MAB participates and supports popular mobilization

Considering the protests that spread across the country in almost all states of Brazil, the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) reinforces the importance of these protests to conquer historical demands of the population and urgent structural changes for our society, among them urban mobility and the price of the bus fares.

Popular struggle is today’s agenda and it is up to all of us to be within the actions of a popular project of (and for) the working class, which has been gestated for years by social movements, organizations and trade unions. However, we see that the youth have a fundamental role in conducting these protests, like the Free Pass Movement (Movimento Passe Livre – MPL) and the Popular Youth Upraise (Levante Popular da Juventude).

We warn against the right wing actions attempting to mischaracterize the protests of its popular character. Those right winged actions have agendas which don’t meet the desires of the majority of the protesters, who want structural changes. Moreover, we reject the violent actions coordinated by the right-wing governments which use the Military Police and the National Force who use instruments of the military dictatorship to suppress and disperse protesters; as was recently seen in the state of São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

The popular agendas are fairly broad and include: improvement in public health services and education, the campaign “The Petrol is ours” (defence of national sovereignty and against delivering the petrol to international companies), changes in the energy model, democratization of the media, agrarian reform and reduction of the price of electricity. We denounce that the Brazilian population is still paying one of the most expensive electricity rates in the world and transnational corporations such as Suez Tractebel and AES Eletropaulo profit from the wealth of our country and with the money of the Brazilian people. However, at this moment we strengthen the unity and national struggle, for the improvement in urban mobility, the reduction of public transport fares and for breaking the cartel of bus companies in Brazil.

The people affected by dams in all the country take participate in the popular mobilizations and reinforce that this is also the moment for the Brazilian State to create the National Rights Policy for People Affected by Dams. With this, the rights of those affected should be truly recognized and attended. We also demand the Brazilian State to put an end on violation of the Human Rights of those affected by dams and affected by the operation of dams in Brazil and in other countries.

We are together and we encourage all the struggles which are happening and which will come. We feel that we are going through another conjuncture, in which the role of the youth and social movements are very important and increasingly decisive. Only mobilization and popular organization can change society’s unjust structure from the roots and improve Brazilian people’s life.

June 20 of 2013

National Coordination

Movement of the People Affected by Dams (MAB) (Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB))