The Brazilian Amazon in Times of COVID-19: from crisis to transformation?

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis is not a new issue. Conditions leading to it have been taking shape for decades. This pandemic is rather a symptom of much deeper challenges resulting from contemporary production and consumption structures, social inequalities, nature deterioration, and global connectivity. To think about the post-pandemic world is to envision solutions that tackle the root causes of the problem. Local communities and indigenous groups in the Brazilian Amazon are a source of much-needed social innovations that rely on alternative views of Nature and social relations. This essay aims to turn the attention to these practices as starting point to rethink our present and reshape our future. New pathways are needed in order to overcome the region’s ‘old normal’ marked by destructive resource expropriation and social inequalities, and move to a ‘new normal’ that rely on transformations to a more sustainable and equity-based society.

Pandemics and Multiple Crises in Latin America

“…As noted, the Covid‐19 pandemic has only made the situation more pronounced and highlighted new aspects, for example conflicts regarding the Amazonian region (Castro et al, 2020), or the power struggle concerning the acquisition of equipment to deal with the pandemic, such as respirators and facemasks. Powerful states set conditions and interfere in markets, to gain priority in acquiring equipment or to promote local companies.…”

Vulnerabilidades e ações desenvolvidas na população indígena de Tocantínia - TO acometida por COVID-19: Percepção dos profissionais da saúde

“…Desde então os casos cresceram, e de acordo com os dados de outubro de 2021 já são 54465 casos confirmados e 831 óbitos (Brasil, 2021). Dessa forma, a COVID-19 veio para somar em uma lista de ameaças à saúde pública e segurança já enfrentadas pelas populações rurais e indígenas (Castro, et al, 2020). Além disso, a vulnerabilidade desse povo inclui também questões geográficas e estruturais devido ao distanciamento de centros hospitalares capazes de suprir a necessidade de saúde dos indígenas afetados pelo SARVSCov-2.…”

Perceived quality assessment of the health services offered to riverine communities in Brazilian Amazon

“…Health is a multidimensional phenomenon, complex and of fundamental importance for the quality of human existence (Mujica-Mota et al, 2015). In particular, about the Amazon region, pandemic events, such as the covid19 (Castro et al, 2020;Daspett et al, 2020); epidemic, such as dengue (Fares et al, 2015;Pinto et al, 2016); and endemic, such as malaria (Ferreira & Castro, 2016), are expressions in the health area resulting from a systemic imbalance in the relationship between man, environment and society. The pain, suffering and anguish that loss of health can cause to the other members of group, makes that the respective socio-cultural forms seeks to explain the occurrence of diseases, and considers their treatment and the inherent healing processes.…”