Brazil Violence Escalates

  
Violence continues to escalate in Brazil. After many verbal accusations, the conflict has officially become physical. Although they have continuously protested the construction of a new hydroelectric dam in the Amazon Basin, the indigenous peoples have witnessed their requests be rendered futile. According to a Brazilian press release, the Indigenous people have finally retailiated against the construction teams that have infiltrated their homes. The result of the skirmish was ten fatalities, with an unknown number of injuries.
 
Luis Fernando, advisor to Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, stands firm to the government's earlier claims and motivations for the construction of the dam. He justifies that the military forces in the area "were there exclusively for the protection of the construction workers," and that "the military acted only to defend the construction workers on the site."
 
According to Fernando, the "good of every Brazilian" (including the indigenous tribes), is the prime motivation behind the dam. He asserts that the dam will provide countless jobs that would be offered to the indigenous peoples first. The dam "will provide clean, sustainable energy for the entire country."

He referred to the deaths of the indigenous people as "regrettable."
     
Alana Lima, daughter of the tribal chief, still concludes that the incident is entirely the government's fault. Her initial response to the tragedy was "It's terrible. It shows the extent to which the government does not care about its people. It does not care about what is best for us: the people outside of the cities; the people who are not in power. The people who were killed did not deserve their fate - they were peacefully on their own land."
  
When asked about foreign aid, Lima said that not money has been sent in support, but Human Rights Watch is "rallying support... and we hope that they will aid us in our fight soon." The situation has become even more complex as there is now speculation that the unemployed Spanish youth are instigating the conflict. As White House Press Secretary Lance Jacobson said in today's press conference, this " new Spanish crusade" complicates the situation. United States intelligence does not yet know for certain the initiator of the physical skirmish.