THE MILITARY AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON

The Brazilian military, in direct control of the country's federal government from 1964 to 1985, played a prominent role in setting in motion events that caused the deforestation of vast areas of the Amazon. The colonization and tax incentive programs were ideologically predicated on the fusion...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of political & military sociology 1993-07, Vol.21 (1), p.81-105
Main Authors: WOOD, CHARLES H., SCHMINK, MARIANNE
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amazon
Amazon region
Armed Forces
Brazil
Clearcutting
Development Policy
ENVIRONMENT
Environmental conditions
Environmental Politics
Environmental Protection
Land settlement
Military
Rain forests
RURAL AREAS, PEOPLE, ETC
SOCIOLOGY
VIOLENCE
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Summary:The Brazilian military, in direct control of the country's federal government from 1964 to 1985, played a prominent role in setting in motion events that caused the deforestation of vast areas of the Amazon. The colonization and tax incentive programs were ideologically predicated on the fusion of developmentalism and geopolitical concerns. They led to the massive influx of people and capital into the region, and to the intense competition for land, gold and timber. The result was an increase in rural violence and the political mobilization of peasants, Indians and miners. In an unsuccessful attempt to counter these developments and halt the erosion of its political legitimacy, the regime adopted a form of military populism and pursued a crisis colonization policy in areas of heavy conflict. The events show how the patterns of land settlement, deforestation and resource use on the frontier were the outcome of complex interactions, including attempts by the military regime to maintain grassroots political support. The conclusions presented in this paper draw on the results of a fifteen-year study of the process of frontier expansion in the Brazilian Amazon.
ISSN:0047-2697
2642-2190