Context: Amazonian experiences precede the construction of the People’s Charter
The historic mobilization for Global Climate Justice in Belém gained even greater strength in the days leading up to the official opening of the People’s Summit. The agenda included a series of Amazonian experiences, connecting representatives from hundreds of organizations that will participate in the People’s Summit with local realities, in a process of immersion and exchange that precedes the political drafting of the Charter to be delivered at the Summit.
This immersion reinforces the central understanding of the movements that the climate crisis is not a technical issue, but a political and social one. As reiterated by Eduardo Giesen Amtmann, spokesperson for Axis 4 of the People’s Summit and professor of Political Ecology, in alignment with the position of the organizations, “the climate crisis is not a natural phenomenon, but the result of a system that exploits the planet and concentrates wealth, extractivist capitalism. Average surface temperatures on Earth are the highest ever recorded in history because of this political and economic system. That is why we strongly reject ‘capitalist solutions’ such as carbon markets, and demand that the response be focused on the ethical value of life and nature, not on putting a price on them.”
It is in this spirit of urgency and rejection of false solutions that the 4th International Meeting of People Affected by Dams and the Climate Crisis, organized by MAR and MAB, has been immersed in consolidating its agenda for the People’s Summit.
Global articulation for the construction of the political charter
The fourth day of the Meeting began this Monday (the 10th) with the clear objective of producing the political charter that will centralize the urgent demands of people affected by dams and by the climate crisis.
A moment of culture and politics, accompanied by the music of the band Mistura Popular, prepared participants for the Group Work on the Struggles of Resistance and Achievements of Affected Peoples. In a pre-debate dynamic rich in symbolism, representatives from all continents brought objects and symbols from their struggles, weaving a living map of identities and territorial resistance.
The urgency of the debate was reinforced by the presence of Pedro Arrojo, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation. Arrojo, whose most recent work included investigating violations in Peru, among other scenarios of water conflict and rights violations, echoed the global denunciation raised by the Movement against the systematic exploitation of rivers and the human rights violations promoted by megaprojects.
Condensing global struggles and denunciations: the unanimity of harms
The Meeting continued with the consolidation of experiences and struggles from the international movement. Representatives from different continents, including delegates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Thailand, Palestine, Cuba, Mexico and Indonesia, were divided into five working groups to document and systematize struggles and resistance strategies.
The group discussions revealed unanimity in the harms suffered, centered on water privatization, mineral extraction and the construction of megaprojects. This “hydro-necropolitics” produces perverse and ironically contradictory outcomes. On this point, Mexican activist and affected person Ana Valdez emphasized that in her country the people experience “a centrifugation of rights.” Large corporations dam rivers, resulting in water scarcity and contamination for communities, and in many cases death.
The same reality was described by Malee Hettarakun from Indonesia, who reported corporate violence in her territory, while Augustin Louis Lokorbo from the Democratic Republic of the Congo highlighted the importance of exchange
“Our oppressors operate globally, and we, the affected peoples, must respond at the same level. It is only through this intercontinental exchange of knowledge and strategies that we can confront the mechanisms used by corporations and governments to violate our rights.”
The systematization of these denunciations and experiences of struggle forms the basis for consolidating the International Movement and for drafting the Charter that will be presented at the People’s Summit.
📍Program – November 11, 2025, Tuesday
9:00 am – Report-back from group work on the struggles and resistance of affected peoples
3:00 pm – Presentation of the construction of the International Movement
8:00 pm – Gathering and evening of strengthening the transformative struggle
Photo: Joyce Silva / MAB