Lula

IBAMA President Resigns Over Belo Monte Licensing

Ex-President of IBAMA, Abelardo Bayma Azevedo, at a briefing
Ex-President of IBAMA, Abelardo Bayma Azevedo, at a briefing The President of Brazil's environmental agency IBAMA, Abelardo Bayma Azevedo, submitted a letter of resignation yesterday after facing heavy pressure to grant a full installation license for the Belo Monte Complex, another victim in a long-running political war over environmental licensing between Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy and its Ministry of the Environment. The victims keep piling up, and it's bad for the Amazon. Brazil’s Big Bad Wolf Attacks Again Azevedo is the latest victim of a feud between the min

Indígenas protestam contra a concessão de Belo Monte em Brasília

Thursday, August 26, 2010
Uma mobilização contra a assinatura do contrato de Concessão de Belo Monte marcou a inauguração do Palácio do Planalto nessa quinta-feira (26). O ato aconteceu na praça dos três poderes, em Brasília/DF e contou com a participação de lideranças indígenas, representantes de organizações ambientais como o Green Peace, do Conselho Indigenista Missionário (CIMI) e da Articulação dos povos Indígenas do Brasil (APIB) e da sociedade civil. O objetivo da mobilização era protestar contra a assinatura do Decreto de Outorga e o Contrato de Concessão da UHE Belo Monte, uma das últi

Belo Monte: State Subsidies a Trojan Horse for Mega-Risks

Trojan Horse
Last week ANEEL released the final list of 18 companies participating in the Belo Monte consortium. Everyone expected some big name investors to carry the USD$17 billion project. But, as of now, the state has close to a 75% stake in this "private project."

Belo Monte’s Avatar

Thursday, June 24, 2010
President Lula wittingly oversimplifies the issue of Belo Monte.  As an intelligent man, he knows that what is still keeping doubts about the hydroelectric plant alive has nothing to do with the visit of a “gringo filmmaker.” Simplifications are great during election time, but the truth is that the dam’s administrative process is occurring without the necessary environmental, fiscal or economic caution. In a democracy, it is necessary to sway public opinion. Belo Monte is being shoved on the country very authoritatively, in a hurry, that doesn’t make any sense except to the construc

Lula's Own Hollywood Version of Belo Monte

Protestors in Altamira, Pará
Protestors in Altamira, Pará Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre A politician will say anything to support his party in an election year. That's why in his scripted blame of opposition to Belo Monte, Lula continually reverts to the same character: the green gringo, whose eco-fetish impedes Brazil's development.   But a delusional person will do anything to sustain his own version of reality. This is why, behind the scenes of his latest media rant, a strong military presence physically intimated 400 riverine, indigenous, and urban protestors from the Xingu region that sought to debate

Discurso do Pres. Lula no Ato por Belo Monte

Discurso do Presidente da República, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, no Ato por Belo Monte e pelo desenvolvimento da região do Xingu Altamira-PA, 22 de junho de 2010                             Eu, companheiros e companheiras, aprendi, aprendi, ao longo da minha vida, a fazer política e aprendi a entender o comportamento das pessoas. Não é possível que a gente não tenha em conta... e eu acho importante a imprensa registrar o ato democrático que nós estamos fazendo aqui. Certamente, certamente meia dúzia de jovens bem-intencionados, mas certamente com intenções,

Lame Duck Lula Pushes For Huge Amazon Dam

Monday, June 7, 2010
Unfazed by entrenched environmental opposition, a threat of war by local indigenous groups, and celebrity lobbying by a handful of Hollywood stars, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is putting the pedal to the metal on a controversial hydroelectric project slated for the country’s Amazon jungle region. Planned for the Xingu River, a major tributary of the Amazon River, the Belo Monte Dam project promises to add a staggering 11,200 megawatts of electricity to Brazil’s grid. Once completed, it would be the world’s third-largest hydroelectric complex after the Three Gorges Dam
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