"In the Yanomami Territory, xawares [diseases] have increased and the number of invaders. More than 20,000 miners destroy our communities daily to get gold out and make money easily. Everywhere they leave a mark of destruction, violence, drugs, prostitution and death."

Leader Xamana and Yanomami, Davi Kopenawa.

During the four years of the Bolsonaro government, the indigenous peoples of Brazil have been attacked on different fronts, questioning their survival and physical and cultural integrity. This week Sumaúmua has announced that in the Yanomami territory infant mortality and malnutrition have increased, and is a portrait of the war undertaken by that government and the sectors of the ruling class that have historically taken advantage of the destruction against the Amazon and its peoples.

In the Covid-19 pandemic, the indigenous peoples of Brazil suffer the lack of support and protection of the State. Bolsonaro vetoed in the pandemic the government's obligation to guarantee clean water and beds to the indigenous people, and did not guarantee the isolation of these populations, delegating all their responsibility to the indigenous institutions and communities.

In the same vein, the Bolsonaro government donated to the military the National Indian Foundation (Funai), in charge of the protection and management of Brazil's indigenous lands, and hampered control and control actions. Illegal mining, illegal land collection, timber theft and drug trafficking led to negligence. They also caused disease, river pollution and increased conflicts.

In 2022, the association Hutukara Associação Yanomami published the report "Yanomami: illegal mining Yanomami in the indigenous territory and proposals to combat it". The work shows how mining destroyers are developing in the largest indigenous region of the country.

According to the report, illegal mining grew 46% in 2021 compared to 2020. Between 2016 and 2020, TIY mining grew by 3.350%, according to Hutukara’s study. According to the document, the communities directly affected by illegal mining are 273, i.e. more than 16,000 people, representing 56 per cent of the total population. Over 350 indigenous communities are located in the so-called Indigenous Land and live close to 29,000 people.

We, the Movement of People Affected by Reservoirs (MAB), deeply regret and sympathize with the situation experienced by the Yanomamites and other indigenous peoples of Brazil, who are striving to defend their territories. We join those who demand rapid compliance with the word given by the Federal Government to end the process of collapse, conflict and death established by the previous administration.

Rapid action is needed to ensure the lives and protection of indigenous peoples by disrupting this cycle of destruction.

All our solidarity with the indigenous peoples!

In defense of the Amazonian life and the indigenous peoples of Brazil!

* Information: Instituto Socioambiental y Hutukara Associação.