Grilagem de terras na Amazônia : fragilidades jurídicas da Lei 10.267/01 num estudo de caso de deslocamento de títulos centenários no Município de Lábrea, AM

Abstract

This work addresses one of the main problems in the Amazon: the virtual version of land grabbing. It is one of the most sensitive topics of our time, not only in Brazil but internationally. Without rational land planning, the climate and environment are seriously compromised, as illegal land use is a gateway to deforestation. In the 2000s, it was believed that the reform by Law 10.267/01 might resolve the chaotic land tenure situation, accumulated since the first Brazil´s land Law of 1850. Although the changes were significant, the law only resolved one aspect of land grabbing: the overlapping of properties. The tool created to address this problem was Sigef, an a modern and agile online electronic platform developed by Incra (Land Tenure Agency). However, with the advancement of computer technologies, fraud that was previously paper-based, shifted to the virtual, and the mechanisms of Law 10.267/01 seemed insufficient to tackle them, revealing vulnerabilities. Through a case study, suspicions were analyzed in the municipality of Lábrea, Amazonas, one of the most affected by deforestation in the Amazon. The hypothesis is that century-old land titles, issued during Brazil´s rubber boom era, are being moved from their original location (displaced) and located over federal lands. The mechanism might violates both registry law (article 225) and Brazil´s Civil Law (article 1.247). We used geospatial techniques in Qgis software, an open source GIS, to cross-reference the location of the original land titles with their respective georeferencing in Sigef. Publicly accessible land databases were utilized, and Access to Information Law was used. Twelve properties certified in SIGEF showed geographical displacement, which indicates misuse of the platform. Two hypotheses are the most likely to explain this vulnerability: the lack of connection and automation between the rural registry/Cnir and Sigef (both Incra´s database) and between this one and data in the Land Registry Offices. Law 10.267/01 is effective in preventing properties´s overlapping but does not prevent land grabbing in the case of a land title. A reform of its foundations may be important, although unlikely in the current composition of Congress. Therefore, the alternative is to apply the existing legislation, improving its tools. The ongoing corrections in Incra and the introduction of Sinter (Decree 11.208/22) could be a solution to virtual land grabbing, but it is crucial for the states to digitize the issued titles and feed them into the future unified Sinter platform.