CALL: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF STRUGGLE AGAINST DAMS AND FOR RIVERS, WATER AND LIFE!

The Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) invites all organisations, entities, pastoral, networks, activists and social movements to act together and help us organise demonstrations to mark the international day, March 14, of the struggle against dams and for rivers, water and life. That date was set in 1997, when Brazil hosted the 1st International Meeting of People Affected by Dams and since then the populations affected by dams worldwide denounce the energy model that causes serious social, economic, cultural and environmental damages.

The International Day 2013 happens at a moment when the world is facing another crisis of the capitalist production system. This crisis, which had a great worldwide impact since 2008, still continues and in some parts of the world worsens. Companies headquartered in rich countries have never received so much profit coming from its subsidiaries in poor countries. Talking about Brazil, during last year, of the 12 companies that remitted the highest levels of profits out of the country or paid to its shareholders, nine are from the energy sector.

The owners of capital and governments seek to mitigate the effects of the crisis and resume their rates of profit and ownership of the value produced by workers. They act in several ways, including increasing the exploitation of workers (removing and denying the historically achieved workers’ rights), deploying new technologies to increase production and seeking the appropriation of the natural advantage.

That is why our commitment is to organize ourselves and insert in the struggles against transnationals, for workers’ rights, for the defense of rivers, water and life. This is not only a struggle of the population affected by dams, all the people are affected by the high energy tariffs, the privatisation of water and energy, and the public money invested in the private sector.

The manifestations during the week of March 14 will request the creation of a policy for the National Rights of People Affected by Dams, strengthen the struggle for another energy model and to advance in joint actions between the countryside and city workers. Therefore, we emphasize the importance of unity in the struggle of peoples, strengthening internationalism against the capital project’s that even in crisis, reorganizes not to lose their function which is the maximum exploitation of workers and nature.

Besides the struggles of March 14, we are preparing the NATIONAL MEETING OF THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DAMS, which will be held in São Paulo, 3-7 June this year, with the participation of 5,000 militants. Our goal is to discuss with the Brazilian society to struggle for the rights of affected populations and the need to build a popular energy project, whose main beneficiaries should be the working classes.

Finally, we reinforce the call for everyone to participate during March 14 in the struggle in Brazil, Latin America and worldwide. However, our struggle must go beyond that date, it should be permanent, against transnational corporations and renters, against the high energy tariffs, in defense of water and energy, with distribution of wealth and popular control.

Workers from the countryside and the city struggle for a popular energy project!

Water and energy are not commodities!

Movement of People Affected by Dam – MAB BRAZIL