Indigenous protesters block Cargill facility in Brazil over President Lula's decree

SAO PAULO (AP) — Hundreds of Indigenous people have been protesting for almost a week at a Cargill facility in Santarem in northern Brazil against a decree signed in August by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva allowing the federal government to consider private concessions for waterways, shifting responsibility for maintenance, dredging and vessel traffic management to operators.

The Tapajos and Arapiuns Indigenous Council, which represents 14 Indigenous peoples and is leading the protest in Para state, said the government failed to consult affected communities, as required by legislation and international conventions. The group warns that dredging projects threaten the Tapajos River, Indigenous territories and the environmental balance of the Amazon rainforest.

Protesters say they will remain at the site until the Lula administration revokes the decree. They chose Cargill, one of the world’s largest agricultural commodity traders, because they say the company symbolizes predatory agribusiness and pressures the government to back projects that threaten the rainforest.

“All we want is awareness and for the government to acknowledge that it made a mistake and must respect our rights, including by honoring what it promised during COP30,” said Indigenous leader Auricelia Arapiun, referring to the annual U.N. climate conference held last year in Belem, the capital of Para state, about 550 miles (880 kilometers) by boat from the Cargill plant. “There is no point in talking about a climate plan or pledging to defend the environment, the Amazon or the climate while attacking them more than protecting them. The rhetoric is one thing. The practice is another,” she added.

Cargill said the presence of protesters at the main truck gate has blocked vehicles from entering and leaving its terminal. The company said it respects the right to protest but added that “the issue raised is a matter over which it has no authority or control.”

The Secretariat-General of Brazil’s Presidency, the office responsible for dialogue with social movements, said it is committed to conducting free and prior consultation before any intervention related to the Tapajos waterway concession and that the process is ongoing. The office also said it has met with civil society representatives.

Indigenous groups said they held a virtual meeting with government officials last Sunday and expect them to attend in an in-person assembly at the protest on Friday. The office did not say whether it will attend.

In a statement issued in November, the office of Lula's Chief of Staff said the Tapajos River is part of a network of Amazon waterways that move about 41 million metric tons of cargo annually.

Renata Utsunomiya, a policy analyst with the Infrastructure and Socioenvironmental Justice group, said plans to dredge the Tapajos River are tied to other Amazon infrastructure projects, including a proposed railway, driven by demand from the agricultural commodities sector — especially soy and corn — along an export corridor.

“A waterway concession with expanded dredging and shipping capacity, combined with the Ferrograo railway, would increase pressure on Indigenous territories and protected areas, fueling deforestation, land grabbing and other long-standing impacts in the region,” Utsunomiya said.

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