(New York, December 18, 2025) – A proposed constitutional amendment could significantly weaken Indigenous rights in Brazil by imposing severe restrictions on the process of demarcating Indigenous lands, Climate Rights International said. The proposal follows recent and sweeping legislative changes that have already weakened environmental protections and Indigenous rights in the country. On December 9, the Federal Senate approved a constitutional amendment that would require Indigenous Peoples to prove, by October 5, 1988 (the date the Constitution was enacted), that they occupied their lands or that there was an active legal dispute over those lands in order for their territories to be legally recognized.

On November 27, Congress overturned presidential vetoes critical of provisions in Law 15.190/2025—widely known as the “devastation” law—a major reform of Brazil’s environmental licensing framework. The law revokes decades of environmental and social safeguards and could have far-reaching consequences for Indigenous, Quilombola, and traditional communities, as well as for Brazil’s forests and other ecosystems.

“Since COP30, Brazilian lawmakers have redoubled their attacks on indigenous rights and the environment,” said Sarah Sax, a researcher at Climate Rights International. “These latest actions by Congress could spell disaster for Brazil’s climate goals, indigenous rights, and the future of the Amazon rainforest.”

The proposed constitutional amendment PEC 48/2023 would constitutionalize the so-called “time frame” for the demarcation of indigenous lands, requiring indigenous peoples to prove occupation of their lands on October 5, 1988, or the existence of an active legal dispute at that time. Currently, indigenous land rights are constitutionally recognized as original rights, preceding the formation of the State, and land demarcation is not conditional on proof of occupation on a fixed historical date. The proposal was sent directly to the Senate plenary, without review by the Constitution and Justice Committee, and approved in two votes on the same day, an unusually accelerated process . Now, it goes to the Chamber of Deputies.

As consequências da aprovação da emenda constitucional seriam devastadoras para as comunidades indígenas em todo o Brasil, incluindo o Território Indígena Krikati , documentado no relatório da CRI sobre as cadeias de suprimento de gado e couro. Partes do território Krikati foram ocupadas por fazendeiros antes de 1988 por meio de grilagem de terras e violência, impedindo a ocupação indígena contínua, apesar dos laços históricos e culturais de longa data com a terra. Outros povos indígenas expulsos à força de suas terras antes de 1988 também poderiam perder permanentemente partes de seus territórios. Uma lei que utilizava a doutrina do marco temporal para limitar a demarcação de terras indígenas foi considerada inconstitucional pela Supremo Tribunal Federal em 2023, embora recursos relacionados ainda estejam pendentes.Organizações indígenas condenaram veementemente a medida do Senado. A Coordenação das Organizações Indígenas da Amazônia Brasileira (COIAB) alertou que a aprovação da emenda intensificaria os conflitos fundiários, a destruição ambiental e a violência contra os povos indígenas.

A ação do Senado ocorre menos de três semanas após o Congresso votar pela derrubada dos vetos do presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva a 63 das disposições mais prejudiciais do projeto de lei devastador. A lei cria amplas isenções de licenciamento para a agricultura e a pecuária, regulariza retroativamente empresas que operavam sem autorização, acelera a tramitação de projetos considerados “estratégicos” nas áreas de mineração, agronegócio, energia e infraestrutura, e expande drasticamente os mecanismos de autolicenciamento que permitem às empresas declarar conformidade sem avaliação ambiental prévia. A lei também restringe de maneira acentuada os requisitos de consulta livre prévia e informada apenas às terras indígenas e quilombolas totalmente reconhecidas e tituladas, excluindo, segundo algumas estimativas, cerca de um terço dos territórios indígenas da Amazônia e cerca de 80% dos territórios quilombolas que ainda não receberam reconhecimento formal do Estado.

A lei entrará em vigor em fevereiro de 2026. Em 3 de dezembro, o Congresso aprovou novas regras  que ampliam a Licença Ambiental Especial (LAE), que permite que projetos classificados como “estratégicos” pelo governo federal ignorem as etapas tradicionais de licenciamento ambiental e avancem  sob um regime de licenciamento acelerado. Espera-se que a nova lei de licenciamento ambiental enfrente questionamentos de inconstitucionalidade por parte da sociedade civil e do próprio governo.

“The new licensing law removes an important legal brake against deforestation and land grabbing, while the Temporal Framework amendment would severely limit what is considered indigenous land, ignoring decades of forced displacement and violence,” Sax said. The implications of the congressional actions also extend to Brazil’s climate commitments. Indigenous territories in the Amazon are among the most effective barriers to deforestation, and several studies have shown that forests within indigenous lands—including those that have not yet received formal state recognition—have significantly lower rates of forest loss than neighboring areas. Weakening land rights and environmental licensing risks accelerating deforestation at a time when Brazil has committed to reducing emissions and ending illegal forest loss.

“Brazil has made significant progress in recent years in strengthening the protection of forests and the rights of indigenous peoples. This legislative pressure in Congress could reverse that progress, accelerating the destruction of the Amazon and undermining the country’s climate goals,” Sax said. “The Chamber of Deputies must vote against the amendment and reject further setbacks in essential environmental and human rights protections.”