Brazil, Latin America: Week in Review, Southern Cone
Brazil: Court Suspends Belo Monte Dam Construction
August 15, 2012 By Staff
Top Story — A federal court in Brazil ruled Tuesday that the Norte Energia consortium must suspend its work on Brazil’s controversial Belo Monte dam, arguing that indigenous communities in the area must be allowed to speak at a congressional hearing before the project goes forward. The Belo Monte dam, which could become the third-largest in the world, is expected to flood 2oo square miles along the Xingu river and displace anywhere between 16,000 and 40,000 people in the northern state of Pará. The court said that Norte Energia would be responsible for paying a fine of $250,000 per day if it goes forward with construction despite the court order, but the company said it had no official comment until it is formally notified of the ruling. Construction of the Belo Monte dam, which could produce 11,000 megawatts, was approved in 2005 and is expected to be completed in 2019.
Read more from the Associated Press.
Headlines from the Western Hemisphere
North America
- U.S. President Barack Obama’s new immigration policy allowing young undocumented immigrants to seek work permits will go into effect on Wednesday.
- Mexican presidential candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that the PRI had illegally given farm animals to voters to convince them to elect Enrique Peña Nieto.
Caribbean
- Puerto Rican officials said Tuesday that a Dominican man wanted in the U.S. for stabbing an ex-girlfriend has surrendered to authorities.
- The family of Cuban dissident Angel Moya say that authorities will not reveal Moya’s whereabouts after he was arrested by state security agents on Sunday in Matanzas province.
Central America
- Frank La Rue, a U.N. special freedom of expression rapporteur, told the Honduran government that it must make a stronger effort to protect journalists, 22 of whom have been murdered in the past two years.
- The Honduran foreign minister said Honduras would cooperate with a U.S. investigation into whether Honduran National Police Chief Juan Carlos Bonilla was involved in a death squad between 1998 and 2002.
- Researchers off the coast of Belize have spotted a record 507 manatees this year, which is good news for the threatened species.
Andes
- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he would meet with the Nasa Indians to negotiate a resolution between the indigenous tribe and government troops they want off their land.
- Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa denied on Twitter rumors that he had decided to grant WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange asylum are false and said Ecuador has not yet made a decision.
- Colombian athletes like silver medal-winning cyclist Rigoberto Uran have overcome violence and armed conflict to reach the London Olympics.
Southern Cone
- Protesting Chilean students occupied high school buildings and blockaded streets in Santiago Tuesday, and still have control of at least seven buildings.
- A three-judge panel in Argentina began the trial of former Argentine president Fernando de la Rua for bribery on Tuesday.
Image: International Rivers @ Flickr.
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