However, the Brazilian government concluded that the residents of Vitoria do Xingu do not qualify as “affected”, according to the executives of Brazilian consortium Norte Energia, which is in charge of building the dam.

In a statement published on April 17, MAB exposed that the lack of recognition of the residents of Vitória do Xingu as affected by Belo Monte is a step backwards compared to the position of former President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva in late 2010.

At the time, when the Belo Monte controversy was already taking place, the Brazilian government passed a decree that defined as “affected” every citizen whose economic activity would be affected by the project.

“That is the situation of the fishermen of Vitória do Xingu, who say the decrease in the water flow will irreversibly affect their livelihood”
Another human rights violation, this is how MAB defines what is happening to the fishermen of Para.

According to MAB, the negative social and environmental consequences of dams were verified in a report by a special commission linked to the Presidency of the Republic, despite of which the government maintains their exclusive position.

“Brazil is having so called economic development, where energy seen as a commodity has acquired great importance. That is why corporations are increasingly interested in building dams to produce electricity”, says MAB.

Photo: www.mabnacional.org.br