International Day of Action 2008: South America
Argentina | Bolivia | Brazil | Chile | Colombia
Argentina
Complete Day of Action in Protest of the Corpus Christi Dam
Starting early in the morning, participants on bikes and on foot left the University campus and headed to the site of the proposed Corpus Dam. A debate with panelists ensued and later on, a petition was delivered to government officials calling for respect of the popular decision of 1996 that rejected the construction of the dam. A march followed the delivery of the letter and then the evening was capped off with theater, videos and music .
Contact
Asamblea Popular No A La Represa De Corpus (Posadas)
Email: asambleanocorpus@gmail.com
Bolivia
Press release to show solidarity with dam-affected peoples
A statement was released to both explain and pay homage to the roots of the Day of Action, and also to express solidarity with dam-affected people, especially those who are part of MAB in Brazil.
Contact
FOBOMADE
Foro Boliviano sobre Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo
Av. Villazón Nº 1958
Edificio Villazón
Piso: 6 A
Casilla: 5540
Phone: 2 315059
Email: comunicacion@fobomade.org.bo
Web: www.fobomade.org.bo
Brazil
National Movement Against Dams in Brazil
Brazil’s Movement of Dam-Affected People (Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens -- MAB) held events calling people all over the country to protest dams and to question the model of privatization that is status quo. March 14th was also a day to speak out loudly against the delivery and handling of water and energy that is done merely as a means to accumulate capital. All members and supporters of the movement were called on to organize fights against the politics of privatization and against the huge corporations with power in this region.
Contact
Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB)
Phone: +55 (61) 3242-8535
Email: comunicacao@mabnacional.org.br
Web: www.mabnacional.org.br
Protests in Seven Cities Across the Country
Via Campesina, of which MAB is part, organized to take action on March 11th in honor of the Day of Action. Protestors mobilized against and questioned the
current energy models being used, and sensitized the population to the robbery they are being submitted to as the price of energy continues to skyrocket. Events took place in Tocantins, Rondônia, Minas Gerais, Ceará, Erechim, Paraíba, Paraná and at the border between Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.
Contact
Setor de Comunicação
Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens
Phone: +55 (61) 3386-1938
Web: www.mabnacional.org.br
Estreito Dam protester shot by company manager
MAB's occupation of the worksite at Estreito Dam on the Tocantins River was marred by an incident at which a manager of Ceste, the consortium building the dam, opened fire on protesters, wounding one in the leg. The shooter was arrested. MAB´s protest lasted nine days, and protesters vowed to remain at the dam site until a Permanent Forum involving MAB, government and the involved companies was established. Initially, the company refused to talk with MAB regarding their demands dealing with environment, compensation and indigenous peoples and the police were mobilized near the site.
Demonstrators Leave Peacefully
After nine days of protest, demonstrators at the Estreito Dam were offered an agreement which maintains that organs under the the Brazilian presidency will convene meetings to discuss the ongoing social and environmental concerns that the dam project presents.
Women block CVRD railway to demand compensation for dam-affected peoples
The rail line of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce in Minas Gerais was blocked by women of Via Campesina, in support of families seeking compensation from the company for their being displaced for Aimorés Dam.
Protest regarding dams on the Ribeira do Iguape
Quilombolas and environmentalists protested at the São Paulo office of Ibama, Brazil´s environmental protection service. They left after being granted an audience in Brasília with the president of Ibama to voice their concerns regarding Ibama´s favorable opinion regarding the feasibility of the Tijuco Alto Dam.
Raising Voices to Stop Dam Plans
In Curitiba, Brazil, there was a demonstration against the Tijuco Alto Dam, which is planned on a river on the Atlantic Coast rainforest. Those in attendance protested against the aluminum company in charge of the dam project, and also helped to launch a new campaign against the purchase of aluminum from the CBA.
Contact
Laura Jesus de Moura e Costa, CEDEA
Web: www.justicaambiental.org.br
Resistance in Tibagi
The Comissão Pastoral da Terra in Brazil organized a "Celebration of the Waters" to draw attention to the need to preserve and protect rivers. Participants walked on the bridge along the Tibagi River in the state of Paraná, praising the life that it provides to people and to nature, and also knelt in prayer asking for pardon for maltreatment of the river.
Contact
Comissão Pastoral da Terra
Web: www.cptnac.com.br
Letter calls for suspension of Pai-Querê project
Organizations held a seminar in Porto Alegre and delivered a letter to President Lula´s chief of staff demanding that the Pai Querê Dam, which would flood 4,000 hectares of native forests and the death of 3 million trees in the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve, be removed from the government´s Growth Acceleration Plan.
Contact
Friends of the Earth Brazil
Web: www.natbrasil.org.br
Chile
Weekend of protests marks international "Anti-Dam Day" in Chile
Santiago Times
March 17, 2008
By Matt Malinowski (editor@santiagotimes.cl)
As part of "International Anti-Dam Day," hundreds of Chileans took to the streets this weekend to demonstrate against the government's apparent support for a series of hydroelectric dams planned in various parts of the country. Roughly 500 people-including citizens, tourism officials, and Chile's leading environmentalists-rallied Friday outside the La Moneda presidential palace, where event leaders handed President Michelle Bachelet a letter emphasizing the dangers associated with hydroelectric dams. The protestors later marched through some of downtown Santiago's most important pedestrian thoroughfares, including the Paseo Ahumada. As marchers carried elaborate banners and chanted anti-dam slogans, they made a special effort to draw attention to the HidroAysén proposal, a joint venture dam building project in far southern Chile.
Click here to read the full story in English in the Santiago Times.
Chile: Día Mundial Contra las Represas se Conmemora en Expectante Ambiente por Proyectos Hidroeléctricos
Coalición ciudadana de Aysén, 10 de Marzo 2008
Este año para el Día Mundial de Acción Contra las Represas, varias comunidades movilizarán en oposición a las represas en el sur de Chile que cambiarán irreversiblemente los ríos y destruirán los ecosistemas. Enfrente de La Moneda, en el capital de Santiago, se reunirán residentes de las areas afectadas conjunto con representantes de los ONGs que trabajan para proteger el medio ambiente chileno. El domingo el 16 de marzo, en la Región de Aysén, el lugar donde se ubicarán las represas propuestas, habrá una reunión de pobladores, empresarios turísticos, dirigentes de organizaciones socials y ambientales, y del Consejo de Defensa de la Patagonia Chilena; más tarde recorrerán la área de la represa que se llamaría Baker 1. El día siguiente, visitarán al sector conocido como El Saltón del Baker, donde se emplaza el histórico paso San Carlos (o Lucas Bridge), que está en riesgo ante los trabajos requeridos para construir la presa de la central conocida como Baker 2.
Click here to read the full article in Spanish.
Chile: International Day of Actions for Rivers Commemorated With Apprehension About Hydroelectric Projects
Citizens Coalition of Aysén, March 10, 2008.
This year, to celebrate International Day of Action for Rivers, various communities will mobilize in opposition to the proposed dams in southern Chile that will irreversibly intefere with rivers and destroy ecosystems. In front of La Moneda, in the capital city of Santiago, there will be a gathering of dam-affected residents together with representatives of Chilean environmental NGOs. Sunday, March 16th in the Aysén region, where the proposed dams will be located, there will be a gathering of local residents, tourist companies, leaders of social and environmental organizations, and leaders of the Counsel in Defense of Chilean Patagonia, who will later tour the area of the proposed site for Baker 1. The following day, they will visit the area known as El Saltón del Baker, the location of the historic San Carlos pass (or Lucas Bridge), which is at risk of being destroyed by the construction of the dam known as Baker 2.
Click here to read the full article in Spanish.
Contact
Peter Hartmann
Coordinator
Aisén Reserva de Vida
Email: aisen-rv@entelchile.net
Juan Pablo Orrego
National and International Coordinator
Patagonia Campaign for Living Rivers
Ecosistemas
Email: jp.orrego@ecosistemas.cl
Web: www.ecosistemas.cl
Colombia
Written Manifestation in Commemoration of the International Day of Action
A manifestation voicing the complaints against the construction of dams was prepared and presented in commemoration of the Day of Action in Santa Cruz de Lorica, Colombia. The document dicusses the negative impacts of the the project on the natural environment, especially the fish, and also on the human population who suffer from deplorable levels of poverty as their livelihoods and homes are dramatically affected by such projects.
Contact
La Asociación de Productores para el Desarrollo Comunitario de la Ciénaga Grande de Lorica (ASPROCIG)
Phone: (0947) 738797 – 736368
Web: www.asprocig.org.co
Email: asprocig@colnodo.apc.org.co
For further information, please contact:
Day of Action Coordinator
International Rivers
1847 Berkeley Way
Berkeley, CA 94703 USA
Phone: +1 510-848-1155
Fax: +1 510-848-1008
E-mail: dayofaction@internationalrivers.org