Accused of violations against quilombola communities in Alcântara, Brazil will be judged by the Inter-American Court.

247 - A lawsuit seeking to hold the Brazilian state accountable for alleged violations against quilombola communities in Alcântara, Maranhão, will be judged by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights this month, reports journalist Mônica Bergamo in Folha de S.Paulo.

The case is related to the Alcântara Launch Center (CLA), a rocket launch base of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), inaugurated in 1983, and the removal of quilombola families from the region, in a conflict that has dragged on for decades.

The situation was reported to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an organ linked to the Organization of American States (OAS), by Justiça Global in 2001. The final hearings will take place on the 26th and 27th of this month in Chile. Afterwards, there will be a period for final written arguments and, subsequently, the publication of the judgment by the Court. 

According to the Inter-American Commission, the Brazilian State has affected "the collective patrimony of 152 quilombola communities due to the failure to issue property titles for their lands, the installation of an aerospace base without due consultation and prior consent, the expropriation of their lands and territories, and the lack of judicial resources to remedy this situation."

In 2020, Jair Bolsonaro (PL) signed an agreement with the American government of Donald Trump that allowed the commercial use of the rocket launch base.