Brasil: Left Behind

BRAZIL

Left Behind

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed select provisions of a bill aimed at helping indigenous communities hit hard by the coronavirus, opting to deny them water and cleaning products, CNN reported.

The bill would create an emergency plan to fight the outbreak in indigenous territories and would have classified those communities as “groups in situations of extreme vulnerability.”

The provisions vetoed included the free distribution of drinking water, hygiene products and disinfection materials. He also vetoed a line item to provide more hospital beds and intensive care units for indigenous people.

Many of the country’s indigenous live far from hospitals and in areas lacking basic infrastructure. Brazil’s Special Indigenous Service said that more than 8,000 people in the community have contracted the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the bill was in response to an order by Brazil’s Supreme Court for the government to take measures to protect such communities from the virus.

The legislature can override the veto if the majority of both houses of the legislature vote in favor of the bill.

Brazil has more than 1.6 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, the second-highest globally after the United States. On Tuesday, coronavirus-skeptic Bolsonaro tested positive for the virus.