The Amazon at war

Imposing the capitalist logic of resource extraction on the Amazon, as has been done historically, means disregarding its living nature and, thus, subjecting the largest tropical forest in the world and its people to a veritable war. Considering the climatic effects of the biome reaching the so-called point of no return, the existential threat is one that is posed against humanity.

This is what journalist Marcos Colón, a professor at Arizona State University and founder of the website Amazônia Latitude, states. In this episode of To Be Read, he talks about his book “The Amazon in Times of War,” written in English and recently published by Latin America Bureau and Practical Action.

According to Mr. Colón, who has extensive experience in on-site reporting, war can occur in the form of an “open assault,” as was the case during the Jair Bolsonaro government (2019-2022), but it does not cease to exist when it takes on slower forms, as the current Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government continues to allow.

This occurs, for example, when the State, despite having managed to reduce deforestation in the region, fails to demarcate indigenous lands, neglects health care, or even contracts destructive infrastructure works or authorizes the massive exploitation of natural resources.

In Mr. Colón’s view, “green capitalism,” “bioeconomy,” and similar terms are just neologisms that mask the “necrocapitalism” that ravages the forest and its people.

“We are so proud of ourselves that we think we don’t need to listen to the indigenous communities, and, because of that, we are just continuing to repeat the same mistakes, over and over again,” Mr. Colón tells The Brazilian Report. “Nobody lives in a place for thousands of years without developing knowledge.”

Watch the full video interview on YouTube or listen to it on your preferred podcast platform:  

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This episode used music from Envato. License codes: Digital Thoughts by SCOREWIZARDS (CJS5HXLAMP). 

Background reading:

• The obstacles imposed to indigenous land demarcation

• Pictures of the giant Amazon devastation during the Bolsonaro government

• Why threats to survival persist in the Lula administration

• The devastation caused by gold mining in the Amazon 

• How illegal gold miners have the support of public officials

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