Every year, the 14th of March is a day of global action and protest against the construction of dams, in defense of life and nature and for the rights of the affected people. According to the final report of the World Commission on Dams (entity linked to the United Nations), 80 million people in the world have been directly or indirectly affected by the construction of hydroelectric plants. In Brazil, the existing large hydroelectric plants have already expelled around 1 million people, of which 70% have not yet received compensation.

Due to this occasion, this week, the Movement of Dam Affected People (MAB) is mobilized in various states with the objective to claim the rights of the affected and to question the current energy model and raise the awareness of the population with regards to the robbery related to the price of energy.

Today (11/3), various protests are taking place in different states:

In the State of Rondonia, around 700 affected people occupied the Thermoelectric Unit of Rio Madeira in the neighborhood Nacional, in Porto Velho. The objective of the protest is to claim from the state company, Eletronorte, the solution of old problems faced by the families affected by the Samuel Dam and the families threatened by the construction of the Madeira Complex.

In the border between the States Santa Catarina (SC) and Rio Grande do Sul (RS), 400 people affected by the Machadinho Dam, started a protest in the entry of the plant. The farmers claim solutions to problems resulting from the construction of the plant. They claim: communitarian infra-structure, resolution of environmental problems, improvements in the quality of water, reduction of electricity prices and issues related to regional development.

In the State of Tocantins, 200 dam-affected and riverine people and rural landless workers occupied the entry of the worksite of the Estreito Dam. There was confrontation with the police but fortunately no injuries. At this moment they are building a camp in the entry of the worksite and until the end of tomorrow morning more than 400 indigenous people are expected to join in.

In Ceará, around 700 people affected by the Castanhão, Jaguaribe and Macito Baturité dams occupied the worksite of the Integration Channel. This Channel is made up of a complex of pump stations, channels, siphons, pipelines and tunnels, which divert the waters of the Castanhão dam to the Pecém Port and Industrial Complex, where various steel industries are located. For MAB, this channel represents the privatization of water, while those affected by the Castanhão dam live in precarious conditions.

In Erechim (RS), residents of the Santa Isabel and Polígono 21 neighborhoods marched this morning to the headquarters of the company Rio Grande Energia (RGE) to collectively hand in personal declarations which guarantee the Social Energy Tariff which translates into a discount which may reach up to 65% of the electricity bill.

In the State of Paraíba, residents of several communities from the capital João Pessoa, will carry out today at 16h, a mobilization in front of the headquarters of the energy distributor SAELPA. The residents will demand compliance with the law which determines that consumers using up to 140 KWh per month (regional limit of Paraíba) should be charged a different rate. This is the so called Social Energy Tariff, which SAELPA and other utility companies refuse to comply with.

In the State of Paraná, 1000 affected people occupied the Hydroelectric Plant of Salto Santiago, located in the municipality of Saudade do Iguaçu (40km from Laranjeiras do Sul), in the Rio Iguaçu. After it was privatized during the Fernando Henrique Cardoso (FHC) government, it became property of the multinational Tractebel Energy.

The affected people protest against the National Environmental Council (CONAMA) resolution (302/2002) which obliges families to stay 100 meters away from the dam´s reservoir. The farmers and fishermen which used the river banks for their livelihood will lose this right.

MAB - Movement of Dam Affected People