1000 Yanomami seriously ill
Genocide suspicion against Bolsonaro’s ex-government
01/26/2023 02:22 am
Scores of Yanomami children are said to have died of malnutrition in Brazil in recent years. In the last few days, more than 1,000 people with serious illnesses have been taken from the indigenous area. Authorities are targeting Jair Bolsonaro’s former government.
In the face of a humanitarian crisis among the indigenous people of the Yanomami, Brazil’s federal police have launched an investigation into allegations of genocide, environmental crimes and failure to provide assistance, among other things. The investigation was initiated by order of the Ministry of Justice, according to a police statement. Accordingly, it should be checked whether members of the former government of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro or illegal gold prospectors are responsible for the plight of the Yanomami.
According to the Ministry of Health, more than 1,000 Yanomami with serious health problems such as malnutrition and malaria have been taken from the indigenous region and treated in the past few days. The current government under Bolsonaro’s successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had previously declared a health emergency among the Yanomami. With almost ten million hectares, their territory in the states of Roraima and Amazonas is one of the largest protected areas for indigenous peoples in Brazil. More than 30,000 Yanomami live there.
Ex-President Bolsonaro advocated the exploitation of the Amazon region and wanted to allow gold mining in indigenous areas. Gold diggers use mercury to mine gold, polluting the water in the process. According to the Agência Brasil news agency, 570 Yanomami children have died as a result of malnutrition in recent years.
Lula announced new policies and measures against malnutrition and fired 54 officials from the Funai Department of Indigenous People and the Ministry of Health after a trip to visit the indigenous people.