The participation and the indigenous claims in the National Constitutent Assembly (1987-1988)

Abstract

The research's theme is the participation of indigenous people and the demands for their rights during the Brazilian constituent process of 1987-1988. We elected the following research problem: how the main demands regarding indigenous rights were presented in the National Constituent Assembly (ANC). We carried out an documentary research based on the analysis of the ANC annals relating to the Subcommittee on Blacks, Indigenous Populations, Disabled People and Minorities and the Social Order Commission. The discussion of the results of this survey was presented in two conceptual keys. The first of them emphasizing the participation of indigenous people themselves in the ANC (politics of presence) and the second through the contributions of indigenous supporters (politics of ideas). The results showed that the conjunction of these two articulations provided several achievements of indigenous rights in the Federal Constitution. However, there is still a continuity in the violation of these peoples' rights, denoting the permanence of indigenous mobilizations.