Lula blames Bolsonaro for Yanomami hunger, opens ‘genocide’ probe

Brazil’s justice minister requested an investigation into potential crimes of genocide against the Indigenous Yanomami people Monday, as the country sent further aid and personnel to respond to a crisis of malnutrition and disease that officials have directly linked to illegal mining.

On Monday, days after the government declared a medical emergency in Brazil’s largest Indigenous reserve, Justice Minister Flávio Dino said he had requested that federal police open an investigation “into crimes of genocide, failure to provide emergency assistance, environmental crimes and other crimes, since there are reports of embezzlement, corruption and siphoning of public funds meant for Indigenous health care.”