Deadly pesticides 9/23/2009 Indiscriminate use of agrochemicals on soy crops is killing nearby indigenous groups.

Seven members of the Mbya Guaraní indigenous group — three of them newborns — have died because of exposure to farming chemicals used in the cultivation of genetically-modified soy.

“We condemn the fact that in a community near transgenic crops, where extreme poverty and the absence of the state are disadvantages in themselves, there are situations like those caused by agro-business,” 11 social organizations said in a statement, adding that the deaths are being investigated by government authorities.

According to the Indigenous Institute of Paraguay, the deaths occurred between Aug. 16 and Sept. 11.

“The indigenous people, were almost certainly poisoned from pesticidas used by large-scale soy farmers in the area,” said Augusto Martínez, the head of the Aba´i district, where the deaths took place.

The victims lived on the Ypeti Tajy reservation.

“From the start, according to preliminary evidence, doctors said it was a mass-intoxication, because it is an area with many soy fields, where they have been abusing agro-chemicals for a long time,” Martínez said.

Paraguay lacks legislation to regulate the use of agrochemicals. On May 22, Congress approved a law to control its use, but essentially gave the green light for the employment of highly toxic chemical products.

President Fernando Lugo passed a decree in April to establish sanitary and environmental restrictions for the use of these chemicals, including a 100 meter-buffer zone for these chemicals´ use near water sources as well as swampy areas.

Paraguay´s Senate is currently reviewing the bill. —Latinamerica Press.