International
‘Progress destroying nature’: Brazil dam fuels fears for river
| By AFP | Carlos Fabal with Joshua Howat Berger in Rio de Janeiro |
Holding a dead fish, Junior Pereira looks grimly at a puddle that used to be part of Brazil’s Xingu river, a mighty Amazon tributary that has been desiccated here by the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric dam.
Pereira, a member of the Pupekuri Indigenous group, chokes up talking about the impact of Belo Monte, the world’s fourth-biggest hydroelectric complex, which locals say is killing one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth and forcing them to abandon their way of life.
“Our culture is fishing, it’s the river. We’ve always lived on what the river provides,” says Pereira, 39, who looks like a man trapped between two worlds, wearing a traditional Indigenous necklace and a red baseball cap.
He gazes at the once-flooded landscape, which Belo Monte’s water diversion has made a patchwork of puddles dotted with stranded fish.
“We’ve lost our river,” he says.
“Now we have to buy food in the city.”
‘Like a permanent drought’
Stretching nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), the Xingu ebbs and flows with the rainy season, creating vast “igapos,” or flooded forests, that are crucial to huge numbers of species.
They are also crucial to an estimated 25,000 Indigenous people and others who live along the river.
Belo Monte diverts a 100-kilometer stretch of the Xingu’s “Volta Grande,” or Big Bend, in the northern county of Altamira to power a hydroelectric dam with a capacity of 11,233 megawatts — 6.2 percent of the total electricity capacity of Latin America’s biggest economy.
Built for an estimated 40 billion reais ($7.5 billion) and inaugurated in 2016, the dam diverts up to 80 percent of the river’s water, which scientists, environmentalists and residents say is disastrous for this unique ecosystem.
“The dam broke the river’s flood pulse. Upstream, it’s like it’s always flooded. Downstream, it’s like a permanent drought,” says Andre Oliveira Sawakuchi, a geoscientist at the University of Sao Paulo.
That is devastating fish and turtle populations whose feeding and reproduction cycles depend on the igapos, he says.
Sitting by the Xingu’s breathtaking Jericoa waterfalls, which the Juruna people consider sacred, Indigenous leader Giliarde Juruna describes the situation as a clash of worldviews.
“Progress for us is having the forest, the animals, the rivers the way God made them. The progress white people believe in is totally different,” says Juruna, 40.
“They think they’re doing good with this project, but they’re destroying nature and hurting people, including themselves.”
Lula under scrutiny
Proposed in the 1970s, Belo Monte was authorized under ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) — who just won a new term in Brazil’s October elections.
As Lula, 77, prepares to take office again on January 1, the project is drawing fresh scrutiny from those hoping the veteran leftist will fulfill his promise to do a better job protecting the Amazon than outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro, who presided over a surge in deforestation.
Touted as a clean-energy source and engine of economic development, Belo Monte has not exactly lived up to expectations.
According to the company that operates it, Norte Energia, the dam’s average output this year has been 4,212 megawatts — less than half its capacity.
A recent study meanwhile found its operations tripled the region’s greenhouse gas emissions — mainly methane released by decomposing forest that was killed by the flooding of the dam reservoir.
A new plan
In 2015, researchers from the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA) conservation group teamed up with the Juruna to document the devastation.
They have devised a new, less-disruptive way for Belo Monte to manage water, the “Piracema” plan — named for the period when fish swim upriver to spawn.
Researchers say the plan is a relatively small tweak to the dam’s current water usage, adapting it to the natural flood cycles.
Brazil’s environmental regulator is due to rule soon whether to order Norte Energia to adopt it.
The company declined to comment on the proposal, saying in a statement to AFP that it instead “recognizes the plan established in the plant’s environmental licensing.”
The decision is vital, says biologist Camila Ribas of the federal government’s National Institute for Amazon Research.
“When you completely alter the flood cycle, forests die,” she says.
“These are incredibly intricate, interlinked systems. If Belo Monte and other hydroelectric projects disrupt them too much, it could spell the end of the Amazon.”
International
Mexico City Mayor Invites U2 to Perform at Iconic Zócalo Plaza
Irish rock band U2, which spent Tuesday and Wednesday filming a new music video for its song Street of Dreams in the Historic Center of Mexico City, received an invitation to perform at the capital’s iconic Zócalo square from Mayor Clara Brugada.
Brugada shared the invitation through social media posts accompanied by photos and a video showing her meeting with the band members.
“This is an invitation for you to perform in our wonderful public square, the Zócalo. You are welcome here, and we would love to have you,” Brugada said in the video while handing a document to Bono, the band’s lead singer.
Bono responded by saying that the group would like “to begin its new tour in Mexico City.”
Referencing one of the band’s most famous songs, In the Name of Love, Brugada said she was greeting Bono along with The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr..
“Welcoming U2 to our capital means celebrating music, connection and the emotion that can be felt in every corner of this city,” Brugada wrote in one of her messages. “We are a city open to the world, vibrant and full of stories shared from the stage to the streets.”
She also described the Zócalo as “the country’s most important public square” and a cultural landmark for Latin America.
Over the years, the Zócalo has hosted massive concerts by internationally renowned artists and bands including Roger Waters, Paul McCartney, Manu Chao, Café Tacvba, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Los Tigres del Norte, La Maldita Vecindad, Silvio Rodríguez, Joan Manuel Serrat, Rosalía and Shakira, drawing hundreds of thousands of fans.
International
Marco Rubio Urges China to Help Restrain Iran Amid Gulf Tensions
Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington hopes to persuade China to take a more active role in stopping Iran from escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf, arguing that the crisis directly threatens Asian commercial interests.
“It is in China’s interest to resolve this situation. We hope to convince them to play a more active role in getting Iran to stop what it is doing now and trying to do in the Persian Gulf,” Rubio said during an interview with journalist Sean Hannity on Fox News while traveling aboard Air Force One.
The top U.S. diplomat said the conflict and concerns over the possible disruption of the Strait of Hormuz have already affected China’s interests.
Rubio noted that “a Chinese cargo ship was struck over the weekend,” referring to the exchange of attacks reported last Friday between Iran and the United States.
The remarks come amid growing international concern over rising tensions in the region and the potential impact on global trade routes and energy supplies.
International
Trump floats Vance-Rubio potential Republican ticket for 2028 election
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubiocould potentially form a Republican presidential ticket for the 2028 elections.
Speaking during a dinner with law enforcement officials as part of National Police Week, Trump publicly praised both officials and said they could make “an ideal team” for the next presidential race.
“Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio?” Trump asked attendees before adding that the pair “sound like a good combination.”
The president highlighted his vice president’s performance in office, stating that their current partnership has been highly effective. “JD is perfect, that has been a perfect formula,” Trump told reporters later.
He further suggested that a Vance-Rubio pairing could represent a strong presidential and vice-presidential ticket, although he stopped short of offering any formal endorsement.
“I think it sounds like a presidential candidate and a vice-presidential candidate,” he said, while clarifying that his remarks should not be interpreted as an official backing of any future campaign.
So far, neither Vance nor Rubio has publicly confirmed any intention to run in the 2028 presidential election.
Rubio previously sought the Republican nomination in 2016 but withdrew after losing the primary race to Trump. Later, in a December 2025 interview with Vanity Fair, he said he would be among the first to support Vance if he decided to run for the White House.
Vance, meanwhile, has recently dismissed speculation of any political rivalry with Rubio amid growing discussion about potential future GOP leadership.
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