Protest centers on Lula decree for private waterway concessions

Hundreds of Indigenous people staged a protest for nearly a week at a Cargill facility in Santarém, northern Brazil, opposing a decree signed in August by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Associated Press reported that the demonstrators are challenging the federal government’s plan to consider private concessions for waterways, which they say would shift maintenance, dredging and vessel traffic management responsibilities to operators.

The Tapajós and Arapiuns Indigenous Council, which represents 14 Indigenous peoples, is leading the protest in Pará state. The council said the government failed to consult affected communities, as required by legislation and international conventions.

Dredging concerns for Tapajós River and Amazon balance

The council warned that dredging projects threaten the Tapajós River, Indigenous territories and the environmental balance of the Amazon rainforest. Protesters said they would remain at the site until the Lula administration revokes the decree.

The protesters selected Cargill, AP reported, because they view the company as emblematic of predatory agribusiness that pressures the government to back projects they say endanger the rainforest.

Indigenous leader Auricelia Arapiun said, “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.” She also said, “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.”

AP reported that Arapiun’s comments referenced COP30, the annual U.N. climate conference held last year in Belém, the capital of Pará state, about 550 miles (880 kilometers) by boat from the Cargill plant.

Company says protesters block terminal access

Cargill told AP that the presence of protesters at the main truck gate 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.”

Government says consultation process is ongoing

Brazil’s Presidency Secretariat-General, the office responsible for dialogue with social movements, said it is committed to conducting free and prior consultation before any intervention related to the Tapajós 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 expected officials to attend an in-person assembly at the protest on Friday. The Secretariat-General did not say whether it will attend.

In a statement issued in November, Lula’s Chief of Staff office said the Tapajós 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, told AP that plans to dredge the Tapajós River are tied to other Amazon infrastructure projects, including a proposed railway.

Utsunomiya said those plans are driven by demand from the agricultural commodities sector—especially soy and corn—along an export corridor. She said a waterway concession with expanded dredging and shipping capacity, combined with the Ferrografó railway, would increase pressure on Indigenous territories and protected areas, fueling deforestation, land grabbing and other long-standing impacts in the region.

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