FROM THE YANOMAMI INDIAN LAND (RR)— "I do not want Bolsonaro's son. I do not want our children to be full of malaria again," warns Noemia, the first to speak in a video recorded by the Yanomami women against the election of Flávio Bolsonaro at the end of September. The material is part of a manifesto launched by female leaders for the second round of this year's general elections.
Noemia lives in the Papiu maloca region, one of the most affected by mining in the Yanomami Indian Land — the largest in Brazil in extent, with a population of 31,000 people and an area comparable to that of Portugal.
She fears that the PL candidate will promote the return to the territory of the health crisis and illegal economic activities, such as mining, during Jair Bolsonaro's government.
Between 2019 and 2022, 420 children under five died from preventable causes, such as malaria, malnutrition, and worms. The number of deaths is almost double that of the previous four years, according to the Siasi (Indigenous Health Information System, from the SUS - Unified Health System). Of this total, 47 were victims of malaria. Another 115 were malnourished.
"The trail of Bolsonaro is contaminated with diseases, full of malaria, diarrhea, worms, wounds, pneumonia, taken over by malnutrition, vomiting, and itching. The path of Bolsonaro is like this, and that's why we, the women of the forest, do not want his son Flávio to sit in the chair of president," says a letter signed by Yanomami women.
Gathered in the Rokoari community, the leaders recalled the impacts of mining on their territory. In the video manifesto, they fear that Flávio will replicate "the dirty path" of his father Jair, and declare their support for Lula's reelection.
In January 2023, the first month of Lula's third term, the collapse of the healthcare system led to a declared state of emergency. "We don't want to cry again," says Adneia Yanomami.
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At least 4,000 indigenous people have been left without medical assistance.
During the peak of the mining invasion, at least six health posts were closed or destroyed, disrupting services to 72 communities with over 4,000 indigenous people, according to a report by the MPF (Federal Public Ministry).
"The socio-environmental disaster caused by illegal mining and the corresponding omission of the Brazilian state in ensuring territorial security for the Yanomami people has finally had a disruptive effect, collapsing the already fragile healthcare assistance in the territory," states the document.
One of these posts is Homoxi, responsible for serving approximately 250 indigenous people. Located next to a mining crater, theThe post was set on fire in December 2022.– The suspicion falls on invasive miners in the territory.
Another unit that was prohibited was Kayanau. There, health professionals who remained in the area estimated the presence of 1,600 miners, as well as an "intense flow of aircraft, prostitution, and abandonment of agriculture."
Mining and violence have also hindered the delivery of medicine to regions only accessible by air.
TheReporter Brasilhad access to a September 2022 memo from the Hutukara Yanomami Association that describes a situation of shortages in health posts near two invaded regions: Xitei and Surucucu.
In a period of three weeks, between August and September, six children died – one of them from a type of pneumonia caused by "massive worm infestation."
According to the association, there were no "necessary medications for worm control, making treatment and prevention impossible in entire communities."
In addition to the supply difficulty, MPF investigations point outIndications of a suspected fraud and misappropriation of public funds in the health sector of TI.. (Note: Since the provided text is empty, the translation also remains empty.)
According to the agency, the Special Indigenous Health District Yanomami spent R$ 3 million in 2021 on the acquisition of essential medications.
There are suspicions, however, that only a fraction of the medications were delivered, despite the full payment of the invoices.
According to the MPF's report, over 10,000 indigenous children are said to have gone untreated for worms, leading to severe cases of the disease.Reports of children expelling worms through their mouths..
Approximately 20,000 miners invaded the territory, according to an estimate by the Indigenous Peoples' Foundation (Funai) made in February 2023. Over 1,500 illegal mining points were operating between 2020 and 2022, according to the Operational Management Center for the Amazon Protection System. A total of 2,200 hectares were devastated during this period.
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