Organizations struggling against Belo Monte and in defense of life of Xingu peoples marched yesterday (12) on the Esplanade of Ministries, in Brasilia.

 

Organizations fighting the Belo Monte hydroelectric and in defense of life of Xingu peoples marched Monday April 12 on the Esplanade of Ministries, in Brazil‘s capital Brasília.

 

More than a thousand people participated in a march against the construction of the dam on the Xingu River, in the state of Pará. The public act had the support of over 50 organizations and social movements in addition to Hollywood filmmaker (director of the film Avatar), James Cameron and actors Sigourney Weaver and Joel David Moore.

 

In the march, indigenous peoples and leaders of movements of people affected and threatened by the construction of dams expressed the reasons placing them squarely against the project. "You do not know what the Xingu river is. It no longer has a current. Our people and our forests are dying. To what end such a hydroelectric? Enough! I have come a great distance to ask ANEEL that it not support construction of the Belo Monte!" vented Piracumã Iawarapiti, a cacique (chief) from the Xingu region.

 

Along the demonstration route, the protesters made brief stops in front of the Ministry of Environment, the National Congress and the Ministry of Justice. At the Ministry of Mines and Energy, they delivered a document critical of the energy model, emphasizing that construction of the hydroelectric Belo Monte reaffirms the option for this model. The document also notes that the project favors only large companies with the aggravating element of using BNDES resources and the State Pension Fund.

 

International Support

"I am not Brazilian, but I cannot refrain from supporting this cry of resistance", Said James Cameron, filmmaker and director of the award-winning film Avatar. Cameron arrived around 14:00 to demonstrate in front of the National Agency of Electrical Energy (ANEEL). Accompanied by actors in the film Avatar, Sigourney Weaver and Joel David Moore. He conveyed his total support to the population of the Xingu, condemning the hydroelectric plant of Belo Monte. Actress Sigourney Weaver also stated her position. "We must find alternatives to the existing development model."

 

Cameron expressed interest in filming the real Amazon and the way of life of the indigenous peoples of the Xingu. "It is a model where you never take more than you give!" He said. The filmmaker intends to make documentaries about the way of life of indigenous peoples in Amazônia. "I am very interested. I would like to express what I have seen and felt here in Brazil and especially with peoples of the Xingu. I have had several invitations to learn about their way of life and this opportunity exists of making a film here in Brazil", he said.

 

Absurd price

After the demonstration, journalists and leaders proceeded to a press conference, attended by Roger Höhn, of the MAB (Movement of Peoples Affected by Dams); Antonia Melo, Movement Xingu Forever Alive; Sheila Juruna, representative of indigenous people of Xingu; Raul Vale, of the ISA;  James Cameron, Joel David Moore, Sigourney Weaver and actor Vitor Fasano.

 

The leaders of the movements explained their arguments in opposition to Belo Monte, highlighting that they have already been struggling for more than 20 years to prevent the destruction of the Xingu river. Rogério also addressed the absurd price attached to the electricity and underscored the environmental damage were Belo Monte to be constructed.

 

Antônia Melo emphasized the litany of impacts that the hydroelectric could cause such as diseases, uncontrolled population growth (over 100 thousand people would descend on the region), the profound decay of more than 100 km of the Xingu River, the fact that more than 15 thousand rural workers would lose their arable lands, the indigenous lands would remain desiccated.

 

Xingu: The House of God

The testimony of indigenous speaker Juruna Sheila was deeply emotional. For her the sentiment is that of revolt. "We are struggling and we have hope. But development is not done this way". She said that in her language, Xingu means House of God and therefore is not for nothing that the locals defend both river.

Sheila also said that Belo Monte is a great snake that is going to devour everything there and ended her speech with a song that said "afraid of never more hearing".

 

In relation to indigenous peoples, the director of Avatar used the U.S. as an example of what should be avoided. “The indigenous peoples were destroyed in the U.S. Their population decreased dramatically. They have no power or voice. They live in small places and have no hope, so much so that there are high rates of suicide in these communities”, he said.

 

Dinosaurs

Cameron utilized various comparisons to illustrate why he is opposed to Belo Monte. "The great dam technologies are the dinosaur technologies of the twentieth century or even the nineteenth century". From the director’s perspective, human beings are intelligent enough to create other technologies.

 

He also compared the rivers to the human circulatory system. "Rivers are the arteries of life for the forest and its populations. And what happens when we block these arteries? A heart attack. Or a stroke. With deadly consequences. That is more or less what would happen to the Xingu river", he said.

 

The filmmaker’s interest in Belo Monte was questioned by journalists. "I’m not from here, and I know Brazililans don’t like a gringo to come over and tell them what to do. But I know that Belo Monte and the safe guarding of the Amazon is a problem of the entire world. We are all on the same planet. The winds, oceans and atmosphere do not recognize borders!" He concluded.

 

 

www.Twitter.com/StopBeloMonte

 

 

Read more on Belo Monte:

• Director of Avatar asks Lula reconsider the project of Belo Monte
• Belo Monte: External funding may be decisive
• 140 international organizations denounce Belo Monte
• Hydroelectric of Belo Monte: A question of democracy
• Belo Monte “Pharonic project and generator of death” Special interview with Dom Erwin Kräutler
• Indigenous Peoples of the Xingu issue alert regarding licensing announcement for construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric Plant

Background information:

• Summary and History of the Belo Monte Dam: Rainforest Foundation
• Independent Review Highlights the True Costs of Belo Monte Dam
• Summary of the Independent Panel of Experts on the Belo Monte hydroelectric