Estatuto da Terra (Lei 4,504/1964)
The Estatuto da Terra (Law No. 4,504 of 1964) is Brazil’s foundational land law, establishing the legal framework for land tenure, agrarian reform, and rural property. The law defines different categories of rural property (propriedade rural) and establishes the conditions for land acquisition through agrarian reform. It created the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) and established the basis for expropriation of underutilized or unproductive land for agrarian reform purposes.
Legal area: Property law governs the rights and obligations relating to land, real property, and agrarian reform.
Year enacted: 1964
Full text: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/Lei/L4504.htm
Key Provisions
- Art. 3: Definition of rural property (propriedade rural)
- Art. 16-24: Agrarian reform (reforma agrária)
- Art. 25: Expropriation of underutilized land (desapropriação para reforma agrária)
- Art. 26: Minimum land area for rural property (módulo rural)
- Art. 27: Productive use requirement (destinação produtiva da terra)
- Art. 44-47: INCRA functions and administration
- Art. 77-81: Land tenure regularization (regularização fundiária)
Significance
The Estatuto da Terra is central to Brazil’s ongoing agrarian reform process, one of the most significant land distribution efforts in the world. The law has been the basis for the settlement of millions of families on redistributed land. The law’s provisions on productive use have been used to justify expropriation of large estates, though the process has been politically contentious. The law remains the primary legal framework for addressing Brazil’s historically unequal land distribution.