Why is there talk of “genocide” against the Yanomami in Brazil?

The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decreed on January 20 a state of public health emergency in the Yanomami community, the largest in the South American country, where dozens have died -especially children- from severe malnutrition and preventable diseases such as malaria.

Lula da Silva himself traveled to the Yanomami territory, the largest indigenous reserve in Brazil, located in the northwest of the Amazon region; one day after the declaration. His Minister of Justice, Flavio Dino, later assured that there is compelling evidence to describe what happened as “genocide”.

The lack of attention and official negligence in the face of what many already qualify as a humanitarian crisis are among the reasons for those who cry out for justice.

A “sudden” emergency that is not new

For years, local activists and indigenous authorities have denounced the precarious situation of the Yanomami community, defenseless against the so-called “garimpeiros”, illegal gold miners who have “invaded” the indigenous territory under the “complicit gaze” of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

The garimpas o Illegal mines proliferated in Amazonian territory during the 1980s, although they were then mostly eradicated during the 1990s and 2000s. According to estimates by environmental and human rights groups, reported by the Associated Press, during the Bolsonaro administration (2019-2022) the numbers of illegal miners rose to 20,000, in part due to high gold prices.

Illegal mines controlled by miners and Paramilitaries have established themselves on Yanomami farmland, cutting off autonomous food supplies. They have also contaminated the rivers in which the natives fish and drink with the mercury used to process the metal they extract.

Environmental and medical experts draw attention to Amazonian deforestation and animal deaths, as well as pockets of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes as a result of mining. Others warn against the arrival of outsiders in isolated native communities that do not possess immunity to diseases common in other parts of the country.

“We want to live”

Eight out of 10 Yanomami children suffered from chronic malnutrition in 2020, according to a joint study by the United Nations Children’s Fund and the Brazilian state institute Fiocruz. According to official data revealed in 2021, 44,069 people from the Yanomami community fell ill with malaria in two years. The entire indigenous population was infected, some more than once.

At least 570 Yanomami children died during Bolsonaro’s tenure. All died from curable diseases such as influenza, pneumonia, anemia and diarrhea. This meant a 29% increase in the deaths of minors in the community, according to an investigation by the independent Brazilian media Sumauma.

Sumauma too reported that 52.7% of Yanomami children under five years of age have nutritional deficits and weigh less than expected for their age.

“The garimpeiros are destroying our rivers, our jungle and our children. Our air is no longer pure, our hunting disappears and our people cry and cry for clean water. We want to live, we want to recover our peace and our Territory,” he wrote on Twitter on President of the local Yanomami health council, Júnior Hekurari Yanomami.

The activist and member of the indigenous community posted his tweet along with an aerial video showing the devastation of the jungle by illegal miners.

Hekurari also denounced that on many occasions, the garimpeiros They seize nearby airports and prohibit aid landings.

The paramilitaries that protect the mines have prevented the opening of health centers to treat the natives, denying assistance to the sick.

“Our fight is so that we have access to dignity, so that the rates of malnutrition, infectious diseases and lack of assistance are finally reduced. The former president (Bolsonaro) could have sought ways to act in favor of the indigenous population,” he insisted. other Tweet Hekurari.

The indigenous leader warned that if the Yanomami people were already “in a situation of vulnerability, (the Bolsonaro government) drastically worsened it with recurring speeches inciting the approval of mining and loggers.”

Lula’s promises

The indifference of the government of Jair Bolsonaro in the face of the continuous requests for help is among the reasons for which they accuse him, among them his contender at the polls, the now president Lula da Silva; to facilitate the “genocide” of the Yanomami.

In posts on his official Telegram channel on Sunday, January 22, Bolsonaro defended himself against what he called “another farce from the left against the truth,” citing his administration’s achievements alongside a photo of himself holding an indigenous girl in his arms.

According to the former president, during his administration, health care for native communities was a priority, including assistance during the COVID-19 epidemic.

However, Brazilian experts allege that Bolsonaro’s decisions to favor pro-business methods instead of environmental ones caused the deforested area in the Brazilian Amazon to reach its largest extent in 15 years between August 2020 and July 2021, according to official figures.

Since he was sworn in, on January 1, Lula da Silva turned around government policies and promised “a new day for the AmazonThe veteran president, who is in his third term, has insisted that he will prioritize curbing illegal deforestation of tropical forests, even if it means running afoul of powerful agribusiness interests.

Lula da Silva appointed Amazonian activist Marina Silva as its Minister of the Environment and the native leader Sonia Guajajara as the first Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil.

After the declaration of a health emergency in Yanomami territory and the president’s visit, the Brazilian Army began sending assistance on flights with food and medicine, while the Ministry of Health asked for help from doctors willing to go as volunteers to the area.

The Brazilian government has indicated that it intends to expel the illegal miners from the territory, a task that will fall to the federal police with the help of the Defense Ministry.

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