On May 5, 2020, Eju! published a Spanish-language article describing the impact of the pandemic on indigeneous communities north of La Paz.
“Food is lacking, mainly in remote communities, such as the araonas who have told us that they are consuming only the season's almonds; They do not have basic food, there are no medicines or health posts, "says the president of the Central de Pueblos Indígenas del Norte de La Paz, Gonzalo Olive. Fuel for transport in emergencies is also lacking.
“According to the President of the CPILAP, the needs demanded by the organization are not recent, "but they worsened in the current context of the quarantine due to the fact that the inhabitants were unable to go to urban centers, not only due to the restrictions that they were dictated from the national government, but also because of the fear of contagion from the coronavirus ”.
“At the moment, indigenous communities are in self-isolation, controlling the entry of outsiders to prevent people carrying the virus from entering the territories, which would be "disastrous" due to the precarious health situation they have. Faced with this situation, the President of CPILAP asked the government authorities that, if any type of aid is to be received, it must be coordinated with the original authorities and thus prevent any contagion situation.”
The vulnerability of indigenous peoples is most evident during this pandemic emergency, since suspicious cases and deaths were known to be caused by Covid-19. “We communicate and adhere to the pain and mourning for the loss of three (3) brothers in the city of Trinidad, Beni, of Mojeño Trinitario nationality between April 27 to May 2, 2020; According to official data, our indigenous brothers have died of dengue, however, due to official information from their families, the deaths were due to Covid-19; information that the Government has not reported as indigenous brothers and the true causes of death, ”establishes an official statement from the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of the East, Chaco and Amazonia of Bolivia (CIDOB) released over the weekend.”