Is popular and indigenous opposition to a popular indigenous government a sign of betrayal and disappointment, or is it more complicated? On June 8, in Cochabamba, Bolivia’s ‘city of eternal spring’, national and Latin American activists and intellectuals met to discuss a left-wing, anarchist, and environmentalist indigenous critique of president Evo Morales’ left-of-centre popular-indigenous government.
For our weekly Earth Watch, we are joined by Pablo Solon, Director of Fundacin Solon, former Executive Director of Focus on the Global South and former Bolivian Ambassador to the United Nations. Solon has been targeted by the Bolivian state for his vocal criticism of the government and the construction of two hydroelectric projects, El Bala and El Chapete in the Amazonian region.
This article is an overview of the current hydroelectric projects that are threatening rivers from the Andes to the Amazon. More than 275 hydroelectric projects are planned for the Amazon basin, the majority of which could be constructed in the Andes whose rivers supply over 90 percent of the basin’s sediments and over half its nutrients.
Released by Fundacion Solon in 2017, this video is about "the mega hydroelectric plants of Chepete and El Bala that the Bolivian government wants to build in the Bolivian Amazon. The audiovisual is an invitation to reflect on the living reality that is threatened by these mega hydroelectric plants. CEPITE is the Mosetén language name of the narrow portion of the Beni river where the Chepete dam is intended to be built. CEPITE means mysterious place, where you can hear rumbling or something moving, and where the river turns in all directions creating whirlpools. The legend of a giant snake that once wanted to interrupt the passage of boats along the Beni River is taxed in the narrowness of CEPITE. After a hard fight, the snake was defeated by an ancient god and transformed into stone. In rock formations you can still see the forked tongue of a snake." Although the video is in Spanish, there are English closed captions below. Throughout this 22 minute video you can hear "voices of the authorities that advocate the construction of the mega hydroelectric plants of El Bala and El Chepete with images of the jungle and the indigenous peoples. The representatives of power are never seen in the video, only heard. They talk about a zero involvement by mega hydroelectric plants while life in the jungle passes without knowing the danger that lurks. The promises of huge profits from the export of electricity are contrasted with the results of the studies that the government sent to carry out. The artificial beats of the energetic heart of South America intermingle with the beats of CEPITE. CEPITE tells the story of resistance against these mega projects that will create the third largest lake in Bolivia. From the rebel outrage of the people to the vigil that achieved the departure of the consulting firm Geodata. From his first victory to the frustration of seeing how the company returns to the area with some leaders. Chepete is the dream of a wild development that will only bring more debt and desolation. CEPITE is a living reality that summons us to forge a different future. The information on the environmental, social and economic impacts are based on the Identification Studies made by the Italian consulting firm Geodata hired by the National Electricity Company (ENDE)." The links below the video provide additional information. You can view the video here.
According to this Spanish-language article, ecotourism efforts in Madidi National Park and Pilon Lajas, and the sustainable way of life of more than 5,000 indigenous Bolivians, are threatened by the planned mega-dams. “The indigenous people involved in ecotourism are among the first to be alerted by the hydroelectric project, a mega-work whose cost is estimated at almost 7.1 billion euros in various previous study documents prepared by Italian company Geodata at the request of the state energy company ENDE . The project, whose works would begin in 2018, foresees the construction of two dams that would flood 661.9 square kilometers, an extension somewhat larger than the entire municipality of Madrid. Among those directly affected - those who live in areas that are expected to flood - and indirectly - those who inhabit areas adjacent to the reservoirs - the construction of both dams would imply the forced displacement of more than 5,000 people. The second reservoir - created by a dam a couple of kilometers downstream of the narrow del Bala - would flood the community of San Miguel, according to its environmental record, without knowing the plans to relocate its 251 inhabitants registered in 2012.”
The Beni River, part of the Madeira Drainage in Bolivia, is home to one of the most biodiverse regions of the world, including the Pilón Largas and Madidi National Parks. The region is inhabited by 424 species of flora, 201 species of terrestrial mammals, 652 species of birds, 483 species of amphibians and reptiles, and 515 species of fish. The area is also home to Indigenous communities, including Tsimanes, Tacanas, Mosetenes, and Uchupiamonas peoples, and rural farmers.
A Spanish-language letter denouncing possible economic damage to the state by the ENDE-GEODATA contract can be found here. Written by Pablo Solon to the Minister of Justice and Institutional Transparency of Bolivia, Hector Arce Zaconeta on July 11, 2017, the letter requests an investigation of the contracts between ENDE and GEODATA in relation to the El Bala mega-dam project.
A taped interview with Pablo Solon discusses the plans to build mega hydroelectric plants. Discussed are preferred alternatives to these unviable mega-dams — a combination of solar, wind and small hydroelectric power to gradually replace thermoelectric plants and gradually get out of the gas subsidy that will become increasingly unsustainable.
This Spanish-language blog post by the Fundacion Solon discusses one of the severe reactions that the government has taken against activists fighting the planned mega-dam projects— incarceration of Solon and Archondo. Solon states in this blog post: “The hydroelectric plants of Chepete and El Bala are not profitable with current electricity prices according to Geodata's own identification study. That they take me to jail will not make these mega hydroelectric plants profitable. What the Ministry of Justice and Institutional Transparency has to do is investigate why a second contract was made with Geodata for $ 11.8 million to make the final design of the dams when in the Geodata report of the first contract, what cost 3.1 million dollars to the State, there were already enough elements to discard these mega projects….”
