Movimiento Ríos Vivos Colombia

Movimiento Ríos Vivos Colombia ("Rivers Alive Movement Colombia") is a Colombian social movement and advocacy organization that uses the website riosvivoscolombia.org as its main public platform. Its stated mission is to defend territories and communities affected by mining and energy projects. The movement's slogan, "¡Ríos para la vida, no para la muerte!" ("Rivers for life, not for death!"), frames its opposition to what it calls the "so-called development" imposed by large-scale extractive and hydroelectric projects. The movement is best known for its opposition to Hidroituango, a major hydroelectric project on the Cauca River in Antioquia, Colombia. According to the movement's own materials, the main shareholders of Hidroituango are the Government of Antioquia and Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM), which is also the project executor. The movement argues that EPM has become a multinational public-origin business group, Grupo EPM, operating across Latin America and Europe, and that its profit-driven logic has led to human rights violations. The movement also names other companies involved in the project, including the Brazilian Camargo Correa; Colombian firms Conconcreto SA, Coninsa Ramón HSA, Integral, and Ingetec-Sedic; Swedish companies Scania and Atlas Copco; the Ferrovial Agroman consortium (Spain); Chile-Sainc Ingenieros Constructores (Chile); and Arquitectos e Ingenieros Asociados (Colombia). It also points to financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which granted a loan on August 29, 2016, as well as from Brazil's BNDES and Canada's Export Credit Agency. The movement's website serves as a hub for news, statements, denunciations, documents, and calls to action. It publishes alternative reports and testimonies from affected communities, and it campaigns under the hashtag #DesmantelenHidroituango ("Dismantle Hidroituango"). It also highlights the particular impact of the megaproject on women, noting the formation of the Asociación de Mujeres Defensoras del Agua y la Vida (AMARÚ) by women affected in western, northern, and Bajo Cauca Antioquia. The movement maintains a YouTube channel and produces content such as the series "Historias y Sabores del cañón del Río Cauca." As a civil society movement rather than a commercial company, Movimiento Ríos Vivos Colombia operates as a brand-like advocacy platform. Its activities include legal and public advocacy, community organizing, and communication campaigns. It has participated in proceedings before Colombia's Council of State, including in relation to the suspension of a public hearing. The movement continues to be active in denouncing the social, environmental, and structural impacts of Hidroituango and other mining-energy projects in Colombia.

Movimiento Ríos Vivos Colombia emerged as a grassroots response to the social and environmental impacts of large-scale mining and energy projects in Colombia, particularly the Hidroituango hydroelectric megaproject on the Cauca River in Antioquia. The movement describes itself as composed of communities affected by what it calls the "so-called development" promoted by such projects. Its public platform, riosvivoscolombia.org, states: "¡Ríos para la vida, no para la muerte! Pueblos afectados por el mal llamado desarrollo, como Hidroituango, utilizamos este medio para denunciar los graves e irreparables daños y violaciones a los Derechos Humanos que vienen generando los proyectos minero-energéticos." The movement's opposition to Hidroituango dates back to the moment communities learned of the project. As stated on its website: "Como comunidades afectadas por este megaproyecto nos opusimos a su construcción desde el momento en el que supimos del mismo." The movement has since built a body of alternative reports and documentation arguing that the project is socially, environmentally, and structurally unviable. It campaigns under the demand #DesmantelenHidroituango ("Dismantle Hidroituango"). A key focus of the movement has been the role of Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM) and its transformation into Grupo EPM, a public-origin multinational. The movement argues that EPM's profit-driven logic has led to human rights violations, and that in Colombia these violations are not evident due to the complicity of state institutions and gaps in Colombian law. It also highlights the involvement of numerous national and international companies and financiers, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which granted a loan on August 29, 2016, without heeding a letter from affected communities. The movement also notes financing from Brazil's BNDES and Canada's Export Credit Agency, arguing that Hidroituango generates large public debt paid by all citizens through taxes. The movement has also given visibility to the particular impacts on women, leading to the formation of the Asociación de Mujeres Defensoras del Agua y la Vida (AMARÚ) by women affected in western, northern, and Bajo Cauca Antioquia. It has participated in legal and public advocacy, including statements before Colombia's Council of State following the suspension without prior notice of a public hearing. Through its website and YouTube channel, the movement continues to publish news, statements, documents, and calls to action, and to produce cultural content such as "Historias y Sabores del cañón del Río Cauca."

• Inter-American Development Bank grants a loan for Hidroituango on August 29, 2016, without heeding a letter from affected communities.

• Movement participates in statements before Colombia's Council of State following the suspension without prior notice of a public hearing.

Civil society advocacy movement opposing mining-energy megaprojects and defending affected communities in Colombia.

1. 1Movimiento Ríos Vivos – En defensa de los territorios y afectados por proyectos mineroenergéticosriosvivoscolombia.org
2. 2Lo que debes saber sobre Hidroituango – Movimiento Ríos Vivosriosvivoscolombia.org
3. 3Movimiento Ríos Vivos Colombiawikidata.org