This week’s “Caravan to Resist Dams in the Amazon” marked the largest political action ever staged in opposition to the Brazilian government’s authoritarian march to dam the Tapajós River. Assembled on the banks of the majestic river, members the region’s indigenous and traditional communities joined religious leaders and activists to stand as one in defense of the Tapajós, its peoples, and all the life that this vital waterway sustains.
As the Caravan participants streamed into the São Luiz do Tapajós community, the air was charged with the vigor of unity and the hope that our collective and sustained struggle will turn the tide on a brutal government that aims to repeat Belo Monte’s environmental and human tragedy on the Brazilian Amazon’s last wild tributary. An impressive contingent of Munduruku people fueled an atmosphere of resistance with traditional dances, chants, and fiery speeches, while three Amazonian bishops held a mass driven by calls to challenge the government’s aims, in defense of nature and human dignity.
“Our struggle is large and dangerous, but we know we shall win,” said Munduruku Chief Suberanino Saw. “I’ve been to Belo Monte so I know what these dams represent: if they are built on the Tapajós they will flood our lands, and destroy our fish and hunting. We’ve come to put an end to this madness.”
“I come from the Xingu, where the rights of indigenous peoples and other communities have been trampled by the construction of the Belo Monte dam. We are here today because we are all responsible for caring for God’s creation; we cannot allow this physical and cultural destruction to be repeated in the Tapajós,” said Bishop Erwin Krautler, winner of the Rights Livelihood Award, in a moving sermon.
A recent assertion by government Minister Gilberto Carvalho that the administration “will not desist from [damming] the Tapajós” sparked lively debate at the Caravan, where activists avowed determined resistance to block the dam projects. “We will not desist from the beauty and life of the Tapajós, nor from our struggle,” affirmed Enoe Sena of the Tapajós Alive Movment (MTV).
“The government is perversely burning the Brazilian constitution while bypassing environmental law in order speed [the dams] to auction,” said Father Ediberto Sena of the MTV. “This Caravan is our response – we have managed to unite many diverse organizations who share the same desire, to defend the Tapajós.”
The day’s events followed a powerful artistic protest activity organized by Greenpeace Brazil and the Munduruku, where a “group gathered at a beach on the banks of the Tapajos River and displayed a message in the sand that read ‘Free Tapajós’,” reads a Greenpeace press release.
The lasting mark of this week’s impressive actions is one of hope. Hope that the power of a diverse and unified movement can stand up to a megalomaniacal government and win this decisive battle for the future of the Amazon and its peoples.
