Indigenous Peoples in Brazilian Amazonia and the Expansion of the Economic Frontier

Amazon conservation and students’ interests for biodiversity: The need to boost science education in Brazil

“…This town has 40,000 inhabitants and five high schools and is very close to indigenous peoples' reserves and protected areas, such as the Jaru Biological Reserve. In these urban places, the importance of the indigenous and local culture is undeniable, despite the tough disputes between indigenous people and local farmers and other economic and political agents, since the early 1980s (26).…”

“…The rich variety of fruits and vegetables from the forest available in the cities, is sometimes barely recognized as part of the rich indigenous heritage. Indigenous people are embedded within a complex network of interests, and the invisibility of their presence, culture, and suffering result from the long and enormous asymmetry of political power (26)(27)(28).…”

Race and Ethnicity in Latin America

“…It is well known that neoliberal reforms, by opening markets to global trade and rolling back state protection for vulnerable classes, has increased impoverishment in many areas. One need only look at the process of 'development' in the Amazon basin or the Pacific coastal regions of Ecuador and Colombia to see how Afro-descendant and indigenous groups have been disadvantaged (Escobar, 2008;Fisher, 1994;Treece, 1990; see also Yashar, 2005: 67). The reaction of the largely indigenous population of Bolivia to neoliberal proposals to privatise water and gas in 2000 and 2003 was a reflection of, but also a major spur to, indigenous organising there (Lazar, 2008;Postero, 2007).…”

Environment and security: Global eco-politics and Brazilian deforestation

“…An army officer associated with the project argued that there existed a clear need to occupy the empty spaces of the frontier region where there is a predominance of pockets characterized by a total absence of Brazilians, white men or civilizados. 44 He went on to acknowledge the existence of indigenous people in the region, arguing that the presence of the Indians, alone, is insufficient to guarantee the defence of regions such as we have in Amazonas. 45 While the government attempted to define the goals of the project according to border security and illegal activity, the real motivations for the project appear related to the indigenous population in the region.…”