Brazil, indigenous peoples caught between coronavirus and crime
Rights — di Andrea Barolini
The official Covid-19 cases in Brazil number more than 100,000. But experts indicate that the real figures could be far higher.
Brazil, indigenous peoples caught between coronavirus and crime
The official Covid-19 cases in Brazil number more than 100,000. But experts indicate that the real figures could be far higher.
With eyes fixed on Europe and the United States, the spread of coronavirus in other parts of the world risks going unnoticed. And yet the situation appears equally critical in some countries. Brazil is a case in point: in certain states in particular, hospitals are overwhelmed and the data suggest that the epidemic peak is still a long way off.
Bolsonaro urges the population not to observe the lockdown
In the South American country, figures (updated to 3 May) show the threshold of 101,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 has been exceeded. The disease has already killed more than seven thousand people. But the official data, according to numerous sources, could in reality be significantly underestimated. Some specialists have even indicated that the number of cases could be 15 times higher than the government figures. In the state of Amazonas, in northern Brazil, infections are said to be as much as 38 times higher than the official data.
Brazil's President Jail Bolsonaro railed against the country's lockdown Sunday in a speech to thousands of anti-confinement demonstrators as the number of confirmed COVID-19 infections passed 100,000, with more than 7,000 deaths u.afp.com/3fD3
In the southern state of São Paulo, moreover, the lockdown appears to be poorly observed — not least because of the words of President Jair Bolsonaro, who continues to urge the population not to comply with it. The result: mobile phone data indicate that fewer than half of the population is staying at home.
The impossible lockdown in Brazil's favelas
What is cause for particular concern, however, is the situation of Brazil's most vulnerable populations, starting with those living in favelas and indigenous peoples. Those who live in the overcrowded shanty towns on the outskirts of the megacities find themselves in conditions of inevitable close contact with their neighbours. And moving around to obtain water and food is often unavoidable.
Indigenous peoples, who live predominantly in forested areas, must instead contend with a double threat. On one hand, there is the threat linked to coronavirus and the difficulty of accessing healthcare for those who fall ill. On the other, the increasingly massive presence of unscrupulous men who exploit the forest illegally. The territories that the law assigns exclusively to indigenous peoples have, in recent weeks, seen an invasion of cattle ranchers and companies engaged in illegal activities. This is because the authorities, owing to the epidemic, have stopped monitoring the areas. This could also increase the risk of contagion among indigenous peoples, triggering a dramatic vicious cycle.
Photographer Salgado launches a petition for indigenous peoples
It was for this reason that photographer Sebastião Salgado launched an online petition last Sunday, calling on the Brazilian government to protect indigenous populations. The letter — which has been signed by 150,000 people, among them stars of the calibre of Brad Pitt, Madonna and Paul McCartney — calls for "urgent measures". Because "the indigenous peoples of Brazil risk being decimated by Covid-19. For five centuries these ethnic groups have been cut down by diseases brought by European colonisers. Today, with coronavirus, they could be completely wiped out."