Lack of resources in 2023 among challenges to solve illegal mining problem

01/11/2024

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Illegal mining in Yanomani indigenous territory — Foto: MMA/Divulgação

The rebound in the humanitarian crisis in the Yanomami indigenous territory has as its backdrop an internal crisis in the government. Since the intervention in the first days of 2023, when scenes of malnourished children took the world, the efforts to rescue the sick and expel miners have lost momentum throughout the year, giving rise to an exchange of accusations among ministries about each other’s responsibilities on the matter.

In a ministerial meeting held on Tuesday (9), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said it is not possible to “lose the war” to illegal mining and promised to use the entire state apparatus to expel invaders. Accused by colleagues of failing to centralize the work coordination, Chief of Staff Office Rui Costa announced the creation of a “government office” in the area.

Some ministers, however, argue that the task remains too complex to carry out, also from a political point of view. It is clear that virtually all the main political leaders in the region are related to mining and that broader negotiations will be necessary regarding the scope of the activity, with great weight on the local economy.

Another obstacle is the demand for resources. Providing assistance to the indigenous territory required the intensive use of aircraft throughout last year, which was not always sufficient. Some planes were taken out of operation for maintenance, which compromised the supply of food, medicine, staff, and equipment throughout the year.

Interruptions in service were promptly reported by indigenous leaders and the most of the complaints involved the Ministry of Defense and the Chief of Staff. Trying to overcome the crisis, the government announced investments of R$1.2 billion in public policies. Among the top priorities is getting federal agencies to intensify actions to protect the Yanomami people and fight illegal mining.

Surveillance and action also face setbacks. Brazil’s environmental protection agency, Ibama, is struggling to send the planned number of servers to the indigenous territory. Inspectors have cited security concerns when refusing to go to the Yanomami land.

In charge of the security, the Federal Police has also cited the high complexity of work. Federal Police Director General Andrei Rodrigues told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that the corporation’s staff is not able to guarantee the expulsion of illegal miners.

Located between the Brazilian states of Roraima and Amazonas, the Yanomami territory encompasses eight municipalities with a population of approximately 30,000 indigenous people. According to NGO Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), the occupancy of the land between the headwaters of the Orinoco and Parimpa rivers, near the right bank of the Rio Branco, by the Yanomami people started a millennium ago.

The Federal Prosecution Service (MPF) in Roraima says there have been records of child malnutrition in the territory since 2009. However, according to the MPF, the situation aggravated from 2017 onwards, reaching its peak in 2022, the last year of the Bolsonaro administration. Between 2021 and 2022, some 300 Yanomami children with malnutrition had to be transferred to medical care in the city of Boa Vista.

“The spread of malaria had been growing gradually since the last decade but was considered to be under control until it aggravated five years ago, following the increase of devastation. The number of malaria cases doubled between 2018 and 2021, to more than 20,000 per year from around 10,000, an unprecedented level,” according to ISA.

At the beginning of 2023, with the new administration, the Public Health Emergency Operations Center (COE-6 Yanomami) was created, under the coordination of the Ministry of Health, to carry out emergency actions and fight the crisis. Last year, according to the government, more than 13,000 indigenous people received care after they were found in a situation of severe abandonment.

In addition, the territory’s airspace was controlled in an effort to combat clandestine flights and, thus, block the main mining supply route. The Federal Police launched 13 operations throughout 2023, resulting in 114 search and seizure warrants, 175 arrests in the act and R$589 million in seized assets.

In an interview with news website G1, Alisson Marugal, public prosecutor in Roraima, said he sees some progress in assistance to indigenous people over 2023, but the big picture is of “inertia”. He also highlighted that the lack of action could lead the Lula administration to be investigated for genocide, as a result of the same investigations opened on the Bolsonaro administration.

*Por Murillo Camarotto — Brasília

Source: Valor International

https://valorinternational.globo.com/