Brazil is home to 60% of the Amazon rainforest, which is a key regulator for the planet’s living systems and also for the country’s rainfall rate. Despite this, the Amazon territory is still seen as a supplier of raw materials ( timber, minerals and energy) to the richest regions of the country, which does not take into consideration the environmental impacts and well-being of its traditional populations.

Brazilian Amazon’s “development” endured several cycles throughout its history but the colonialist model of exploitation has persisted from the 16th century to the present day.

On one hand, massive infrastructure constructions have caused disastrous environmental and social impacts such as the construction of hydroelectric dams and the opening of highways in the forest. On the other hand, illegal activities such as logging, land grabbing for pasture, and gold mining are the main economic powers of most of the municipalities. With the election of the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro and its environmentally regressive policies , the Amazon is passing through a new destructive cycle with large scale exploitation of natural resources-  even within protected areas and indigenous territory – and the prospect of building large infrastructure projects across the rainforest. In addition, this government has weakened environmental enforcement agencies and non-governmental organizations , which acted as a counterweight, albeit unequal, to this predatory model of exploitation. The preservation of the Amazon rainforest has never been so threatened.