On March 14, the International Day of Action for Rivers, more than 600 protesters from Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement (MST) and Via Campesina blockaded one of the two major transport railways of Vale, the world’s largest iron ore exporter and second-largest mining company. The action on the Minais Gerais line came in protest of Vale’s involvement in building a dam that had displaced 2,000 people; the blockade prevented 300,000 metric tons of iron ore from reaching an export port. According to the company, protesters also destroyed railway signals.

The railway action followed only days after prior MST actions against Vale. It is the first blockade of the company’s 905-kilometer (562-mile) Minais Gerais line, but the company’s other railway — the Carajas line — has been blockaded three times in the past two years.

Also in observance of the International Day of Action, other protests took place across South America and Mesoamerica, along with educational events in North America.