Brazil’s Para state: Indigenous protesters occupy Cargill port terminal

Indigenous protesters have occupied Cargill’s Santarem river port terminal in Brazil’s Para state, demanding a ban on dredging Amazon waterways.

According to local media, the protesters forced Cargill employees to evacuate the private terminal on Friday evening.

The protesters are against an expansion of the ports and the dredging of the Amazon’s rivers, which they consider vital to their way of life.

In a letter following the occupation, the protesters demanded that Brazil’s government reconsider a decree they said would open up Amazon rivers to dredging, Reuters reports.

“Rivers are not export channels: they are a source of life, sustenance, memory, and identity for thousands of families,” said the letter, adding that dredging would impact water quality and the fishing they rely on to survive.

Cargill has said it has no control over plans to dredge the rivers, calling on the government and demonstrators to engage in a constructive dialogue.

The South American nation is the world’s top exporter of soy and maize, and ongoing efforts to upgrade river ports aim to ease transportation.