Advances in oil exploration and the construction of railways and highways in recent years have shown that, when large infrastructure projects clash with matters of Amazon preservation, the Brazilian government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tends to favor the former.
Some call this progress; others see it as ultimately self-defeating in the face of the ongoing climate emergency. But this week, the usual script of Brazilian developmentalism trumping environmentalism was turned on its head, and on the Amazonian Tapajós River in Pará state, environmentalist forces prevailed.
After more than a month of intense protests, indigenous activists from the Lower Tapajós region managed to persuade the federal government to revoke a significant and controversial presidential decree issued back in August 2025.
The measure included a number of Amazon waterways on the government’s privatization program, essentially laying the groundwork for private operators to manage navigation and dredging works on the Tapajós, Tocantins and Madeira rivers.
Before the decree was revoked, indigenous groups had already strong-armed the government into suspending a contract to dredge the Tapajós, which would have allowed large cargo ships to navigate the river even during periods of drought and lower water levels. Agribusiness has been pressing the government to reduce Brazil’s logistics costs, and shipping grains through the Amazon would make things cheaper.
The size of the dredging contract — equivalent to about USD 15 million — suggested to local communities that the works would go beyond routine maintenance. Contrary to Brazilian law, local communities were not consulted on the project, nor were any sufficient environmental impact studies carried out.
One of the main interested parties in these projects is US commodities trading giant Cargill — meaning it was hardly a surprise when the company was targeted by indigenous protests. In the Amazonian port city of Santarém, operations at Cargill’s river terminal were halted, barges were intercepted, and the company’s office was stormed by protestors. Demonstrations also took place at Cargill facilities in São Paulo and Brasília.
Now scaled back, these infrastructure and concession plans have been led by Ports Minister Silvio Costa, from the conservative Republicans party. In Brazil’s Center-West region, he is also advancing a project to expand cargo transport along the Paraguay River.
Regarding the privatization of Amazonian waterways, especially regarding the Tapajós, it’s now back to the drawing board for the forces that brought these projects to the fore in the first place.
To assess what’s at stake, our guests this week are:
Brent Millikan, a member of the Executive Secretariat of the Infrastructure and Socioenvironmental Justice Working Group, which brings together several civil society organizations. He holds a master’s degree in Geography from the University of California and previously worked at Brazil’s Environment Ministry and as a consultant to several multilateral organizations.
Caetano Scannavino, coordinator of the Saúde e Alegria Project, an NGO working with indigenous and riverine communities in the state of Pará. With more than 40 years of experience in social projects in the Amazon, he also advises several civil society organizations active in the region.
They unpack:
The future of federal plans for commodity logistics
Rights and demands of indigenous peoples
What sectors such as tourism should also have a say
What kind of environmental and social impacts are at stake
