In Brazilian Amazon, a 1,000-mile voyage so people can vote

By EDMAR BARROS and FABIANO MAISONNAVE

MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — Sunday is election day in Brazil. In the Amazon region, many Indigenous people live days away from the nearest town where there is a voting center. But the nation addressed that challenge years ago, thanks in large part to Indigenous advocate Bruno Pereira, who was murdered earlier this year. Pereira created a system for voting machines to travel to Indigenous villages, rather than vice versa, after an infamous incident where Indigenous voters were stranded on a riverbank for weeks with insufficient gasoline to motor their boats home, and many got sick. Some died. Today that system continues, with election officials using light aircraft and helicopters to reach remote villages.