Mônica Bergamo: Indigenous leaders praise vaccine in Xavante boy, but demand more policies

The application of the first pediatric dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 in a boy of the Xavante ethnicity, held this Friday (14) in a ceremony with the participation of Governor João Doria (PSDB-SP), was received ambivalently by leaders indigenous.

At the same time that the scene was celebrated for symbolizing the fulfillment of a right, that of access to vaccination by indigenous peoples, it also raised criticism of the management of the toucan and the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in relation to indigenous issues.

The child selected by the Doria administration for the inaugural act of childhood vaccination was the indigenous Davi Seremramiwe Xavante, 8, who was born in Mato Grosso and now lives in the state of São Paulo. The choice for his name was revealed first hand by the column.

The only Brazilian to speak at the opening of COP26 last year, leader Txai Suruí says she was very happy to hear the news. “We [indígenas] we are part of the priority calendar and we were one of the [grupos] most affected by the pandemic”, says she, who lost a grandmother and an uncle to the disease.

Although he considers the episode “a victory”, Suruí says that the public authorities are not paying attention to the needs of the tribes in São Paulo, especially the Guarani people in the Jaraguá region, in the north of São Paulo.

In 2020, the area became the object of dispute between the indigenous people and Tenda, a construction company that has a project to build 11 residential towers on the site.

The criticism is endorsed by the state co-deputy in São Paulo Chirley Pankara (PSOL), who is part of the Bancada Ativista.

“I hope he [Doria] take a better look at how indigenous peoples are living in São Paulo, how they need to have their territories guaranteed, and not occupied by real estate speculation”, says Pankara.

“Seeing the indigenous child being vaccinated, for us, is not even to be grateful. It’s a right. We want to be vaccinated, unlike the president [Bolsonaro]”, says the parliamentarian.

The PSOL co-deputy says she misses more affirmative policies for the indigenous population — such as public tenders for basic education, for example.

For Cristian Wari’u, who is a youth leader in indigenous issues, it was a surprise to discover that Davi is also from the Xavante tribe. “We are from a faraway territory, we are present in the cerrado, in Mato Grosso, so it was quite unexpected”, he says.

“I am very happy that we have a representative at this historic moment”, he emphasizes.

In addition to the start of immunization for children aged 5 to 11, this Friday’s act in the capital of São Paulo marked a new electoral trump card for Doria, who in 2021 was also alongside the first Brazilian vaccinated. The governor of São Paulo is a pre-candidate for the presidency and Bolsonaro’s disaffection.

“We are already in an electoral campaign and we know that Doria’s pre-campaign focused on the vaccine issue, so it could be a political game, yes”, says Txai Suruí. The toucan and its allies seek to remove electoral bias from the initiative and claim that it is solely a management measure in favor of public health.

Suruí, who was criticized by President Bolsonaro for “attacking Brazil” after speaking at the opening of the climate conference, also criticizes the federal government’s management of the pandemic. “We should have started vaccinating children a long time ago and we know why that didn’t happen.”

She also criticized the federal government’s decision not to include, at the beginning of the immunization campaign, indigenous people living in urban centers as part of the priority group for the vaccine against Covid-19. The case ended up in the STF (Supreme Federal Court), which ruled in favor of the indigenous people.

​_{JOELMIR TAVARES (interim), with LÍGIA MESQUITA, BIANKA VIEIRA e MANOELLA SMITH} ​ ​ ​