BRIn February 2026, Judge Flávio Jardim of the First Regional Federal Court (TRF-1) made a controversial decision to reinstate the environmental license for the Volta Grande gold mine project by Canadian company Belo Sun along the Xingu River. This decision reversed a January ruling by the Federal Justice of Altamira, which had determined that the mining company had not met all legal requirements set by TRF-1, including proper consultation with indigenous communities and completion of an Indigenous Component Study (ECI). The National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) and the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF) had previously criticized the company’s environmental assessments, pointing out significant gaps such as the exclusion of self-declared indigenous people from evaluations and lack of data on affected communities like the Juruna tribe. Despite these concerns, Judge Jardim ruled that the conditions had been fulfilled, citing previous recognition by FUNAI of the study’s validity. Local indigenous leaders and civil society organizations viewed this as a setback, while APIB argued that administrative revisions are part of normal governance and should not automatically影响
Bias read (Right): The article presents the judge's decision to favor the mining project despite prior objections from FUNAI and MPF, suggesting a pro-industry stance. It highlights the reversal of a more cautious judicial position and frames the judge's reasoning as prioritizing procedural consistency over updated行政
