Last month, we returned from the heart of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, where the urgency of safeguarding the Volta Grande do Xingu region has become more evident than ever. We dedicated three critical days at the Gathering of the Guardians of the Xingu River on Canari Island, exploring the severe challenges faced by the local population in light of Belo Sun’s mining project.
With over 200 participants, including riverine communities, fisherfolk, small-scale farmers, Indigenous peoples, and socio-environmental activists, the Guardians of the Xingu Gathering emphasized the urgency of exchanging experiences and resistance tactics. It also highlighted the pressing need to discuss the governance of the Xingu River, a vital lifeline for numerous communities. Personally, it was a bittersweet experience witnessing the power and majesty of the Xingu River with my own eyes, juxtaposed with the despair felt by those who depend on it.
This form of on-the-ground organizing is precisely what Canada’s Belo Sun fears most, as it threatens the company’s reckless plans to gouge Brazil’s largest open-pit gold mine into the banks of the Xingu River. For this reason, the company has resorted to scurrilous legal intimidation of its opponents through recent efforts to criminalize Amazon defenders. The Gathering was a key moment to reaffirm our collective resistance and understand the realities of local communities grappling not only with the immediate consequences of the disastrous Belo Monte hydroelectric dam but also with the looming threat of Belo Sun’s proposed mine.
The resounding cries for help echo through the Amazon, revealing water shortages, severe food insecurity, and the economic and health impacts of environmental violations that paint a bleak picture. Our mission was to listen, understand, and advocate for those on the front lines.
We sounded the alarm on the familiar pattern of companies, like Norte Energia, responsible for the Belo Monte dam, making promises it fails to keep. We reinforced the skepticism regarding Belo Sun with a stark warning: history repeats itself, and the same pattern of unfulfilled promises emerges, indicating the likelihood that the obscure and underfunded Belo Sun will struggle to uphold the socio-environmental commitments it is making.
Amazon Watch’s presence added weight, elevating the critical discussion on the menace posed by mining in the Amazon. This threat extends beyond local rights to the global climate balance, as the rainforest plays a pivotal role in regulating temperatures and sustaining the water cycle.
Federal government representation was notably absent from the dialogue. Only one official from the Ministry of Agricultural Development, housing the land reform agency INCRA which had illicitly entered into an agreement with Belo Sun, made an appearance. This underscores the lack of accountability and responsibility demonstrated by government bodies towards the affected communities.
Our immediate goal is to challenge the legality of INCRA’s agreement with Belo Sun, asserting the fundamental incompatibility of mining activities in territories designated for food production. In a nation grappling with hunger, prioritizing land access for local autonomy and food sovereignty takes precedence over shady financial interests that are driving the Amazon’s destruction.
Our commitment is unwavering. We will continue to hold these actors accountable and emphasize the narrative of the urgent need for territories free of mining. In a collective call to action, we echo the sentiments from the front lines: the Amazon’s true wealth lies not in gold but in preserving the delicate balance that sustains life along the Volta Grande do Xingu.
