Brazil's colonial dilemma: gold mining and deforestation in the Amazon
BY MARÍA DE LOURDES ALCANTARA FOR DEBATES INDÍGENAS
Encroachment onto Indigenous Lands has increased under Jair Bolsonaro’s government and is threatening the communities’ culture, economy and ways of life. Numerous bills are now passing through Congress in response to the need for extractivism and these will affect traditional Indigenous occupation. In turn, the presence of “garimpos” or informal gold miners on the territories is spreading malaria and Covid-19, placing further strain on an already wholly inadequate health system. The possibility of genocide is now a real and impending threat.
