Direitos Humanos e Luta por Justiça Ambiental: O Caso Belo Monte

Abstract

Abstract: This study presents a reflection on the environmental issue as one of the most important themes in current debates on human rights. This critical reflection analyses the struggle for environmental justice and the lack of actual effectiveness of environmental protection laws based on the paradigmatic case of the Belo Monte Dam, a hydroelectric power complex that is being built on the Xingu River in the state of Para, Brazil. This project dates back to the time of the military dictatorship in Brazil, a period when the prevailing ideology favored fast economic growth at any cost. But even then the project faced strong resistance from civil society and was later abandoned due to the severe destruction it would cause to the Indians, na-tives, local populations, and the environment. Thus, the current reflection questions how, in this present historical context, when environmental problems are at the core of debates regarding the socio-economic development, it is possible to defend and execute this dam, on the margins of legality, against the interests of the oppressed peoples and still ravaging the environment.