The American magazine Time elected the executive coordinator of Apib (Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil), Sonia Guajajara, and the scientist Tulio de Oliveira among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. The list was released this Monday morning (23) .
The two were elected in the Pioneers category. Guajajara is on the list because of his work and activism in defense of the rights of indigenous peoples, and Oliveira, who is Brazilian but lives in South Africa, because of the work he carried out to identify the omicron variant of the coronavirus, sequenced in the country. African.
The presentation text by the coordinator of Apib is signed by Guilherme Boulos, leader of the MTST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Ceto) and pre-candidate for federal deputy for the PSOL. “From an early age, she fought forces that have been trying to exterminate her community for over 500 years,” Boulos wrote at the beginning of the description.
“Sonia continues to resist: against machismo, as a feminist woman; against the massacre of indigenous peoples, as an activist; and against neoliberalism, as a socialist”, she says in another passage – the indigenous leader also launched, in March, her pre-candidate for federal deputy for the state of São Paulo by the PSOL.
Boulos also mentions Guajajara’s opposition to the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), his activism around the climate emergency and the denunciations he made about the neglect of the rights of indigenous peoples during the Covid pandemic. “She is an inspiration, not just for me, but for millions of Brazilians who dream of a country that discusses its past and finally welcomes the future”, he concludes.
Tulio de Oliveira, in turn, was recognized in the category alongside fellow scientist Sikhulile Moyo, director of the laboratory for the study of HIV of the government of Botswana in partnership with Harvard University. Oliveira, who has lived in South Africa since 1997, is director of the country’s Center for Response and Innovation in Epidemics (CERI).
The Brazilian’s introductory text is written by John Nkengasong, director of the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Cameroonian describes the omicron sequencing, promptly communicated to the international community, as “a paradigm shift that symbolized that scientific excellence can originate in Africa.”
However, Nkengasong adds to the complexity of the global response to the discovery — American and European countries have imposed travel restrictions on African nations, some of which have not even reported cases of infection with the variant yet. “It made me reflect on what global cooperation and solidarity should be like when we fight a challenge like Covid together.”
“Every generation has people who will inspire the next, and Sikhulile and Tulio have the potential to be that inspiration for those who will work in public health and genomes,” concluded the scientist.
On Twitter, Guajajara commented on the magazine’s recognition. “It is a recognition of the global indigenous struggle, which is collective and defends the future of all humanity”, wrote the indigenous leader.
Tulio, in turn, said it was a huge honor to be on the list alongside Guajajara. “We are going to work for a better Brazil, one that respects science, life, the indigenous population and nature”, wrote the scientist.
In the Leaders category, Time listed, among others, Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky (Ukraine), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Joe Biden (United States), Gabriel Boric (Chile) and Yoon Suk-yeol (South Korea). The leader of China’s dictatorial regime, Xi Jinping, and the Prime Minister of Germany, Olaf Scholz, also appear in the category, as well as Ketanji Brown Jackson, confirmed as the first black judge to integrate the US Supreme Court.
