Crime and Politics in Caracas

The Indian Missionary Council, CIMI, reported that land invasions of Brazilian Indian reservations by loggers and miners has risen since the mid-1990s. Loggers are increasingly trespassing on indigenous lands in search of mahogany, which can no longer be legally logged in Brazil. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, clashes between indigenous peoples and loggers, miners, and oil developers received some exposure in the Western press, notably the on-going saga between the native Yanomani of Brazil and Venezuela and thousands of small-scale miners, known as "garimpeiros" in Brazil, who often illegally mine on the natives' demarcated lands.  The far-flung Yanomani Indian tribe inhabits a France-sized area of forest in northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. The Yanomani lived in virtual isolation after they were first documented by anthropologists in the 1920s until the 1970s when large numbers of gold miners invaded their territory. The miners introduced diseases, like measles, tuberculosis, the flu, and malaria to the resistant-deficient Yanomani, resulting in a serious decline in their population. Whereas an estimated 20,000 Yanomani lived in Brazil in the late 1970s, fewer than 9,000 existed in 1997. Violence between the Yanomani and the armed garimpeiros has also taken its toll resulting in many fatalities. Further, the garimpeiros disrupt the traditional Yanomani way of life by using mercury which pollutes local rivers, wildlife, and the Yanomani themselves. The miners' planes scare away the wildlife the Yanomani depend upon for food. The garimpeiros have also brought guns to the Yanomani meaning that inter-village disputes today are more likely to end in shootings

Lured to the Brazil-Venezuela border by one of the world's richest deposits of gold, the garimpeiros have not only damaged a precious patch of rain forest but have also threatened the survival of the Yanomami, the Amazon's largest Stone Age tribe. This marks the government's second major effort to force miners off Yanomami lands. In May troops blew up 14 landing strips and drove out all but 8,000 of the 40,000 invaders. No sooner had the soldiers left, however, than the garimpeiros returned and rebuilt some of the airstrips. Says Joao Carlos Nicolli, regional administrator of the federal Indian agency: "The big gold lords weren't touched in the first operation. It was a show for the foreigners." He thinks the government is more serious this time. One sign: troops destroyed an airstrip belonging to Jose Altino Machado, a prominent garimpeiro leader. Officials say they hope to eliminate 48 landing sites by December... . The garimpeiros have denuded large tracts of forest, poisoned rivers with mercury and introduced numerous diseases. Since the miners' arrival, more than 1,500 of the 10,000 Brazilian Yanomami have died. Most succumbed to malaria, tuberculosis and venereal disease, as well as malnutrition brought on by a dwindling supply of fish and game. "They gave us rice and wheat, but then we got sick," says a Yanomami named Saba, who is recuperating from tuberculosis. "They pretended to be our friends, but they are killing us." The government's assault on the miners seems to be working. Since May, gold production in the area has dropped almost 70%, and many local dealers have closed their operations. Moreover, the Yanomami are starting to regain their health. In Paapiu village, for example, where the malaria infection rate surged from zero to 90% after the garimpeiros came, only 10% of the Indians are now affected. But their long-term prospects are still clouded. Some of the evicted miners are setting up shop on Yanomami land in Venezuela. The Yanomami can only hope that both Venezuela and Brazil will follow through on their promises to preserve the Indians' land in protected parks.