MAB’s Position on Amazon Forest Burning

Defending the Amazon is defending Brazil

The Brazilian Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) disagrees with the practices that devastate the Amazon forest and animals, which became evident as the burnings intensified after large landowners and lumber industry called for a “Fire Day”, which synchronously, burned large areas on August 10^th.

The destruction of the Amazon forest is a worldwide problem. Deforestation and burning cause great losses to nature and affect the Brazilian population, from the countryside and the city, as well as the entire world population. These episodes of destruction result in national infamy. The destruction of the extraordinary Amazonian biodiversity is unacceptable.

It must be said that behind the fire and smoke there are great inter-capitalist attempts over the appropriation, control and exploitation of the Amazon Forest.

This concerns a territory with strategic natural bases accounting with important water reserves, minerals, biodiversity, forests, lands, energy, gas, petroleum, among other elements. Local and international business groups dispute for ownership and use for exploitation and, of course, great profitability.

Agribusiness farmers and lumber industry who set fire to the forest claim for an uncontrolled expansion of their businesses within the Amazon. They demand an end to environmental supervision and legislation and desire deforestation, to incorporate new areas of land use to cattle pasture, soybean planting, sawmill wood, mining in preservation areas, and the revision of native people land demarcation.

In this scenario, there is the dispute among large international economic groups as well as nations with geopolitical interests wanting to access and explore the Amazon on numerous business fronts. They are transnational and financial corporations that intend to transform the Amazon into a great commodity through the privatization of natural wealth and monetization of the forest to exploit and profit from the natural bases of their territory.

Bolsonaro’s government policies for the Amazon are wrong and contribute to complicate the situation. The strategy of Brazil’s subordination to the US imperialism is also a delinquency – expressing great risk to the Amazon. It has become public that the Brazilian government has chosen the United States as its ally and main partner on the Amazon exploitation, which represents serious consequences for the forest region as well as for Latin America. The plan is not yet fully revealed, but it is certain that there is an accelerated process for changes in Amazonian environmental legislation and the delivery of strategic bases and locations for economic exploitation with strong foreign military presence on the region.

The authorities must be able to take measures of full care and defence of the sovereignty of our Amazonian territory and to immediately stop deforestation and burning. The international solidarity of people who want to strengthen the care and protection of our forest is welcome.

The Brazilian people must demonstrate to the world, disagreement with the Amazon destruction and the best way to do that is through people struggle. For this reason, the MAB guides all its militants and all people affected by dams from all over Brazil to actively participate in the actions in defence of the Amazon so that the struggle and solidarity of people may expand throughout the complete territory.

Movement of People Affected by Dams

Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens

Sao Paulo, Brazil, August 28, 2019.

Water and energy with sovereignty, wealth distribution and popular control!