L/theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/27/the-river-won-how-campaigners-in-brazilian-amazon-stopped-privatisation-of-waterway

‘The river won’: how campaigners in Brazilian Amazon stopped privatisation of waterway 2026/02/27 11:00

• URL: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/27/the-river-won-how-campaigners-in-brazilian-amazon-stopped-privatisation-of-waterway
• Posted: 2026/02/27 06:00 EST (date: 2026/02/27)
• Topics: Brazil Amazon rainforest Amazon river privatization Indigenous action Cargill Munduruku illegal extraction pollution
• Summary: «Last week the Indigenous campaigners intercepted and boarded a grain barge heading into the port. This week they launched a waterborne invasion of the Cargill terminal itself, which they occupied for several days, disrupting business at the US company. § This interrupted one of the focal points of the global food trade because the Cargill facility in Santarém is a primary hub between the nation with the biggest farms – Brazil – and the country with the most numerous dining tables – China, which is the destination for most of the soy.» ... «Until 10 years ago, the Tapajós was famed for its crystalline waters. Now it is polluted with arsenic used by illegal miners and diesel spills from the growing number of soy barges. Communities are still recovering from the worst drought in memory during the last El Niño. Many crops died and river levels declined so severely that navigation became impossible and people could not use their boats to buy supplies or seek medical attention.»

• source: The Guardian
• author: Jonathan Watts (TG)