The Federal Court ordered the Union to invest R$597 million in historical reparation and social development projects in Canudos, in the backlands of Bahia, due to the massacre carried out by the Army during the war of 1896 and 1897, which left thousands dead.
The decision also recognizes the State's responsibility for the flooding of the ruins of the old Belo Monte camp, led by Antônio Conselheiro, during the construction of the Cocorobó dam, completed in 1969.
The decision can be appealed, which was signed this Thursday (12) by federal judge João Paulo Pirôpo de Abreu, from the Federal Court of Paulo Afonso (BA).
Contacted by Folha, the AGU (Attorney General of the Union) stated that the Union has not yet been notified of the decision and that it will analyze the appropriate measures as soon as this occurs.
The decision was made in a public civil action filed by the municipality of Canudos, which sought compensation for collective moral damages.
The judge ordered that the resources be applied to historical preservation, water supply, basic sanitation, housing, health, education, rural development and tourism projects, instead of being transferred directly to municipal coffers.
The specific projects, the amounts allocated to each area and the execution deadlines must still be defined. According to the ruling, this stage will begin after the final judgment, when there is no longer any possibility of appeal, and will involve the participation of the local population and public institutions.
The mayor of Canudos, Jilson Cardoso (PSD), told Folha this Friday (13) that the conviction represents an opportunity to rebuild the municipality, which, according to him, still faces infrastructure problems and difficulties in offering basic services to the population.
Cardoso said he trusts that the Union will not appeal the sentence. "If this action is appealed, it will once again destroy the dream of the population of Canudos, because it really is a population that believes in better days."
In the decision, the judge rejected the Union's argument that the deadline for claiming compensation had expired. In the decision, it recognized that the historical and cultural damage caused by the destruction of the camp affected the memory and collective identity of the population, with consequences that went beyond the direct victims of the conflict.
The War of Canudos placed the Army and the residents of the camp led by Blessed Antônio Conselheiro on opposite sides. Amid the drought and economic difficulties faced by the region, thousands of country people gathered in the community, which began to arouse the distrust of local elites and the republican government.
Rumors that Conselheiro's followers intended to overthrow the Republic and restore the Monarchy contributed to the sending of military expeditions to the region. After three defeated offensives, the Army destroyed the camp in the fourth expedition, which ended in October 1897. It is estimated that between 20,000 and 25,000 people died in the conflict, portrayed by writer Euclides da Cunha in "Os Sertões".
The old camp was rebuilt by survivors, but ended up submerged by the waters of the Cocorobó dam. The current city of Canudos, located around 400 kilometers from Salvador, was emancipated in 1985.
In September 2025, Folha showed that residents of Canudos had gone to court to demand reparations for the massacre. Among the authors of that initiative were Mayor Jilson Cardoso himself and descendants of war survivors. At the time, the group demanded a formal apology from the Union, investments to preserve the memory of the conflict and economic and social development measures for the municipality.
In March of this year, the TRF1 (Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region) and the TJBA (Court of Justice of Bahia) signed a partnership to develop Restorative Justice actions, a method that seeks to promote dialogue and repair damages with the participation of affected communities.
According to TRF1, the initiative was proposed in light of the historical, social and cultural consequences of the conflict for the population of Canudos.
In October 2025, the courts also participated in a conciliation hearing in the municipality, with representatives from the Federal Public Ministry and other institutions, to discuss solutions to the legal action.
The sentence determines that the definition of repair projects includes the participation of the city hall, the Union, the Federal Public Ministry and the Federal Public Defender's Office, in addition to providing for mechanisms for consultation with the population and judicial monitoring.
According to Mayor Jilson Cardoso, the municipality already has projects under development for some of the areas covered by the sentence. One of them foresees the modernization of the irrigation system of the Vaza-Barris irrigated perimeter, one of the main local economic activities.
According to him, the proposal was developed in partnership with the government of Bahia and is in the budget adjustment phase. The estimated investment is R$30 million to R$40 million. "We already have the project ready, we are just going to make some adjustments to go to the executive project", he stated.
Cardoso said that the current irrigation system, installed around 60 years ago, uses the flood method. The proposal is to replace it with techniques such as dripping and micro-irrigation, which, according to him, would allow the cultivated area to be expanded with the same amount of water.
He also highlighted the need for investments in health, education and basic sanitation. According to him, there are rural communities without access to electricity and quality drinking water, and the municipality faces difficulties in maintaining health services, including a hospital with 42 beds.
