous Land has opened illegal roads, started deliberate fires and put the Igarapé Ipiaçava people who live in voluntary isolation at immediate risk.
On Aug. 26 a federal court ordered the National Public Security Force to deploy within 48 hours to contain the invasion, but by Sept. 11 the reinforcements had not arrived. Federal prosecutors say the failure to act prompted them to ask a court to impose a daily fine of 50,000 Brazilian reais (about $9,000) on the government for not sending adequate security forces.
The recent wave of occupations followed the creation of the Bacajaí Environmental Protection Area, or APA Bacajaí, under a new state law that allows private owners to build homes and raise livestock. APA Bacajaí completely overlaps the federally protected Ituna/Itatá territory in Pará, producing legal confusion that authorities say has been weaponized by land-grabbers to justify taking land for cattle ranching and other agricultural uses.
The area is subject to a temporary land-use restriction order intended to protect the isolated Igarapé Ipiaçava people, but on-the-ground enforcement has lagged. The federal government has argued it needs authorization from Pará’s state government to deploy on the territory, and state officials have not cooperated, according to federal prosecutors. Prosecutors counter that federal forces can be used on federal land without state permission.
Those legal and political disputes are now playing out while invaders continue to clear forest and set fires inside the Indigenous land, increasing the immediate danger to people living without contact and heightening the risk of longer-term loss of territory and habitat. Both the federal government and the state of Pará did not reply to requests for comment by the time of publication.
The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office has placed legal pressure on the government with its fine request, and the temporary restriction order remains in place. The situation hinges on whether security forces will be deployed and whether courts will enforce penalties to halt the incursion and protect the isolated Indigenous community.
