Several civil society organizations, including FUNDAR, SERAPAZ, EDUCA, Frayba and Tlachinollan published the second report “Situation of Indigenous and Comparable Communities Facing the Health Emergency Caused by SARS-CoV-2 Virus”, in which they again warned about the mismanagement, impacts and consequences of the pandemic in indigenous and rural localities.
Based on a study in 56 communities in 12 states, they reported a significant increase in cases and deaths from COVID-19 compared to the first report published in July: to date, one in three communities has presented infections and 35% of the sick had to be hospitalized. However, it was revealed that the percentage of communities that take protective measures dropped from 43 to 25 percent, which is partly explained by the economic wear and tear they face.
The lack of accurate and clear information on the pandemic, explained in their language, a situation already identified in the first monitoring, continues to be a constant and feeds feelings of disbelief, confusion and fear. The campaigns that the government has carried out “have been insufficient to provide the indigenous population with information that generates calm and certainty”, the report emphasizes.
According to the testimonies collected, there are people who prefer not to admit that they have the symptoms and others who fear going to COVID care centers. “We find a strong rooted distrust of indigenous people with health institutions, the care provided there and the importance they give to indigenous lives”, the report indicates.
In addition, it was observed that the lack of health professionals in the communities continues, which “shows the limitations of the State and the lack of care programs confronting the pandemic.” On the economic front, the third monitoring revealed precarious employment in the communities and the increase in unstable work.
On the other hand, the report questioned the media attention that focuses primarily on the health crisis, leaving in the background the rebound in violence experienced by the various contexts in the country. During the months of the pandemic, numerous violent actions by organized crime and federal forces indicate that: “there has been a huge advance in the control of the cartels, taking advantage, among other things, of the lack of possibility of the governments or the inability of the federal executive, to exercise all of its functions to see to the health emergency.” According to the data collected, 58.06 percent of the monitored communities reported that the levels of violence in their regions are maintained, while 9.68 percent reported an increase, 25.81 percent of the communities reported being in a crisis situation.
“Without the will to stop and address the pandemic, we are at the doors of catastrophe in some indigenous communities. It is about not deepening the structural problems and not allowing the pandemic to be a vector that deepens inequalities in indigenous peoples”, the report concluded.
For more information in Spanish:
SEGUNDO INFORME:Situación de las comunidades indígenas y equiparables 1ante la emergencia sanitaria por el virus SARS-COV-2 (OSC, octubre de 2020)
Exclusión histórica ha provocado mayor desigualdad e impactos por la emergencia sanitaria, subraya (La Coperacha, 13 de octubre de 2020)
Pueblos indígenas, a las puertas de la castástrofe por Covid-19: estudio (La Jornada, 11 de octubre de 2020)
Indígenas viven Covid-19 con desinformación, inseguridad y falta de sanidad(Contralínea, 9 de octubre de 2020)
For more information from SIPAZ:
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