Last month, we returned from the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, where the urgency of safeguarding the Volta Grande do Xingu region has become more evident than ever. During three critical days at the Gathering of the Guardians of the Xingu River, we explored the severe challenges posed by Belo Sun’s mining project.

With over 200 participants, including riverine communities, fisherfolk, small-scale farmers, Indigenous peoples, and socio-environmental activists, the Gathering emphasized the urgency of exchanging experiences and resistance tactics. It also highlighted the pressing need to discuss the governance of the Xingu River, a vital lifeline for numerous communities.

This form of on-the-ground organizing is what Belo Sun fears most, as it threatens the company’s reckless plans to gouge Brazil’s largest open-pit gold mine into the banks of the Xingu River. This is why the company has resorted to legal intimidation and attempts to criminalize Amazon defenders.