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The Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (Movement of People Affected by Dams) (MAB) is a Brazilian political organization created in the end of the 70s with the objective of organize and guide the people affected by the dams to pursuit their rights.
Contents
Origin
The movement was created from the mobilization of farmers against the construction of hydroelectric plants in the region of Alto Uruguai, in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. In 1979 when the first studies about the hydroelectric potential of the region were published, the catholic institution Comissão Pastoral da Terra (Pastoral committee for the land) organized the first meetings that ended in the creation of the Dam's committee (Comissão das Barragens), later renamed as Comissão Regional de Atingidos por Barragens (Regional committee of the affected by dams). In 1989 they organized their first national meeting in Goiânia. In March, 1991, the first national congress of affected by dams approved the formal foundation of MAB, their actual name.
Political acting
Among MAB claims are the creation of a national bill of rights for the affected by the dams. The movement defends the creation of a national fund of aid to minimize the damages caused against the people by the constructions. The organization is opposed to the Belo Monte Dam project and other similar projects in the Amazon basin. On March 15, 2012, members of MAB signed an agreement with the federal government foreseeing the creation of a chronogram for the resettlement of the signed families. Every year, the organization promotes the "international day of fight against the dams", celebrated by the members in March, 14.