The meeting, which will include discussions, organization activities and protests, will take place before the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro from June 20-22. In clear reference to this official summit and the fact that the first meeting of indigenous peoples of Xingu took place 23 years ago, the meeting against the Belo Monte dam is called Xingu+23.

“Xingu+23 is a political action and also a meeting. And it is also a party”, said the Coordinator of the Xingu Vivo para Siempre Movement, Antonia Melo, in an article published in the group’s website, the promoter of the meeting. "The inhabitants who were evicted will be back to participate in the traditional mass and celebration of Santo Antonio. In this way, we’ll symbolically retake the territory. At the same time, the people affected will meet there to denounce, at the doors of Rio+20, the violations of the Brazilian government", added Melo. The official slogan of the meeting calls to “Occupy. That river is ours”.

The Xingu Vivo para Siempre Movement gathers different social groups and environmentalists of Altamira city, one of the cities most affected by Belo Monte works, and other areas affected by the project that have always opposed the installation of the dam on Xingu River.

Belo Monte, owned by Norte Energia consortium, will start working in 2015 in the heart of the Amazon Forest. It would be the third largest dam in the world, after the Three Gorges dam in China and Itaipu dam in the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It would have an installed capacity of 11 thousand megawatts. It is estimated that its building would flood 500 square kilometers of land occupied by indigenous communities: from 20,000 to 50,000 people would be displaced to give way to the dam.

Xingu+23 will take place in Santo Antonio community, in Vitoria do Xingu, less than 100 meters from the Belo Monte Dam. According to the Movement, that community was partially evicted by Norte Energia amid a process marked by irregularities.

The organizations highlight that Xingu+23 aims to strengthen the movements of resistance against Belo Monte and to be a space to coordinate future actions. They also state that the hydroelectric dam is not finished yet. 400-500 people are expected to participate in the meeting, mainly inhabitants of the cities most affected by the works, such as Altamira, Porto de Moz, Senador José Porfirio (Souzel) and Vitória do Xingu. The participants will use areas which were not cleared and structures that were not demolished with access to electric power. In addition, the “mobilization committees” in Sao Paulo, Belem and Porto Alegre to support the organization of the meeting are already taking place.

The Xingu Vivo Movement developed a website with up-to-date information on Xingu+23, http://www.xinguvivo.org.br/x23/, and another website where they are receiving donations to carry out the event, http://www.vakinha.com.br/VaquinhaP...

Photo: http://xingu-vivo.blogspot.com/