PRIOR CONSULTATION AS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT IN ENVIRONMENTAL LICENSING: THE OIAPOQUE CASE AND THE VIOLATION OF INDIGENOUS SELF-DETERMINATION

The research analyzed prior, free, and informed consultation as a fundamental right within the scope of environmental licensing, focusing on the case of Oiapoque, in the state of Amapá, in light of oil prospecting in the Brazilian Equatorial Margin. The topic proved relevant due to the recurring fragility in the implementation of participatory mechanisms aimed at protecting Indigenous peoples. In this context, the general objective was to examine how the absence of prior consultation constituted a violation of Indigenous self-determination. Specifically, the study sought to identify the legal foundations of this right within the Brazilian legal system and to analyze the territorial, cultural, and symbolic impacts resulting from its noncompliance. To this end, a qualitative methodology was adopted, based on bibliographic and documentary research, with normative and critical analysis of socioeconomic data. This approach enabled the understanding of consultation as a collective right linked to the constitutional protection of the social and territorial organization of Indigenous peoples. The findings demonstrated that, in the analyzed case, the absence of consultation went beyond a merely procedural dimension and affected the very core of self-determination, as the discourse of economic growth was used to legitimize the project to the detriment of the social and cultural dimensions involved. Thus, prior consultation cannot be treated as a mere administrative formality, but rather as an essential legal instrument for the protection of traditional territories and for the consolidation of a development model consistent with constitutional principles.