Hydropower Plants in the Madeira Complex and Indigenous Peoples of Rondônia

Resistances and developmentalism in the Amazon

Abstract

The Hydropower Plants of the Madeira Complex comprise two major infrastructure projects for energy production built on the Madeira River, one of the main tributaries of the Amazon River, adding approximately 6,450 MW to the national electrical system. However, the prospect of clean energy, extolled by the construction consortia, governments, and companies managing energy production and distribution, does not materialize in terms of both ecological and sociocultural aspects. Despite the hydrological dimension of Brazilian legislation to measure impacts, it is essential to analyze the impacts arising from the construction of such projects that go beyond the perspective of what has been "flooded or not." In these impacts, measured or not, the most vulnerable populations are those neglected by the Brazilian state - quilombolas, small producers, extractivists, fishermen, and indigenous peoples. In the case of the hydropower plants in the Madeira Complex, we are referring to the Karipuna, Karitiana, Cassupá, and isolated peoples who have territories in the city of Porto Velho, the capital of Rondônia, in the Brazilian Amazon. This paper aims to discuss the impacts on the indigenous peoples of Rondônia resulting from the construction and operation of the Hydropower Plants in the Madeira Complex, considering the forms of organization and resistance of the affected peoples. Documentary research was employed as a method to organize and collect data. Content analysis was the chosen instrument for creating documentary categories, analysis categories, and the interpretation process itself. We conclude that actions at the local, regional, and national levels that violently affect indigenous populations are absorbed by communities that resist through reinforcing their self-organization, engaging with NGOs, judicial bodies, and FUNAI. When their demands are not heard, they extend beyond the national sphere, establishing contacts with international organizations and states. This migration of action across scales demonstrates, among other things, a process of enhancement of indigenous organization to resist in the state of Rondônia.