Traducir página con Google

Historia Publication logo Abril 2, 2021

Entre Colones Y COVID-19: El Pueblo Yuqui Y Su Lucha Para Sobrevivir

País:

Autores:
Un letrero en Bia Recuaté que dice Use Barbijo
Español

El pueblo indígena Yuqui de solo 344 habitantes, es uno de los más vulnerables del área amazónica de...

author #1 image author #2 image
Varios Autores
SECTIONS

The Yuquis are a people that still conserve that nomadic and indomitable essence, but at the same time, are very conscious of the protection of their territory and their customs. You can see their passage through the jungle, always very subtle, very light, in harmony. Image by Sara Aliaga Ticona.

We visit a community in the Bolivian Amazon considered highly vulnerable. In the midst of the pandemic, the Yuquis, with only 360 people, are on alert. United for the same purpose to survive, preserve their culture and identity and at the same time, their health is seriously affected and their territory threatened by illegal actions such as deforestation.

Listen to the sound production here:

Entering the community of Bia Recuaté, where the Yuqui people live, you cross trails and narrow roads. It is where you begin to feel the humid smell of the Amazon rainforest. When you travel through several kilometers of nature, it is perceived that time does not exist. This same forest has witnessed the struggle for survival of the indigenous people of the Yuquis, who take care of it and have generated such a deep connection with the flora and fauna that surround them. Since the period of the first contacts in the 1960s, the inhabitants, in an attempt to preserve their identity, adopted in their names and surnames — in their Yuqui language — everything that is part of their ecosystem, such as flowers, fruits and the animals. 

The Yuqui people live mainly in the Bia Recuaté community, in the Chapare province, known as the main region to produce the coca leaf in Bolivia. Coca, which according to official figures from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is mostly destined for illegal production, linked to drug trafficking. 

Read the full story in Spanish on the Radio Temblor website.

COVID-19 Update: The connection between local and global issues–the Pulitzer Center's long standing mantra–has, sadly, never been more evident. We are uniquely positioned to serve the journalists, news media organizations, schools, and universities we partner with by continuing to advance our core mission: enabling great journalism and education about underreported and systemic issues that resonate now–and continue to have relevance in times ahead. We believe that this is a moment for decisive action. Learn more about the steps we are taking.

RELATED TOPICS

teal halftone illustration of a young indigenous person

Topic

Indigenous Rights

Indigenous Rights
a yellow halftone illustration of a truck holding logs

Topic

Rainforests

Rainforests

RELATED INITIATIVES

yellow halftone illustration of a logging truck holding logs

Initiative

Rainforest Reporting

Rainforest Reporting

Support our work

Your support ensures great journalism and education on underreported and systemic global issues