09.09.2008
Riverine people are displaced by the reservoir of Santo Antonio Hydroelectric Plant

Communication department-MAB

Long before the emission of the Installation Licence of Santo Antonio Hydroelectric Plant, the construction consortium Madeira Energia, was “negotiating” the coordinated exodus of riverine people which will see their houses, lands and means of subsistence submerged under water. Despite the pressure of the families threatened by the dam, the licence was emitted last August (11/08), in line with the plans of the main shareholders of the consortium, Furnas and Odebrecht.

Those passing from the left bank Rio Madeira, where the worksite is projected, can see houses being dismantled or burned, trucks with furniture and sad faces. These are the riverine people who lived for decades on the banks of the biggest tributary of the Amazon and now are forced out of their birthplaces to give space for the reservoir of Santo Antonio.

Mr. Neudir abandoned his house 60 days ago, before the emission of the Installation Licence. For the moment he lives with relatives but hopes that in September he will have a new house as promised by the consortium. He remembers what they said: “at most at the end of September you will have a new house”. The new house they referred to, will be in a new agricultural community which is not ready yet and most probably will not be before the deadline set by the company itself.

Ms. Lúcia is also dismantling her house where she lived with her husband and kids for the last 50 years. “I heard they arranged a place for me in the city until my new house in the community is ready”, she says with some insecurity. Even without knowing for sure where she will stay, she is dismantling her house because “they asked us to leave by Sunday (07/09). We don’t want but there is no other way, right? We have to leave unfortunately”.

For these displacements to take place, there was a lot of “discussion” between the consortium and the people of the area. Neudete, whose family lived on the same riverbank since 1913, participated in some meetings and denounces the intimidating attitude of the consortium. She affirms that “they tried to prevent riverine people to talk to each other. They advised to keep secret the amount of the compensation so that other riverine people would not be tempted to steal the money. But since when a riverine robs another? We know each other since we were born”.

Unfair compensations

For the consortium, land titles are necessary to guarantee any compensation. However, according to studies, just one in four people in the region has land titles, which means that the majority will receive nothing. On top of that there are cases where people have land titles but have not paid of their debts for the purchase of the land. Mr. Leonel, for example went to the bank to try to sort out his case, worried with the compensation. However, the bank refused the money to pay off the debt. In addition, riverine people who went after special credit for farmers also did not achieve anything. In other words, the dam, even before its construction is compromising the economic activities of the people living by Rio Madeira.

A special compensation plan was drafted for the period that the agricultural community is not ready. Let’s see the example of Mr. Jose Machado, who lives in the community Engenho Velho. As a small ferry-boat pilot he earns around 550 Reals per month. In addition he fishes to feed his 7 kids and wife. When he leaves the community where he currently lives, through the compensation plan, he will be receiving 415 Reals (one basic salary) for only 18 months. In addition he won’t have fishing as a free and healthy food source for his family. He obviously wonders “when these 18 months end, what am I going to do?”

On the first visit of the consortium in the house of Mr. Jose’s father-in-law, the compensation for the land was estimated at R$ 227.000. However, if he wants a house in the agricultural community, money will be discounted from that compensation. As he will need two houses, one for himself and another for his older son, the compensation will drop to R$ 198.000. If Mr. Jose’s father-in-law wants some land to plant and support his family budget, there will be another discount from the compensation: three hectares will cost R$ 10.000. Mr. Jose Machado concludes, “therefore, we are the ones to pay for our houses, not the consortium”.