Press Releases

02/05/2021

Environmental destruction and Corona in Brazil

No hope for improvement for indigenous peoples (Press Release)

Following the nationwide protests of recent weeks, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro might have managed to avert a possible impeachment. After the re-election of the presidents of both chambers of parliament last Monday, the proceeding are now bound to fail. "Thus, the situation of the indigenous people will most probably not improve over the next two years," stated Juliana Miyazaki, expert on indigenous peoples at the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). "In the near future, the uncompromising expansion of the economy will continue to take precedence over fundamental human rights, indigenous land rights, and environmental and climate protection."

Further, Miyazaki criticized that Bolsonaro's politics encourage illegal invasions of indigenous territories. These invasions – which are directly linked to environmental degradation – have increased by 135 percent since he took office, leading to record levels of deforestation and to thirteen times more forest fires on indigenous land. "There are also significantly more mining projects on indigenous territory: under Bolsonaro, official applications for mining rights have increased by 91 percent," Miyazaki criticized. "Although this should not be legally possible, there are currently 58 approved mining projects on indigenous lands in the Amazon. In Yanomami territory alone, there are currently 20,000 illegal gold miners."

The invaders are not only destroying the indigenous habitat and the livelihoods of the people, they are also spreading the coronavirus. According to a study by the Instituto Socio-Ambiental, a single invader can infect 1600 indigenous people. "The pandemic also shines a light on institutional racism against Brazil's indigenous population," Miyazaki added. "In the Ministry of Health's national vaccination plan, more than half of the indigenous population are not considered. Indigenous communities have also reported that evangelical pastors are advising them against vaccinations. Unfortunately, false information is effectively spread over the radio."

Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by the pandemic. According to a nationwide serological study, indigenous people are five times more likely to contract the virus than the "white" people in the country. In December 2020, the mortality rate was 16 percent higher than that of the average population. Preventive measures against infectious diseases are limited by the living conditions of many indigenous communities, who often live together in large families and in confined spaces. At the same time, there is often a lack of clean water and sanitation infrastructure.