Brazilian Energy Boom Highlights Futility of “Reform”
Jul 25th, 2008
If we needed another reminder that the system cannot be reformed, but instead needs to be taken down….
In a post on his blog, Glenn Switkes, the Latin America Program Director for International Rivers Network, looks at Brazil’s current energy infrastructure boom and concludes that becoming part of the government inevitably corrupts even those with good intentions. Noting how current President Lula da Silva and Environmental Minister Carlos Minc (founder of the Green Party) have now given the go-ahead to a nuclear plant they formerly protested, Switkes says:
“The short tenure of Carlos Minc so far in the Environment Ministry appears to reinforce the theory that governments corrupt, forcing activists and idealists to pledge their allegiance to development policies which reward the elite — in exchange for gaining a semblance of power.”
Brazil is engaged in a massive effort to scale up its electric infastructure, with plans for up to 8 new nuke plants and a series of new hyrdoelectric dams in the Amazon basin. The government estimates that the dams in the Amazon basin will provide the majority of Brazil’s electric capacity over the next several decades — primarily for mining, metal processing and industrial agriculture industries in the Eastern Amazon.
Prior posts on Brazil dams:
Indigenous Bolivians Declare Emergency Over Brazil Dams
Kayapó Indians Rout Dam Advocate
Good and Bad News on Brazilian Dams