Date

2019-07-29

Measure

Illegal gold miners threatened leaders of the Yanomami community, ever since they started

denouncing illegal mining on indigenous land, which led to an increase of the persecutions. (more

Impact

The indigenous people claim that the invasions have skyrocketed in the last seven months. According to their count, up to 20,000 miners are currently in the territory looking for gold. They deforest, dig holes in the earth, and contaminate the soil and water with mercury. Furthermore, in the middle of the Yanomami territory, clandestine airstrips are built to bring supplies and take the gold found. Recent flights have identified, in addition to improvised houses, bars, wifi points, and cabarets in the mining areas. According to Dario, Vice-President of Hutukara: "These miners do not work alone. They have a lot of support and financing from important politicians and big businessmen".

The denunciations are echoed by NGOs inside and outside the country, such as Survival International. "We think it is extremely important to show the world what is happening. We see that international pressure is the best way to achieve lasting change for indigenous communities and their territories," said Sarah Shenker, a researcher for the London-based organization.

It is also important to note that according to the anthropologist Marcos Wesley, who has been working in the region for over 20 years, this is the most serious moment since the first major invasion of the Yanomami indigenous land. According to Wesley, even the most remote places, where the presence of miners was not previously registered, are now being affected. Although the investigations are being conducted in secret, sources who preferred not to be identified for security reasons say that the investigations are trying to locate the financiers of the illegal gold extraction, who may also be associated with international organized crime.

In March, the newspaper Folha de Boa Vista reported an official note issued by the General Coordination of Economic and Social Studies of the State Planning Secretariat that counted more than one hundred kilos of gold exported to India in the first four months of 2019. The state, on the other hand, does not have even a single legalized mine for extracting the ore.

According to the newspaper, the value of the export reached $4.5 million. The gold from Roraima would be sold to the Indians by companies based in the municipality of Caieiras, in São Paulo.