Entities denounce indigenous genocide in Brazil during pandemic

2020-07-16

Experts and representatives of entities defending indigenous rights said in a virtual hearing on Wednesday, held by the lower house of the Brazilian Congress, that the pandemic has caused an indigenous genocide in the country.

“When I speak of genocide, it is not an exaggeration to say that we are [seeing] an ongoing genocide. Our people are dying, and the Brazilian State continues to pretend that it is serving, ”said the coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (Apib), Sônia Guajajara, in the virtual audience.

According to the G1 news portal, representatives of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, who participated in the hearing, contested the term “genocide” used by the indigenous leader and other defenders of the rights of the native Brazilian people.