Ibiapaba and the open veins of Ceará

The dispute between Ceará and Piauí related to the territorial boundaries between the two states, in the Ibiapaba region, is an issue that has gone beyond institutional constraints and threatens to ignore precepts that modern society understands as fundamental human rights.

Decades and centuries have passed with successes and failures in the back and forth of state borders. Now, as if it were an urgent matter, this issue arises in Teresina and has repercussions in Brasília as a priority issue for the honor and sovereignty of the people of Piauí.

Those unfamiliar with the regional reality might imagine that this is just another one of those conflicts involving historical, ethnic, religious, economic or ideological factors, such as the (de)militarized zone that separates Korea into south and north or the recent animosities between Venezuela and the former British Guiana around the so-called Essequibo.

The lack of a recognized border between the two states subjects part of the population to serious problems, such as difficulty in accessing basic services, in addition to subjecting managers to administrative complications, but it is not — by far — a reason for airs of rivalry and tension.

There are moments in which some of the actors involved in this debate are acting for what they think is an audience.

The Supreme Federal Court, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Army have already been contacted. If time is money, how can we explain to the taxpayer the expenses incurred by people coming and going and lawsuits due to this dispute without a visible solution?

Every human being must have the right to self-recognition. All peoples must have the right to self-declaration. The only force needed to end this matter is the finger in the ballot box. How about asking the residents of this region what they think and making the results of the consultation official?

Who recognizes themselves as Ceará or Piauí on this side or the other of the border? Point! May the legitimate will of the majority prevail.

The closure of this matter also means the end of unnecessary expenses and, most importantly, the limitations imposed on these populations. If that were not enough, we will eliminate — once and for all — the political and electoral use of this problem.

Voting will always be the path to justice and democracy over any argument.