Tag Archives: Belo Monte

Her fight is our own


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Mayalú Txucarramãe
Mayalú Txucarramãe – © Cacá MeirellesDear Carmen,Last week we reminded you just how proud we are of our courageous partner in the Brazilian Amazon, Kayapó warrior Mayalú Txucarramãe. We told you the story of how Mayalú has become a powerful leader in the fight to stop the destructive Belo Monte dam. Her home, community, family, culture, and very survival depend on it.

Mayalu is your partner, too. Your support of Amazon Watch directly empowers Mayalú and the campaign to stop the Belo Monte dam and rainforest destruction. The fight to protect her home is ultimately our fight for a better world and future on this planet that we share.

Mayalú’s fight is not just about stopping one of the largest dam complexes in the world – it’s about turning the tide against destructive development projects across the Amazon and acknowledging that we have a responsibility that goes beyond ourselves when it comes to issues that affect the global climate.

How we address issues that contribute to the climate crisis will define us in the future. How firmly we stand with those on the front lines of today’s climate battle, women like Mayalú, will decide our collective fate. It will be part of our legacy when we consider what we actually did to better the world.

Support Mayalú and her community by donating today to stop destructive dams in the Amazon and to protect our planetary life support systems. Please give and give generously so that Amazon Watch can continue its work with Mayalú and others fighting for a better future – for the Amazon, for the planet.

If not you, then who?

Branden Barber
Branden Barber
Director of Engagement

Eye on the Amazon: Belo Sun No!


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Belo Sun No!
Stop further tragedy on the Xingu River

Belo Sun No!This week Amazon Watch joined a global coalition of organizations to launch a campaign in defense of indigenous and traditional communities threatened by the Canadian mining company Belo Sun. The Toronto-based company plans to build Brazil’s largest gold mine on the banks of the Amazon’s Xingu River in the very area that is most impacted by the disastrous Belo Monte dam. Together with our partners in Brazil, Canada, the United States, and Europe, we are standing against Belo Sun’s outrageous scheme to reap massive profits from the social and environmental havoc being caused by Belo Monte.

Aiming to extract tons of gold from the Xingu’s “Big Bend” region, Belo Sun is swooping in like a scavenger, promising to heap further tragedy on local communities and a declining ecosystem.

Read the rest and watch the video on Eye on the Amazon »

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For over fifteen years, Amazon Watch has been an effective force in supporting indigenous environmental movements on the front lines of halting destructive development.

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Bring Back the Voices of the Xingu!


Amazon WatchHelio Alves da Silva, a fisherman who until recently made his living from the Xingu River.
Bring Back the Voices of the Xingu!Yesterday we sent you Voices of the Xingu, a powerful video collage of voices uniting to stop the Belo Monte dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Did you watch it yet?If you haven’t, stop right now and click here. I’ll wait.

These are the voices, the faces, the people who you are supporting through your support of Amazon Watch. These are the people who have been suffering as the Brazilian government and dam builders Norte Energia have pushed forward the Belo Monte dam project. These are also the people who have been fighting for their rights and for justice in this struggle. We must continue to support and stand with them.

Over 3,000 people joined demonstrations in Altamira calling for Justice Now! and a halt to construction of the Belo Monte dam. But their voices continue to be silenced and ignored. We can help change this!

The dam builders are up against the ropes – they’re facing fines and possible construction delays for violating social and environmental conditions. They’re under investigation for corruption, for harboring an illegal brothel holding underage sex slaves, and they recently admitted that the dam project has gone over budget by $1 billion dollars.

Add your voice to the chorus for justice and help continue to bring support to the frontlines through advocacy, organizing and activism. Amazon Watch is bringing allies together across river basins, proposing viable alternative energy pathways and bringing the world’s attention to issues that the Brazilian government has the responsibility and the power to change now.

So skip the latté or lunch out today, or simply invest in this great effort to bring hope to the people of the Xingu, to people like Helio. Help nurture this active resource that grows as we all chip in together. Give today for a free-flowing Xingu River and the people who depend on it.

For the people of Xingu,

Branden Barber
Branden Barber
Director of Engagement

P.S. I promise you that every dollar you give is going make a difference, add strength to these voices, and help the people of the Xingu stay strong in the face of such challenges.

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Português | Español | Deutsch | MoreVoices of Xingu

Since late June protests across Brazil have not stopped. Over 3,000 people in the city of Altamira joined the demonstrations calling for Justice Now! and a halt to construction of the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River. But their voices continue to be silenced and ignored by the Brazilian government and dam-builders Norte Energia.

It’s time that the voices of the Xingu are heard! Watch and share Voices of the Xingu today!

This past spring I spent months in the field near the dam site, meeting with Amazon Watch allies in Altamira and digging deep into their struggle to defend the Xingu and their lives. We want to share their voices with you.

Voices of the Xingu depicts men, women, elders, workers, farmers, fishermen, students, activists and indigenous leaders united under a common dream: to stop the Belo Monte dam.

While construction on the dam continues, a recent report by IBAMA – Brazil’s Environmental Protection Agency – confirms what communities have been saying all along: Norte Energia has grossly neglected their legal responsibility to mitigate the project’s social and environmental impacts. The report not only threatens to halt construction of the project, but also shows clearly the level NESA and the Brazilian government are willing to go to build Belo Monte. This monster can still be stopped!

Show your support for the people of the Xingu, share their dream and join the chorus to stop the Belo Monte dam.

Xingu Vivo Para Sempre!

Maira Irigaray-Castro
Maira Irigaray-Castro
Brazil Program Coordinator