Paulinho Paiakan: Amazon indigenous chief dies with coronavirus
8 hours ago
AFP
One of the best-known indigenous defenders of the Amazon rainforest has died with coronavirus in Brazil, where the disease continues its rapid spread.g
Paulinho Paiakan, chief of the Kayapó people, came to international attention in the 1980s in the fight against Belo Monte, one of the world's largest dams.
He was around 65. In 1998, he was convicted of the rape of an 18-year-old, a case that hurt his reputation.
Covid-19 has hit Brazil's vulnerable indigenous communities hard.
The country is among the world's worst affected, and the outbreak is believed to be weeks away from its peak. Brazil has the second-highest numbers of infections - over 955,000 - and deaths, more than 46,500, after the US.
Paiakan was one of the most important indigenous voices during Brazil's return to democracy in the 1980s, and helped lead the campaign for the creation of large indigenous reserves in the Amazon.
Alongside Kayapó chief Raoni and musician Sting, he brought attention to the impact of the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the Xingu river, in the Amazon. After many hurdles, a modified project was eventually built, and operation started in 2016.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-53087933
This man has struggled all his life against brutal racism, the greed of the ruling fascist class, and its contempt for the poor and the helpless minority groups who have nowhere to hide from it now.
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Paulinho Paiakan, iconic indigenous chief and Amazon defender, dies after contracting coronavirus
Paulinho Paiakan in the Amazon Basin, Brazil in 1992. Source: Getty
Paiakan, who was around 65, was a chief of the Kayapo people.
UPDATED 21 HOURS AGO
One of the most iconic defenders of the Amazon rainforest, indigenous chief Paulinho Paiakan, died after contracting the coronavirus, activists said Wednesday.
Paiakan, who rose to fame leading the fight against the Belo Monte hydroelectric project in the 1980s, died Tuesday at a hospital in the city of Redencao, in northern Brazil, said Gert-Peter Bruch, founder of environmental group Planet Amazon.
"He worked all his life to build worldwide alliances around indigenous peoples to save the Amazon," Mr Bruch told AFP.
"He was far ahead of his time. We've lost an extremely valuable guide."
More:
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/paulinho-paiakan-iconic-indigenous-chief-and-amazon-defender-dies-after-contracting-coronavirus
