“Amazonian chief and indian tribe spokesman Raoni cried when he learned that Brazilian president Dilma approved the construction of the hydroelectric plant of Belo Monte even after tens of thousands of letters and emails and signed petitions with 600,000 signatures were addressed to her – these were ignored.”¹

Now, however, it appears that the opposing voices have had an impact – at least for the moment. A Brazilian federal appeals court halted construction efforts until indigenous groups have been appropriately consulted. The ruling states that the Brazilian Congress rushed the project through without required due diligence on the social and environmental impact.

Whether the public outcry will be sufficient to halt the project for good remains to be seen, because there is a huge amout of money and power on the line for a lot of people, but the victory should be savored nonetheless – and knowing that there are people out there who care may bring a small measure of comfort to Raoni and his people.

More information on the ruling from The Guardian.

The Old Wolf has spoken.

¹Irondance