Empower Indigenous Brazilians to Save their Amazon

Last month, communities of the Xingu River basin received some good news: the installation license for the Belo Sun mining project was denied!

The project is planned to be Brazil’s largest open-pit mining operation. Its implementation would further aggravate the sensitive situation of indigenous and riverine communities whose human rights have already been gravely impacted by the nearby Belo Monte Dam.

For people whose way of life has already been drastically changed by development, this small victory in the long fight to stop the mine was a needed sigh of relief. 

Belo Sun was stopped for the same reasons we’ve been fighting against Belo Monte all these years: the operator has inadequately addressed the concerns of local indigenous and riverine communities.

Since the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights authorized precautionary measures in the Belo Monte case in 2011, the government has been under international pressure to protect the life, health, and integrity of the people of the Xingú.

With this news, we’re happy to say our work to expose the injustices of Belo Monte is having an impact on development in the Brazilian Amazon.

Media coverage, international pressure and a sweeping corruption scandal have thrust Belo Monte into the spotlight. The third largest dam in the world now stands as a shining example of how not to implement energy projects in the region.

In the shadow of Belo Monte’s mistakes, the Brazilian government recently denied the license for a Tapajós River mega-dam; the denial of the Belo Sun license makes it two battles won for the interests of the people of the Xingú.

It seems the Brazilian government is finally beginning to pay attention to the rights of its traditional and indigenous populations in the face of large-scale development.

But the larger fight remains, and we won’t rest until we achieve justice for the people and communities affected by Belo Monte.