Indigenous groups force brazil to suspend amazon river dredging project after weeks of protests

After nearly three weeks of sustained protests, Brazil’s federal government has suspended a controversial decree that would have allowed private companies to dredge and expand the Tapajós River, a major tributary of the Amazon. However, Indigenous leaders say the suspension doesn’t go far enough and are demanding complete revocation of the plan.

Since January 22, hundreds of Indigenous protesters have blockaded a Cargill grain terminal in Santarém, an Amazonian city, over concerns that the dredging project threatens 14 Indigenous territories and hundreds of riverine communities along the Tapajós. The blockade has effectively shut down operations at the U.S. multinational’s facility, which would be one of the primary beneficiaries of the proposed waterway expansion.

The suspended decree was part of the larger Tapajós waterway infrastructure project, designed to make the Tapajós, Madeira, and Tocantins rivers navigable year-round for large barges. The project would facilitate cheaper transportation of soy, corn, and other grains from Brazil’s agricultural heartland in the Cerrado and Amazon regions to Atlantic coast ports for export.

Despite the government’s February 6 suspension announcement, an estimated 800-900 protesters continue blocking access to the Cargill facility. “The suspension was announced but for us it is insufficient,” Indigenous leader Alessandra Munduruku explained. “It doesn’t guarantee our rights, our lives or our river.” The ongoing standoff highlights the growing tension between Brazil’s agricultural export ambitions and Indigenous communities fighting to protect their ancestral lands and waterways from industrial development.