MAR Global

IV International Meeting of Communities Affected by Dams and Climate Crisis.

From November 6th to 12th

in the city of Belén de Pará, Brazilian Amazon.

en la ciudad Belén de Pará

Amazonía brasileña.

On the march for an alternative society to capitalism, for popular energy sovereignty, and for the rights of affected populations!

The Meeting is a process of collective construction.

It systematizes the Movement’s lessons learned and continues the challenges and commitments made during the last three meetings.

This IV Meeting will take place in an environmental setting of interest to the planet such as the Amazon, in the days prior to COP 30 and the advocacy actions of the People’s Summit (from November 6 to 12) and aims to be a space for collective construction. It seeks to foster reflection and debate on the international situation and the contexts in which struggles against dams, the privatization of water and energy, and socio-environmental crimes are taking place. It enables the development of joint action plans for international advocacy in defending the rights of affected populations, promoting climate justice, and the energy transition.

The path of the Encounter has been sustained by continental support, enabling the construction, expansion, and strengthening of the Movement of Affected People, internationalizing the sense of struggle and resistance through solidarity, promoting the dialogue of knowledge and the exchange of experiences, based on the principles of internationalism and respect for the sovereignty of peoples and the defense of the rights of affected communities.

About the MAR

MAR is the Movement of People Affected by Dams.

Its launch took place in the Uruguay River Basin, municipality of Chapecó, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, in September 2016, but its antecedents go back to the forces accumulated in the struggles and resistance of people and communities affected by the construction of hydroelectric projects, the organization of anti-dam networks, such as the Latin American Network of People Affected by Dams (REDLAR), continental and international meetings for the exchange of experiences and strategies to confront extractivism, corporate power, the depredation of territories and the violation of the rights of affected communities.

The struggles and resistance of each national organization and movement in the different countries of the Americas shaped the movement that is today the MAR.

Through articulation, exchange, and social mobilization, the first steps were taken toward integrating the movement.

Since its inception, mapping each country’s energy processes has been fundamental, and more recently, mapping national struggles as a systematic process that is updated and redefined through strategic action, as the Movement aims to build a popular energy model that enables people’s sovereignty.

To strengthen national and regional movements, political training with the analysis of realities has been key, as well as the accompaniment between peoples and the sharing of references to struggles and lessons learned from the experiences that have been developing in each country, as well as the impact from mobilizations and support for solidarity campaigns for leaders, communities, and countries in resistance.

Turmas, as processes of continental political formation, have served as a gateway for new actors to join the movement. Currently, they comprise MAR, organizations, networks, and movements from 21 countries in the Americas.

Its membership grows daily, in line with the impacts of the climate crisis, water and energy privatization, socio-environmental crimes, and the various ways in which capital, through the energy industry, takes control of territories—dams, carbon markets, and false solutions—contributing to the increase in affected populations. For this reason, MAR’s political horizon is to internationalize the movement of affected communities around the world in defense of their rights, a counter-hegemonic commitment to the neoliberal agendas of today’s world.

Goals

1.

Building to strengthen unity

of the movement of affected communities in each country with a view to defending and claiming their rights.

2.

Encourage ongoing study and debate

on the energy models of each country for the construction of popular energy models that guarantee the sovereignty of the people and collective well-being.