Protestors block
railroad of mining
company in Brazil
Brazilian mining company
Companhia Vale do Rio
Doce (CVRD) said
Wednesday that
approximately 6,000
people, including
mineral prospectors
along with members of
the Landless Workers
Movement (MST) and Via
Campesina, blocked a
railroad run by the
company in northern
Brazil.
The road connects CVRD's
largest iron-ore mine,
the Carajas Complex, to
a port in Maranhao
state. The protest took
place in the
municipality of
Parauapebas in
southeastern Para state
in the Amazon rainforest
region.
CVRD said the protestors
were armed with scythes
and pickaxes, and took
five of its employees
hostage for
approximately 30
minutes. It added that
the protesters also
tried to damage
locomotives on the
railroad using the
tools.
The protesters are
demanding an increase in
CVRD's financial
contribution to the
local government
governing the area where
the company mines, MST
said in a statement.
MST has been leading a
movement for the
renationalization of the
mine, privatized in
1997, based on the fact
that it is a "strategic
asset to national
sovereignty."
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