The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) signed decrees that expropriate four areas in Bahia and Sergipe to regularize quilombola territories.
The signatures were signed last Friday (20), and the decrees were published on Monday (23). The areas were declared of social interest for the expropriation of rural properties that occupy the demarcated territories.
In Sergipe, the expropriations include the quilombola territories of Ladeiras, in Japoatã, with 1,988 hectares, and Desterro, in Indiaroba, which covers 124 hectares.
In Bahia, the decree covers the quilombola territory of Volta, in Bom Jesus da Lapa, with 12,805 hectares, and Caonge, in Cachoeira, totaling 907 hectares.
According to the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU), the decrees “are in line with the Land Regularization Policy for Quilombola Territories, which aims to guarantee the physical, social, economic and cultural reproduction of these communities”.
These decrees are part of a broader government initiative to regularize quilombola territories. At the end of November, Lula had already signed 15 decrees of social interest for expropriation in eight Brazilian states, including the Quilombo Pitanga de Palmares area, in Simões Filho (BA) – the place where quilombola leader mother Bernadete was murdered in 2022.
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The decrees determine that the properties covered will only receive compensation for improvements made in good faith and in accordance with the legality of ownership. The measure seeks to ensure that the territories are allocated to the traditional communities that have historically occupied them.
According to Incra, many land regularization processes in quilombola territories began more than a decade ago.
After the steps required by legal regulations, the presidency of the body recognized and declared these areas as belonging to the remaining quilombola communities, leaving it up to the President of the Republic to carry out the expropriation.
