The Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) in the Madeira River region, made up by hundreds of rural and urban workers, farmers, fisherpeople and community representatives and leaders, held a People’s Assembly on April 17 in the city of Porto Velho.
The participants analysed the struggles they have waged against the countless human rights violations caused by the flooding of the Madeira River and the violent imposition of hydroelectric plants in the state of Rondônia. They placed responsibility on the shareholders in the Energia Sustentável do Brasil consortium, which operates the Jirau power plant, the Santo Antônio Energia consortium, which runs the Santo Antônio power plant, and the Brazilian government.
As a result of the construction of these hydroelectric dams and power plants, more than 5,000 families were affected and more than 100,000 people were left without access to drinking water, while 12 districts in Porto Velho and over 50 communities along the Madeira River suffered the loss of their land, homes, means of production, work tools, equipment and other belongings.
At the end of the assembly, the MAB members drafted an open letter denouncing these violations and proposing a series of emergency and structural measures to remedy the critical situation in the state of Rondônia.
