Chico Mendes (1944-1988), whose name was Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, was a rubber tapper, union leader and Brazilian political activist.
A tireless defender of the Amazon rainforest and the peoples who depended on it, he drew the wrath of landowners and was assassinated on December 22, 1988.
Biography
Chico Mendes was born on December 15, 1944, in Xapuri, Acre. He was the son of migrants from Ceará who were trying to make a better life in the forest.
As there were no schools in the region, he would only learn to read when he was 19 years old. He spent his childhood and adolescence accompanying his father in the rubber plantations.
In the 70s, he joined the union of workers in Brasileia (AC), in order to fight deforestation that threatened rubber plantations and other extractive activities.
Two years later, he founds the rural workers union in his hometown. He is elected councilor by the MDB and continues his fight against the large landowners who threatened the region.
Accused of being subversive, he is arrested and tortured, but is unable to denounce his attackers.
With the end of bipartisanship, he helped found the Workers' Party, together with Luís Inácio 'Lula' da Silva and other political leaders. He tries to be elected state deputy twice by the PT, but he can't.
He tirelessly fought against the landlords and the Rural Democratic Union party that represents them politically.
death
Although he denounced the death threats he received, he received no protection whatsoever. He was eventually murdered on December 22, 1988, in the back of his house.
The criminals were Darci Alves da Silva and his son Darly Alves Ferreira, later sentenced to 19 years in prison. They managed to escape and then serve their sentence in a semi-open regime and are now free.
Acting
Chico Mendes used public denunciation as a form of political activism. Likewise, he brought together the serigueiros to make the 'tie', that is, defend the trees with his own body.
He wanted to create reserves for extractivists and indigenous people, in order to guarantee the livelihood of the forest populations. This was exactly what the ruralists did not want, as this way these lands could not be used for agriculture and cattle raising.
In 1987, a series of occupation plans were carried out in the Amazon, financed by foreign banks. Chico Mendes goes to the Inter-American Development Bank to ask them not to grant loans, as these projects were causing serious difficulties for the peoples who originated in the forest and extractives.
Legacy
In addition to his example, Chico Mendes' ideas were turned into reality with the creation of specific preservation areas for extractivists.
His ideals were also brought together in the Chico Mendes Institute, an NGO that capitalizes on resources for the preservation of the forest and its people.
In order to preserve his memory for future generations, the house where he lived was transformed into a museum and currently houses the Casa Chico Mendes.
Historical context
In the 60s and 70s, Brazil was in full military dictatorship. On the economic front, the military opted for the developmental and nationalist path, where the construction of large infrastructure works was privileged.
One of them was the Transamazônica and the occupation of lands in the North region, through the granting of titles to large landowners. These used their lands to transform them into pastures for livestock or for agriculture, destroying the native forest.
THE Amazon rainforest it is a delicate system that, by itself, supports the indigenous people and thousands of people. It didn't take long for the new owners and government agents to come into conflict with the indigenous tribes and rubber tappers.
In this context, Chico Mendes' leadership emerges, denouncing illegal occupation, arson and deforestation.
Tributes
- In 1987, Chico Mendes was the first Brazilian to receive the UN Global 500 Award, which recognizes personalities who fight for the environment.
- Several cities in Brazil named parks in honor of the rubber tapper leader. In the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Osasco (SP), São Caetano do Sul (SP), Porto Alegre (RS), there are green spaces that bear his name.
- In music, composers of the most diverse styles such as the Brazilian band Grave and the rock group Manna they dedicated songs to him.
Films
- 'Chico Mendes: I want to live' by Adrian Cowell and Vicente Rios, 1989.
- 'Amazon in Flames', by John Michael Frankenheimer, 1994.
Sentences
- At first I thought I was fighting to save rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon Forest. Now I realize that I am fighting for humanity.
- Rubber tappers, Indians and riverside dwellers have occupied the forest for over 100 years. They never threatened her. Those who threaten the threat are agricultural projects, large loggers and hydroelectric dams with their criminal floods.
- Our fight is for the defense of the rubber tree, the chestnut tree; and we are going to carry this fight to the end, because we are not going to allow our forests to be destroyed.
read more:
- North region
- Amazon
- Extractivism in Brazil
- Northern Region Economy
