Ministers return to Yanomami Indigenous Land after meeting with Lula

One year after the federal government declared a public health emergency in the Yanomami Indigenous Land and launched operations to expel illegal miners and provide health care to the community, a delegation of ministers returned to Roraima to monitor the situation.

The group, which arrived in the state this Wednesday (10), is made up of the Ministers of Human Rights and Citizenship, Silvio Almeida; of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva; and Indigenous Peoples, Sônia Guajajara. They disembarked in Boa Vista and then continued to the Auaris region, which is within the demarcated territory.

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In the location, close to the border between Brazil and Venezuela, the ministers checked the conditions at the Ye'kwana health post, where new facilities are being built to receive patients, as well as laboratories and accommodation for health professionals. They then visited the village of the same people, where, last year, a federal government action provided new tools for the creation of gardens that facilitate the Yanomami's food autonomy.

The visit was accompanied by the president of the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai), Joênia Wapichana, by the special secretary for indigenous health at the Ministry of Health, Weibe Tapeba, as well as local indigenous leaders.

The visit takes place one day after Palácio do Planalto announced an investment of R$1.2 billion for the year 2024 in government actions in the territory. The idea is establish, on a permanent basis, a Government House to focus the permanent work of federal agencies on security and access to public policies for indigenous people.

During a meeting, on Tuesday morning (9), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva determined the continuity and expansion of actions, as the presence of invaders continues to be detected by the government. The president defended the use of all the power of the public machine against illegal mining.

Humanitarian crisis

A year ago, the humanitarian crisis in Yanomami Land, the largest in the country, came to light. with almost 30 thousand indigenous inhabitants. It comprises 9.5 million hectares, which approximately corresponds to the area of ​​the states of Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo combined. The Yanomami are one of the largest recently contacted indigenous peoples in South America, living in the forests and mountains of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela for at least a thousand years.

Soon after taking office, still in January 2023, Lula visited Roraima and saw the health situation of the indigenous people up close, victims of malnutrition and other diseases, especially malaria. Vast territory rich in minerals, the Indigenous Land has suffered for decades from the invasion and violence of miners and with the contamination of land and water by mercury used in illegal mining.

International commotion

Although indigenous entities and bodies such as the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) have been denouncing the lack of assistance to these communities for a long time, the situation worsened between 2019 and 2023, resulting in the deaths of 3,500 children up to 4 years of age. . The images circulated the world and caused an international commotion, mobilizing the authorities.

According to the MPF, the withdrawal of the miners was determined by the courts as part of a public civil action filed against federal agencies in 2020. The objective was to guarantee the implementation of an emergency plan for effective territorial monitoring actions in indigenous land, with the fight against environmental offenses and the removal of offenders. “However, the efforts undertaken by federal agencies to date have proven ineffective,” warned the agency.

Illegal mining

On December 21, 2023, the Federal Court of Roraima determined the creation of a new schedule of actions against illegal mining in the Yanomami Indigenous Land (TI). In the decision, the Union, the National Foundation of Indigenous Peoples (Funai), the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) are cited.

The decision responded to a request from the MPF. According to the agency, despite the “promising results” of government operations carried out in the territory, at the beginning of 2023, they were unable to prevent the reoccupation of areas by mining, “which affects the safety, health and lives of indigenous peoples”. Such actions, according to the agency, generated positive results until the beginning of the second semester, when there was a setback due to the return of non-indigenous people to illicit mineral exploration activities, especially in areas that had already been deforested.

“There are several reports of grooming, prostitution, encouraging the consumption of drugs and alcoholic beverages and even rape of indigenous people by miners”, denounces the Public Ministry.

Balance

On December 22nd, President Lula called a ministerial meetingsimilar to this Tuesday, and ordered federal agencies to reinforce protection measures for the indigenous Yanomami people, in addition to combating illegal mining in Roraima and Amazonas.

In assessing the actions carried out last year, the government cites measures to combat the serious health and nutritional situation of the population and environmental crimes.

The Federal Police launched 13 operations, 114 search and seizure warrants, 175 arrests in the act and seized assets worth R$589 million. There are still 387 investigations underway. In addition, the airspace of the Yanomami TI was controlled to combat clandestine flights and supplies to mining sites, the destruction of equipment such as ferries, engines and camps and the seizure of aircraft and firearms.