2023 will be remembered as the year when the Brazilian Supreme Court finally concluded the Marco Temporal trial after more than a decade of process and consideration, and it explicitly declared this fundamental attack on Indigenous rights to be unconstitutional. At the time, this was hailed as a major and definitive victory that would immediately advance the recognition of many Indigenous territories.

However, as we enter 2024, we find ourselves in a strangely familiar setting: the Marco Temporal thesis has returned to the Supreme Court for reconsideration. Once again, the Indigenous movement, environmentalists, and society at large are watching as the highest court in Brazil prepares to rule – again – on the constitutionality of the doctrine.

How did we get here, and what comes next?