News-Letter Nr. 467

Hydroelectric Power Plant Affects Mythical Area of the Paresi

The traditional lands of the Paresi indigenous people may be flooded by the reservoir of the Ponte de Pedra hydroelectric power plant. The cultural heritage of this people is at stake. The federal administration plans to build the power plant in the Correntes river, on the border between the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, affecting the mythical site of origin of the Paresi, located in the municipality of Campos Novos dos Parecis, 400 km from Cuiabá, capital of the state of Mato Grosso. In addition to representing an anthropological and cultural aggression, the power plant is in contradiction with the electricity crisis being faced in Brazil as a result of the electricity-generating model, which is based on the exploitation of water resources.

Senator Jonas Pinheiro (Liberal Front Party - state of Mato Grosso) proposed a bill for a Legislative Decree (PDL) requesting the National Congress to authorize the construction of the Ponte de Pedra hydroelectric power plant. The Social Affairs Committee of the Federal Senate was analyzing the bill, but it was referred to the Constitution and Justice Committee at the request of senator Marina Silva (Workers' Party - state of Acre). The senator questions the constitutional grounds of the bill and requested information from different agencies dealing with indigenous peoples, environmental issues, and electricity-related matters. Cimi and the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) are against the construction of the power plant and sent letters to the senators requesting that the bill be rejected.

According to studies carried out by the IPHAN, archeological sites and vestiges associated to the mythical origin of the Paresi people have been found in the location called Ponte de Pedra, or Sukuriu Winá, as it is known in the indigenous language. According to the Institute, preserving the area is extremely important for the cultural identity of the Paresi. In compliance with a preliminary decision issued by judge Jeferson Schneider of the 2nd Federal Court of Mato Grosso on 14 February 2000 in connection with a Public Civil Suit filed by the Federal Public Prosecution Service in 1999, the construction of the power plant has been suspended.

According to data provided by the National Indigenous Foundation (Funai) that was published in the Diario Oficial of Cuiabá, the expansion of the country's electricity-generating complex may affect about 8.5 thousand indigenous people in the state of Mato Grosso, which ranks second in Brazil in terms of electricity generation and transmission projects affecting indigenous areas. Plan 2015 of the federal administration contemplates the construction of 10 medium and large-sized hydroelectric power plants in the state in the next 15 years, in addition to small power plants and transmission lines.

Collapse of the electricity model

Not even the electricity crisis and the risk of blackouts were enough to convince the federal administration that the electricity model implemented in Brazil is doomed to failure. It is now clear that using the water available in some watersheds for electricity-generation purposes has become unfeasible.

According to a Parliamentary Inquiry Committee (CPI) that is investigating unfinished power plants, the risks lie in the low water volume in many watersheds and in the fact that there are too many hydroelectric power plants whose construction has not been completed. The data provided by the CPI indicate that the "Angra 3" nuclear power plant in Rio de Janeiro has not been in operation since 1986 and has been wasting US$ 20 million a year. The construction of the multi-purpose Pedra do Cavalo dam, 110 km from Salvador, which was designed to generate electricity for the state of Bahia, was completed 11 years ago, but the plant could not begin to operate yet because its turbines have not been installed. Brazil does not place the emphasis it should on alternative electricity generation sources, but it continues to invest in new hydroelectric power plants, such as those being built in Belo Monte (Kararaô), in the Kayapó indigenous area, state of Pará, in Canabrava, that will affect the Xerente area (state of Tocantins), in the mouth of the Chapecó river, in the land of the Kaingang (state of Santa Catarina), and 10 other plants designed to be built in indigenous lands in the state of Mato Grosso.

Brasília, 28 June 2001
Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi

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