Street demonstrations, lectures, debates in colleges and intense mobilization in eight state capitals in Brazil are being organized for today, Tuesday, the day that the government hopes to tender the works for a huge hydroelectric dam to be built in the Amazon despite the rejection of indigenous people, farmers, environmentalists, prosecutors and some Hollywood celebrities like James Cameron.
Indigenous groups continue their protests today in Brasilia and promise to make jobs in the premises specified for construction. Yesterday gathered outside the headquarters of FUNAI official organ, the National Indian Foundation, the they accused of "betraying the indigenous peoples" to support "President Lula projects and large enterprises."The Belo Monte dam, a project that has dragged on since 1979 and was recovered by the government of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will flood an area of \u200b\u200b506 square kilometers and displace about 50,000 peasants and Indians, according to reports from the groups opposed to its construction.
The project proposes up on the Xingu river, in the municipality of Altamira, in the Amazonian state of Para, a mass of concrete that will be the third largest hydroelectric dam in the world, behind the Three Gorges (China) and Itaipu (Brazil and Paraguay).
According to government estimates, the work will cost U.S. $ 10,600 million, will have a generating capacity of 11,233 megawatts and create 18,700 jobs.
Last week, opponents of the project received support from Canadian filmmaker James Cameron, director of "Avatar", and two of the stars of the blockbuster film: Sigourney Weaver and Joel David Moore.
The three participated in a protest in Brasilia by groups of Indians and peasants who are directly affected by the works.
In recent days, the project has been the subject of an ongoing legal bid by the Government and those who feel that the dam will cause severe ecological and human damage in the "green lung of the planet."
The strongest arguments against the dam have been put forward by the Federal Public Ministry, which has filed two actions in court to prevent the works, in addition to today's action.
Prosecutors said they found failings in the awarding of tenders and the project has a constitutional inconsistency, it will cover part of indigenous lands protected as nature reserves.
Last week, Federal Judge Antonio Carlos de Almeida Campelo, the city of Altamira, ordered suspend the bidding, but the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), the official in charge of the project, got another judge overturned that ruling.
Late in the afternoon, Almeida Campelo the judge again ordered the suspension of the auction for a new demand of the Attorney General, so the bid can continue until the last minute.
Some indigenous groups also continued their protests today in Brasilia and even gathered outside the headquarters of the National Indian Foundation (Funai official), which accused him of "betraying the indigenous peoples" to support " projects Lula and businesses. "
Despite efforts by the Government, the project finally convinced even initially interested companies such as Odebrecht and Camargo Correa powerful, who withdrew from the bidding for the lack of "economic and political conditions" attractive.
Until last week, only maintained their registration a consortium of companies Vale, Votorantim Energy, Furnas and Andrade Gutierrez, among others.
Last Friday, however, a group of state companies associated with the construction company Queiroz Galvão and other private sector companies formalized their interest in the auction.
Before that, the Government announced new facilities to try to encourage entrepreneurs such as financing of the Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and a tax cut for the consortium that wins the tender. Taken
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