I truly enjoyed reading this article about legal recognition being given to the descendants of the escaped slaves who formed quilombos, the communities established by the escaped slaves based on their traditional communities in Africa, the most famous of which was Palmares in what is now part of the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco . I had no idea that legal recognition could be granted to the quilombos, but apparently it was written into the 1988 constitution.
Much of the progress in recognizing the quilombos has come during Lula's presidency:
Since taking office in 2003, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has jump-started the quilombo movement, and upset powerful landowners, by streamlining the process for granting the settlements official recognition and land rights.
Rolf Hachbart, head of the country's land-reform agency, said that helping quilombos is one way the government is paying a historical debt for slavery. More than half of the 63 settlements with land titles nationwide received them under Lula da Silva's government.
The Brazilian government estimates that as many as two million people live in recognized and unrecognized quilombos that total about 116,000 square miles of land.
''These people came here as slaves and never had the right to land,'' Hachbart said. "They were poor and excluded, and we are trying to fix what was a historical wrong.''
Despite complaints from landowners, it is less an issue of land ownership than honoring their traditions:
Quilombo leaders said their fight wasn't just about land. Many also keep alive the traditions of their communities' founders, including growing the same foods and practicing the same religions.
''The difference between us and other communities is that people are preserving the customs of our ancestors, of the people who came in the 18th century,'' said Ananias Nery, a leader of a group of quilombos near the northeastern Brazilian town of Cachoeira.
There is no question that land reform is needed in Brazil and that it is one of the most intractable issues in the country. It's certainly encouraging to see one very small measure taking place, especially through legal means.
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