Gov’t grants BRL 1 bi in credit for efforts in Yanomami territory

A provisional measure issued by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva grants BRL 1 billion in extraordinary credit for assistance for the traditional communities in the Yanomami indigenous territory in Roraima state and efforts against illegal mining in the region. The move is valid immediately, but requires the approval of Congress at a later date.

The measure aims to distribute resources among the following ministries: Indigenous Peoples; Justice and Public Security; Environment and Climate Change; Agrarian Development and Family Farming; Defense; Development and Social Assistance, Family, and Fight Against Hunger; Fishing and Aquaculture; as well as Human Rights and Citizenship.

The largest indigenous area in the country, the Yanomami territory lies on the border between Brazil and Venezuela, and has military bases in it.

The release of the credit comes two weeks after the inauguration of the Casa de Governo ("Government House"), in Roraima, a body that will coordinate federal initiatives to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the indigenous area, as well as meeting other issues, such as the presence of Venezuelan migrant refugees in the state.

In January of this year, just over a year after the federal government declared a public health emergency and began driving invaders out of the territory, a report by indigenous associations pointed to a slowdown in illegal mining, but also detected the persistence of criminal activities that make health care impossible for the communities. The number of indigenous people who died last year reached 363, mostly as a result of malnutrition and malaria, as per official figures.