Economy ministry responsible for one in five of Brazil’s norms in the pandemic
The Federal Executive issued 1,536 judicial norms related to Covid-19 in the first six months of the year while indigenous rights are under threat from vetoes by the President
From January to June this year, the Ministry for the Economy was responsible for one in every five norms published by the state, related to the Covid-19 pandemic. These totalled 317 of the 1,536 norms issued by the Federal Executive.
In the face of the state public health emergency in the country, the Ministry for Health presented only 243 judicial norms in the same period and Anvisa (The National Health Surveillance Agency), presented 161.
This is one of the highlights of the second edition of the Rights in the Pandemic Bulletin, in which specialists analysed the number of norms issued by ministerial bodies, professional councils and by the President of the Republic himself. These indicate the focus of efforts of executive power during the public health emergency.
- Access here: Rights in the Pandemic Bulletin, 2nd edition
“In the first months of the pandemic in Brazil, the government of President Jair Bolsonaro strongly attacked the physical distancing measures adopted by states and municipalities in order to contain the spread of Covid-19. This created a false dichotomy between saving lives and saving the economy.” Recalls Deisy Ventura, Researcher at Cepedisa and a Lecturer in the Public Health Faculty at USP. “The emphasis on the economy is also seen in the high number of norms issued by the ministry.” Says Ventura.
The Rights in the Pandemic Bulletin is part of the project “Mapping and analysis of judicial norms in response to Covid-19 in Brazil,” and was developed by Cepedisa (Centre for Research and Studies on Sanitation Rights) in the Faculty of Public Health at USP (University of São Paulo) in partnership with Conectas Human Rights. Based on research in the Diário Oficial da União and other official publications, the project aims to analyse all the judicial norms in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the country at federal, state and municipal levels in bulletins published every two weeks.
Genocide of Indigenous People
The document contains technical details that contribute to elucidation of the recent controversy regarding the use of the expression genocide, in which concepts of Brazilian legislation and international law are presented.
It also covers the impact of government measures on indigenous people during the pandemic. A testimonial by the Yanomami leader Dario Kopenawa states that the principal factor in the contamination of indigenous people with the new coronavirus is goldmining, which has been stimulated by the Bolsonaro government and which has taken disease into the communities and villages.
“For five months this coronavirus has been spreading into indigenous lands. We are very worried. We don´t really have any way of putting up a sanitation barrier in our territory. It´s difficult because our land is large.” Kopenawa explained. “Now, we have an increase in illegal goldmining. There are over 20 thousand goldminers on Yanomami Land and they are spread out and working, contaminating our rivers, affecting our land.” He said.
According to the APIB (Articulation of the Indigenous People of Brazil), the country has 16,548 confirmed cases of indigenous people with Covid-19, 535 deaths and more than 130 peoples affected by the illness.
Fighting coronavirus
The Rights in the Pandemic Bulletin also contains analyses of controversies about the efficacy of the use of Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine, substances that became popular in the country after Jair Bolsonaro´s recommendation for the use of this medication in fighting the virus.
The document also explains who is responsible for public health in handling the pandemic at federal, state and municipal levels.
Education in decline
The latest edition of the Bulletin shows there has been no ministerial initiative whatsoever involving training teachers in the use of distance learning tools or to set up lines of funding for purchasing equipment to better handle the suspension of face-to-face classes throughout the country. The document also stresses that teachers in public sector schooling have not received any kind of guidance or teaching strategies for distance learning.
Although the area of education has been severely affected by the pandemic which has paralysed schools and universities across the country, the Ministry for Education contributed only 49 judicial norms regarding Covid-19 from January to June this year.
