Lula's government has been ignoring for almost six months a recommendation from the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) for the Ministry of Health to declare a public health emergency in the Tapajós River region, where the Mundurucu Indigenous Land is located in Pará.
The recommendation was made by the Federal Prosecutor's Office due to the systematic contamination of indigenous people by mercury from illegal mining.
The recommendation was made on April 19, 2023. Documents sent by the government to the MPF show that a national public health emergency was not considered by the ministry, according to the content of these letters sent in June and July.
When approached, the Ministry of Health responded, after the publication of the report, that "declarations of national public health emergencies comply with specific legislation (Decree No. 7,616), which does not apply to the chronic and historical situation found." "It is indeed a serious public health problem that requires an interdisciplinary approach, and short-term measures are already being implemented on different fronts," says the ministry. The MPF recommended that the National Health Force be used to test the Munduruku population exposed to mercury, as a way to obtain a "minimally concrete diagnosis of the severity of the exposure."