Bolivia: De Facto Government “Forgets” Indigenous Peoples During Pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Among Bolivian society, the indigenous population groups are the most vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic, in part because the de facto government fails to include them in its measures to fight the virus.

Several organizations and representatives of indigenous peoples are now calling attention to the issue and urging the government to take action. Indigenous peoples make up approximately 48 percent of the country’s total population.

“We, the indigenous peoples have been forgotten. We are at the mercy of the virus,” said Héctor Tamo, president of the Mojeños association in the Beni department of northern Bolivia. In a letter addressed to the interim president Jeanine Añez, he called for measures to protect the people in his region.

The Governing Council of the Isiboro-Secure National Park and Indigenous Reserve (Tipnis) on the edge of the Amazon, the Guaraní community in the south-east and Chaco community leaders in the south of the country also made their demands to the government. The most pressing concerns are food security, particularly for pregnant women and small children, and the supply of medication and medical equipment. The Council of Indigenous Peoples in La Paz declared a state of emergency in view of the current situation in La Paz and the Altiplano.

Non-governmental organizations in the country denounced the government’s inaction in a statement. None of the measures taken hitherto considered the situation of the indigenous population. The Ministry of Health’s communications have only been published in Spanish, and there is still no translation into the several indigenous languages.

The pandemic not only poses an immediate threat to the indigenous population, but there are also longer-term consequences. For instance, the economic recession caused by the pandemic could lead to more natural resources being mined in protected areas, thereby increasing the pressure on the habitat of indigenous communities.

Bolivia’s left-wing ex-President Evo Morales sharply criticized the government’s actions. “Bolivia is suffering from two pandemics: the coronavirus and the dictatorship,” Morales commented on Twitter. “Both are killing the Bolivian people: The virus infects the body and the dictatorship kills my brothers and sisters through hunger.”

He spoke out against the current strict controls and the increasing militarization: “You can’t imprison the virus or hunger. The de facto government has taken a completely wrong turn with police and military repression. It is essential to comply with quarantine, but the health and food supply to all Bolivians must be ensured”.

Recently, the de facto government has intensified the deployment of the military to enforce curfew.