Mato Grosso Justice Expedition Delivers Docs, Custody Deal at Border

The second edition of the Expedição Justiça Sem Fronteiras traveled to Palmarito, a community in Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, Mato Grosso, Brazil, near the Bolivia border. The mobile service, organized by the Mato Grosso State Judiciary, offered free citizenship assistance, document regularization, health, social and educational support to residents. Bolivian street‑vendor Gustavo Soliz said, “I would like to get my documents so I can bring my whole family and work legally,” while Bolivian resident Gerônima Chube used the service to obtain papers for her child.

During the same visit, a conciliation hearing resolved the custody of two children whose mother had returned to Bolivia. Judge José Antonio Bezerra Filho, with the Public Defender and Public Prosecutor, approved the transfer of legal guardianship to the father, Jeferson Christian Ferreira Barros, preventing the children from being sent across the border. The hearing was held in a hybrid format, with the mother participating via video conference. The expedition will continue to Santa Clara de Monte Cristo and Vila Picada later in June.