Leading Amazon dam rights activist, spouse and friend murdered in Brazil

[Judi Lynn]

by Jenny Gonzales on 27 March 2019

Dilma Ferreira Silva, long time regional coordinator of the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) in the Tucuruí region of Pará state, was brutally murdered last Friday at her home, along with her husband, Claudionor Costa da Silva, and Hilton Lopes, a friend.

Silva was one of 32,000 people displaced during the construction of the Tucuruí mega-dam. The internationally recognized activist has in recent years been pushing the Brazilian government to adopt legislation establishing the rights of those displaced by dams, providing them with compensation; the government has so far done little to create such laws.

The killers of public officials, environmentalists, landless movement and indigenous activists in the Amazon are rarely found or brought to justice. However, in this case, Civil Police have arrested a large landowner, farmer and businessman, Fernando Ferreira Rosa Filho, known as Fernando Shalom.

While the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and deputies in the Brazilian Congress, have condemned the killing of dam activist Silva, her husband and friend, the Bolsonaro administration has failed to issue a statement of any kind.

More:
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/leading-amazon-dam-rights-activist-spouse-and-friend-murdered-in-brazil/



Fernando Ferreira Rosa Filho was taken into custody and is believed to be
the mastermind behind the tragic murder.



Dilma Ferreira Silva (in foreground, right) during the National Meeting of Women Affected by Dams,
organized by the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB) in Brasília, in 2011. Image courtesy of MAB