Brazilian Senate Passes Amendment to Enshrine 1988 Cutoff for Indigenous Lands

Overview

• Senators approved PEC 48/2023 to write the ‘marco temporal’ into the Constitution, limiting claims to areas occupied or disputed on October 5, 1988, and sent the measure to the Chamber of Deputies.
• Leaders pushed the proposal through a special calendar by 48–21, allowing two rounds on the same day; the second round passed 52–15 after earlier first-round approval.
• The text includes provisions to bar expansion of demarcated areas and to protect good‑faith private possessors, including market‑value compensation for land and improvements if expropriated.
• The move is framed by Senate leadership as a response to recent Supreme Court actions, while the Court prepares to hear four cases on the 2023 marco temporal law under Justice Gilmar Mendes.
• Indigenous groups condemned the vote, threatened legal challenges, and reported being blocked from the Senate gallery, as analysts warn the outcome could affect 300‑plus pending demarcations and scores of related cases.